Is Lowell safe for a 23 year old female? (Boston, Salem: fit in, insurance)

[MAnewbie]

thank you bostonlady. a lot of people have mentioned nashua (although i already have a job ), and i am going to try to take a look around there. the problem is i have a lot of friends and family in ny, so nashua would be pretty far from them. i will take a look at the other areas you mentioned and see if they fit the bill. northeast is generally a bit to far. areas like newburyport, amesbury, etc. are way too far...i would much rather take that commute time and live in boston! this is very hard since i have to find a place in 2 weeks! oiy!!

[irisheyes2385]

Visit Lowell, you'll love it. It's full of young people your age. Many people who are quick to offer opinions about Lowell actually know nothing about the city and are stereotyping because of past problems.

I grew up in a neighboring suburb, and most of my friends have moved to Lowell since becoming adults . I am in my 20's and live here myself and absolutely love it. There are rough spots, as in every city, but most is pretty tame. Much of the city is suburban.

I have lived here since prior to 23, have rented and now own, and have never felt unsafe in this city. It has a ton to do and tons of new condos, and many young professionals moving in.

[macmacmac]

I recently moved to Lowell in the summer of 2007. I, too, received some raised eyebrows when I mentioned that I was looking in Lowell. Well, I've got to say that I absolutely love it. It has exceeded my expectations. I've moved into an old mill building (condo lofts) that sit right on the Merrimack river. Beautiful riverwalk. Downtown is getting better by the month. Always something to do. Tough areas? Sure there are. But there are tough areas in Nashua, Amesbury, Newburyport, Boston, Billerica, Newton, Arlington...........if you get my point. Any reservations I had about Lowell are long gone. I'm truly happy here.

[drpoundsign]

what happened to that poor lowell hooker who was kidnapped and raped in 1993 or thereabouts and to her assailants??

[plytheman]

I live in Lawrence, one town down the river from Lowell, and I'll tell you what I've seen mentioned already in here: Good parts and bad parts. Yea, there are some rough looking neighborhoods that could be refered to as 'ghetto' but whatever, there's the same kind of neighborhoods here in Lawrence and I've never had a problem with anyone in either city. Though, one, I'm not a girl, and two, I've never found any reason or need to be walking around these neighborhoods at night.

Lowell has a really nice downtown with a good amount of diverse shops and cafes and such. A great venue (boot mill park, I believe) for outdoor shows in the summer time at a great price is right downtown. To the north of Lowell is Dracut, very quiet and rural, and the southern end Tewksbury, again, very quiet and rural. I know you said you're looking for a more urban enviroment but it just shows how much diversity in living there is in the area.

The beaches are about a half hour away as is Boston, tax free shopping in NH just over the border, and in about an hour an a half you can be in the White Mountains. As far as location goes the Merrimack Valley is pretty conveniently located, at least for my interests.

[irisheyes2385]

Originally Posted by drpoundsign

what happened to that poor lowell hooker who was kidnapped and raped in 1993 or thereabouts and to her assailants??

again, another example of small-minded people dwelling on something that happened 15 years ago LOL!

There is some crime in every city, most city people are pretty street-smart and have no problems. Lowell is now a very safe city, as safe or safer than most others of it's size in the country (Look up the stats). 15 years ago is a different story, of course, but most places have changed over the past 15 years.

Lowell has been heavily invested in at state and federal levels and it really shows. Every day it's better.

[brightdoglover]

"Lowell has been heavily invested in at state and federal levels and it really shows."

Thank the late Senator Paul Tsongas, and feel free to vote for his widow, Niki!

[bingo08]

Originally Posted by topher441970

Wasn't trying to scare you, that's how I saw the place................

Topher, I agree with ur opinion. If you were raised in Massachusetts, like me, you know the lowdown. I would not move to Lowell or Lawrence. If you are buying real estate, I would consider the resale value.

[charolastra00]

Only in Massachusetts would Lowell be considered the ghetto! I've come to find in my 2 years of living here (having moved from Haverhill to the south when I was 2 with all my family being lifelong Haverhill residents) that many people in NE seem to have a skewed sense of what is a bad town. Sure Lowell has some tough spots, but even my family who grew up in the area would never say it was all bad.

I live in Waltham which I've heard people call the "ghetto". That's hilarious to me and as a 19 year old girl, I have no qualms walking from town back to my college at night alone. Similarly with JP.. I've dated 2 guys who live in JP and I had no problem walking from the green or orange lines by myself to their apartments.

You just need to keep an eye out and be aware of your surroundings like in any town. Lowell has UMass Lowell there so there are plenty of college students living around. It has gentrified quite a bit in the past few years as much of that area has. I've noticed a change even in 5 years from visiting the area every year that both Lowell and Lawrence have gotten much better.

[irisheyes2385]

"Topher, I agree with ur opinion. If you were raised in Massachusetts, like me, you know the lowdown."

I think many of us new residents were raised in MA. The "new" lowdown is that it's an affordable place to live where lots of young people flock to to buy their first condos and homes.

There seems to be an age gap here: those older folks who remember the "bad" Lowell way back when and the younger people who see it as emerging as a hip place to live.