Crime rate & Cost of living in Hartford, CT vs Springfield, Mass? (Boston: job market, neighborhoods)

[DanaMarley]

I was just in springfield, mass recently and though there's some rundown areas, it doesn't seem as dangerous an an area.
But how is the crime rate in Springfield, Mass, compared to Hartford, CT.
I went through many neighborhoods that wouldn't considered upscale by any degree in Springfield, but just the general feel of Springfield, felt safer, compared to Hartford.

Also, the people seem more laid back, and easy to get along with in Springfield, as compared to Hartford. I don't know if it's because there's more traffic in Hartford, compared to Springfield, or the cost of living is less in Springfield.
I'm not finding connecticut to be that great a place to live, cost of living wise.
Are your grocery prices as high in Mass or Springfield, as they are in CT?
Do people often come up to Mass to do grocery shopping, if it's cheaper?

[western mass and love it]

Although Springfield itself has a higher population than Hartford it is more spread out and less dense. There are also a lot of different sections to choose from,the only really bad parts of the city would be Mason Square-Six Corners area,parts of The North and South ends(there are some good and bad parts of these sections depending on what streets and such). Generally the areas by the river tend to be the worst and as you head east from the river it gets gradually better.

Crime rate is not the greatest but it is better than Hartford,traffic is slightly better but getting worse as the time goes by.And the COL is pretty close,you have to remember that the 2 cities are barely 20 miles apart and that they are pretty intertwined with each other. There is around 2 million people in the combined area so it will have it's pockets of troubled areas,just finding your part of the city that fits you is the key.

[DanaMarley]

thanks for answering my post so helpfully western mass. I really liked Springfield too, when I visited it recently.
Now, where did all the tornado damage occur? I didn't see any of it, we got family up that way, and I was most concerned hearing they had a tornado in their town.

What I do notice is that Springfield, seems to have less of a "city" feel, than Hartford does, to its advantage. Of course, there's the downtown area in S. field, and that, of course is a city, but it just seems less congested than Hartford does.
I would assume, that yes the crime rate is better in S.field, than Hartford. I think CT in general, its crime rate is sky rocketing, in many towns. I wonder if that's true for Mass too. Hope not.
I wonder how the job market is in say, Springfield, compared to Hartford?

I see your gas is about 20 cents cheaper up there, than in CT. I got me some gas in Mass, for only $3.53 a gallon! woohoo,

Is your food cheaper too? What are some good towns to live in, near Springfield, that are a short distance outside the city?

[western mass and love it]

As far as the job market goes Hartford/Springfield are so close that the market is pretty much the same market. I work in Windsor Locks,I have friends who work in Hartford and friends from Hartford who work in Springfield. Groceries are pretty much the same in both areas,gas is cheaper in Mass due to Connecticut having a larger tax on their gas than Mass.

And like I said in my last post ,While Springfield has a larger population than Hartford it also has double the size of land (35sq miles to 17sq miles). But with Hampden county pushing 600,000 people and the greater Hartford area with 1.2 million the area has plenty of people,shopping,nightlife and recreation for all.

[DanaMarley]

So, Springfield, is in Hamden County and Hartford hs 1.2 million people in it? Is that true?
Wow! That's a lot of people for only a 17 sq. miles.

And while springfield has 600,000 people you say, it doesn't seem to have that much people. Of course, if there's more land to it, that makes sense. Yeah, Springfield definitely feels less congested.
How's the crime rate in Springfield lately? Good, staying the same, getting worse?
I think Hartford's crime rate is growing by leaps & bound unfortunately. They just passed a law about guns recently.... how they're going to detect gunfire, by the bullet or something like that, which, indicates to me, there's more crime on the rise, sadly.
TY for the info though. Yeah, I like the feel of Springfield a whole lot better than Hartford. How far are you folks from Boston? Or the Berkshires?

[western mass and love it]

I think you misunderstood me,Springfield is in Hampden county,Hampden county has 600k people in it,Springfield proper has 155k. Hartford is in Hartford county which has around 1.2 million in the county,Hartford proper has around 117k people. As far as distance to Boston goes it is roughly an hour and fifteen minutes to 2 hours depending on traffic and starting point,Berkshires are about 45 minutes.

[DanaMarley]

The Berkshires are only 45 minutes away? No wonder people love Springfield! The Berkshires are beautiful. We've not been there in a long time though. Ever been up to Lee, Mass? That's a pretty town. Or Tanglewood? gorgeous area...great concerts.
Wish we had that type of scenery down in Hartford way. Or an outside concert venue like Tanglewood.

Boy, Hartford county has a ton of people, 1.2 million? No wonder there's so many bad drivers down that way. Lots more traffic, I'm sure....
Springfield sounds like a much better place to live than Hartford is... What do you think of Agawam, Mass western mass? Do you guys have a lot of deer up your way?
That's one thing that's creepy about CT, there's too many deer in our area.. even in the suburbs...
They just attacked some guy outside the Town Hall, down the walkway to the river, in E. Hartford a few months back too! So they're not so cute & innocent as everyone wants to think.

[mikelizard860]

Originally Posted by DanaMarley

The Berkshires are only 45 minutes away? No wonder people love Springfield! The Berkshires are beautiful. We've not been there in a long time though. Ever been up to Lee, Mass? That's a pretty town. Or Tanglewood? gorgeous area...great concerts.
Wish we had that type of scenery down in Hartford way. Or an outside concert venue like Tanglewood.

Boy, Hartford county has a ton of people, 1.2 million? No wonder there's so many bad drivers down that way. Lots more traffic, I'm sure....
Springfield sounds like a much better place to live than Hartford is... What do you think of Agawam, Mass western mass? Do you guys have a lot of deer up your way?
That's one thing that's creepy about CT, there's too many deer in our area.. even in the suburbs...
They just attacked some guy outside the Town Hall, down the walkway to the river, in E. Hartford a few months back too! So they're not so cute & innocent as everyone wants to think.

Attacked by a deer? Are you being serious? WTF? lmfao .....yeah got to watch out for those gangbangin' deer running amock. You're about 50 million times more likely to get viciously attacked by an off leash dog than get attacked by a wild deer. Deer are herbivorous animals that are naturally afraid of people.

[btownboss4]

well with deer attacts running ravid in the hartford area i would avoid it, hopefullly Mass has some boarder control to keep these Deer from ruining the Springfield area too LOL

[mamom1]

If I had to choose springfield or hartford, I would choose springfield but I'm not a fan of connecticut anyway. I don't think springfield is as bad as everyone says. I lived there for 5 years and I did not have any problems. Agawam is nice but it is more suburbs not a big city like springfield by any means. It depends on where you are going to work also. If you are going to work in springfield then you might want to stay on that side of the river for commuting purposes.