Worcester population (Boston, Springfield, Lowell: low income, employment, transferring to)

[xz2y]

I'm researching some cities in central and western Mass, and saw that the demographics of Worcester included about a 20% Hispanic population, which I found surprising. I was not aware of any significant immigration of Hispanics to Massachusetts, or New England. I'm wondering what might have attracted them to a city such as Worcester. Are there good employment opportunities? How about the cost of living? There appear to be several colleges in the Worcester area, but I'm not sure if that is a factor in attracting Hispanic immigrants.

[CaseyB]

They're mostly Puerto Ricans, recruited after WWII to work in the factories. Lawrence has a huge Puerto Rican population, as does Springfield.

[xz2y]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

They're mostly Puerto Ricans, recruited after WWII to work in the factories. Lawrence has a huge Puerto Rican population, as does Springfield.

Thanks. I didn't know about this history in some Mass. cities. Are they still generally employed?

Here in Michigan, there is a very different story with folks from the south recruited by the auto industry in the early part of the century, an industry that thrived mid-century, and then over the last couple decades, the auto industry has downsized dramatically, leaving large swaths of abandoned factories and a large population of unskilled workers without many options. This hasn't worked out too well for Detroit. I hope the population that was recruited to work in Mass from PR has been able to find gainful employment over the years in the changing economy.

[CaseyB]

Very few factories left here.

[FCMA]

Firstly, the Hispanics in Worcester are mostly Puerto Ricans, who are not immigrants, but U.S. citizens of a different mother tongue.

There are large enclaves of Puerto Ricans in Worcester, Fitchburg, Lowell, Lawrence, Springfield, and Holyoke. Rotten old factory towns where the living is cheap and Whitey McWellesley gets scared. You know - the places where MA hides just about all of its racial & ethnic diversity and likes to trash-talk from the suburban culdesac, while denying the existence of tensions and prejudice HERE - impossible!

Unemployment in these cities is high, for all race-ethnic groups. Poverty levels among relocated Puerto Rican citizens are grievously high in places like Holyoke and Lawrence. Deindustrialization is not a pretty thing.

[jfitt]

FCMA...sorry to disagree, but Worcester is not as bad as you say. We lived in several wonderful neighborhoods and I am white as was never scared in Worcester!

[FCMA]

Worcester has some very nice neighborhoods, though it also has Main South.

It's ingrained in the MA psyche to needlessly bash Worcester, but you're right, I wouldn't put it on the same level of socioeconomic apocalypse as Lawrence or Springfield. Didn't mean to imply that it's thoroughly terrible. In fact I'm considering moving to Worcester. Lowell is another one that seems to show some signs of rejuvenation.

[brightdoglover]

Are Brazilians considered Hispanic? There is a huge Brazilian population in eastern/central Mass.

[Jushtfinisht]

I have been living in Worcester for all my life and am currently a college student at Worcester State University.

Wall of text coming up:

First off, there has been a large influx of Hispanic immigrants (99.9% legal, I can tell you, obviously since it's harder to find illegal immigrants when you're not immediately on the Mexican-US border) as well as Vietnamese immigrants over the past few years. I have also known a few friends who came from Europe, particularly from Poland. Generally, if you are bilingual and speak either Vietnamese or Spanish, that is a plus for employers. That's not saying that English still isn't the most popular language in Worcester. It still is by a milestone.

Although Worcester is still quite diverse regardless of the immigrant population. Predominantly white with a healthy mixture of African-Americans, Latino-Americans, Asian-Americans, and people of other ethnicities.

But I find that the demographics are slightly skewed if you look at particular areas. Because I'm not really an expert at neighborhoods around here, I'll just explain with a focus on high schools and colleges.

The Worcester public high schools and state colleges/universities are very diverse racially, but tend to have students from underprivileged families. Remember - high influx of immigrants seeking a better life in America as well as low income families. As such, you'll find that their parents are working low-level jobs or getting assistance from the government. I know - I have a stay-at-home mom and my dad works manual labor part-time at a sewage company, but they both get social security benefits, food stamps, and such.

I can't say the same for private high schools and colleges. I feel like they're very closed off from the greater part of Worcester. I went to Clark University a year ago before transferring to WSU because I could not afford the private tuition even with some merit scholarships. Although students who choose private institutions like Holy Cross, Assumption, Anna Maria, WPI, etc. come to Worcester to find themselves and gain knowledge, they generally come from well-off neighborhoods and families. They're also generally white.

But...moving on. xz2y, you ask if Hispanics have come here to seek better opportunities. I am not too sure of that, based on my experience. I went to South High Community School, which has a very high black, Latino, and Vietnamese student population, and, sure enough, the things you would expect from such a "ghetto" population reign true, at the risk of sounding racist. However, I was in my school's honors program and I can tell you, I have met just as many motivated minority students wanting to better their lives for themselves and their families as those who just wanted to do drugs/party/drink and stay the same for the rest of their lives.

After high school, most of the motivated people I knew are either going to community college or dorming far away from Worcester because here's the thing - most students living in Worcester don't want to stay here the rest of their lives for either one of three reasons: 1. Wortown is boring, 2. They don't want to be demoralized by their friends who made bad choices, and 3. They hate their parents.

I actually should have chosen UMass-Amherst as my first college...now I am regretting that I chose to stay in my hometown.

Forgive me for this long wall of text. I think I briskly went over quite a few subjects without going really in depth. Ask me any specific questions if I'm not clear.

[sheena12]

I went to college in Worcester. Clark University. The one in Main South. Love Main south. But I heard that they re-named it "University Heights"? The area that you are supposed to be afraid of.

I loved it. There was a Hispanic population then and it seems to have remained about the same.

Worcester is an interesting and diverse city that is affordable near Boston and the Berkshires. Since I was raised in the boring 'burbs, I found Worcester fascinating.