Interracial couple moving to Springfield (Amherst, Northampton: insurance, crime rates, homes)

[thedarkportrait]

We're an interracial couple, with progressive views, wanting to move to Springfield. We need to know if Springfield is a decent, diverse area that's good for biracial children. If not, what areas in Western Mass (or anywhere in Mass) are biracial-friendly?

[MovingForward]

Your question is too general. There are many, many towns/cities in MA that are biracial-friendly. A better question would be to ask if there are any towns that are backward enough that a biracial couple/family would feel unwelcome. I can't think of even one. MA is like anywhere else: some people are more tolerant of diversity than others, but I really don't think it's possible to single out an entire town or city as being biracial "friendly" or "unfriendly." On another note, Springfield is diverse, yes, but its schools are not good at all.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

Your question is too general. There are many, many towns/cities in MA that are biracial-friendly. A better question would be to ask if there are any towns that are backward enough that a biracial couple/family would feel unwelcome. I can't think of even one. MA is like anywhere else: some people are more tolerant of diversity than others, but I really don't think it's possible to single out an entire town or city as being biracial "friendly" or "unfriendly." On another note, Springfield is diverse, yes, but its schools are not good at all.

Not sure I agree with this ("can't even think of one" town in MA that would be intolerant). In plenty of areas the people might seem tolerant on the surface, but underneath . . . not so sure.

If you're thinking of living right in the city of Springfield itself, I'm afraid you'd likely have concerns other than bi-racial tolerance. There are those on here who will tell you about nice neighborhoods in Springfield, and I guess there are some, but Springfield is predominately run down and crime-ridden. Statistically has one of the top ten crime rates of any small city in the U.S. Downtown is crumbling and boarded up and filled with chintzy businesses like cheap bars, cut-rate insurance agencies, and places that sell used (stolen?) office supplies. Diseased-looking hookers roam the downtown streets at night, and gangs cruise the area night AND day.

Given your concerns, and what you describe as your views, the first suggestion I have for you in the vicinity of Springfield is the town of Northampton, maybe 15-20 miles up I-91 from Springfield. Nice clean town, known as a place where people of different backgrounds and even varying politcal leanings manage to live in peace. Nice downtown area with neat little stores, eateries, coffee shops, and gorgeous natural scenery surrounding the town.

Best of luck!

[WestMass79]

I wouldn't believe much of what you read from an Ogre. It amazes me that people want to slam other communities here. It's really lame. The city has the Basketball Hall of Fame, great musuems, and was ranked the 4th greenest city in the entire country.

Here's a good website on the neighborhoods of Springfield:

City of Homes | Choose Springfield, Massachusetts

[thedarkportrait]

I totally appreciate you providing a website that can somewhat help me find more information and pictures of the different neighborhoods in Springfield. We had a suspicion we weren't getting the whole story about Springfield when we went onto Youtube and got more info about Springfield through some amateur camera roaming made available on there.

[drouhin]

Have you looked on greatschools.net? I took a cursory look at a few areas in W. Mass, looking for highly rated gradeschools with high MCAS scores and diverse student populations, and came up with the Arthur T Talmadge school in Springfield and several in Amherst (Wildwood, Marks Meadow and Fort River). Personally, I prefer Amherst to Springfield and would be looking to live there if I moved to W Mass, though I can't think of any area out there that I would consider unfriendly to an interracial couple or biracial children.

[rsf67]

Try the historic neighborhoods of Hill-McKnight and Forest Park. These neighborhoods have beautiful, affordable homes, and communities that are diverse in the sense that they've chosen each other as neighbors. Diversity in Forest Park comes in both race, sexual preference, and income.

Good luck!