Where should I live in the Fall River area? (Boston: apartment complexes, foreclosures)
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I live in Fall River. It really isn't that bad like people try to claim it is. Sure, it has it rough spots that I do avoid like the plague, but that is only because I don't know those areas so I am not sure about them. We like that we are a short drive to Providence, Warwick, Bristol, Newport, Boston, New Bedford.. you get the idea.
Lot of people in my neighborhood are walkers and you always see them out with their dogs. We always take short trip to the various trails and beaches as well as the various farmers market.
There is nothing wrong with Fall River, Swansea or Somerset.. nothing at all. And this is coming from a temporary transplant to the area
Quote:
Originally Posted by n1ey
There are no suitable running trails within the City of Fall River.
Outside of Fall River you will discover the area is more rural than suburban. Even Fall River has some rural areas.
It is not a good idea to live anywhere in FALL River, PERIOD. I have been to MN. I know FR. They are not the same. In some ways New Bedford is a lot better than FR. The inside joke is that FR is the most insular city. There are lots of people in FR that have never left FR. There is quite a bit of corruption within the City. Things have moved at a snail pace. Little progress has been made to improve the economic viability of the community.
The biggest things that happen are often completed by the state. The State built a new Courthouse. Several new restaurants have opened in the vicinity of the Courthouse. 2 are already on tough times. One seems to be making a good time of it. The City has come up with silly plans in regards to the highway. Apparently, the state is just ignoring them for the better.
The food selection in Fall River is very limited. You have very little dining that can be considered excellent. Most places are extremely slow, and they think that they are fast. Most of my friends like to joke about how none of these people would survive as restaurant operators in Boston for more than a month.
I would look for apartments in the surrounding communities of Westport, Dartmouth, Acushnet, Fairhaven, or Freetown.
There is nothing wrong with Fall River, Swansea or Somerset.. nothing at all. And this is coming from a temporary transplant to the area
I have lived in Mass for 30+ years. I have been in Fall River for awhile, now.
The food selection is horrible. The city government is whacky. One person ranked the Taphouse as one of the better bars to visit. Well, this is part of the problem. It is not that good. It suffers from the same area infection of slowness. The food is nothing to rave. Everything else in the area is Portuguese orientated. Most are subpar. Several of the older former restaurants in the area have been closed for YEARS You do need some variety.
The newspaper actually shows how the city lacks diversity in various articles. There was outrage at Spanish signs being placed at a store on Columbia Street.
You DO realize that you don't have to frequent the restaurants in town just because you live here, right?? Why do you care if someone, whoever it is, ranked Taphouse (wherever that even is) as better bars to visit. If we eat in Fall River, it is at Le Pages or Al Mac's. All of our other favorite spots are a short drive from our home (Old Grist Mill- sadly recently lost to a fire, Stone Forge, many various restaurants in Providence...)
Like I said- living in Fall River puts you in a great spot to be a short drive to just about ANYWHERE in MA AND Rhode Island...
I have lived in Mass for 30+ years. I have been in Fall River for awhile, now.
The food selection is horrible. The city government is whacky. One person ranked the Taphouse as one of the better bars to visit. Well, this is part of the problem. It is not that good. It suffers from the same area infection of slowness. The food is nothing to rave. Everything else in the area is Portuguese orientated. Most are subpar. Several of the older former restaurants in the area have been closed for YEARS You do need some variety.
The newspaper actually shows how the city lacks diversity in various articles. There was outrage at Spanish signs being placed at a store on Columbia Street.
It is the most insular City in Mass.
Bill
Taphouse is a good bar because it has a big beer selection, decent pub food (their buffalo mac and cheese is very good), decent local music, a good location, a nice atmosphere and a good crowd. I've always had good service there. Is it going to win awards for its inspiring creative cuisine? Nope. But it's a great place to grab a beer, listen to some music and have some decent pub food. Not every restaurant is or should be Michelin star rated.
There is an abundance of Portuguese cuisine, but you must be the only person who thinks that's a problem. The Fall River/New Bedford area has better Portuguese/Azorean food than you'll find anywhere else in the U.S. I know I'm not the only person of this opinion as the Travel Channel, New York Times, and many other national publications have focused on Fall River's wealth of Portuguese cuisine. And the type and variety of Portuguese food ranges from Chourico and Chips at Billy's to high end Portuguese at Cinderella. It's not all the same.
The Portuguese cuisine may be the majority, but there are other options as well (many are not that old). Mesa 21 serves up great wood-fired pizza. Many of their specials are great too. Patti's Pierogis is excellent for Polish food (my uncle is from Poland and drives over an hour eat there once a month). In fact, they just filmed it for a Food Network special. LePage's has good seafood. There are a number of places that serve good pub food (Taphouse, Barrett's, St. James, etc). And I know of at least 3-4 hole in the walls that serve awesome clamboils (a feast) for $20 or less (my favorite being St. Mikes). I've had good Brazilian in Fall River (Wholly Cow), and one of the best authentic Asian restaurants in the region (Aspara.... they serve authentic Pho and other specialities from S.E. Asia) is right next to a real authentic Asian market. Marzilli's and Marcucci's are as good as Italian Delis get. The city is chalk full of good hot dog places too. The Tipsy Seagull has awful food, but it's a much better tiki bar atmosphere than you'll find even in Newport, Boston or Providence. It's an outstanding place to have a drink on the water.
That's just within the city limits. Within a half hour drive, you have outstanding options in Providence (constantly ranked a top "foodie city" in the country), Newport, Bristol, Westport, Seekonk, New Bedford, and more. Many people don't mind occasionally driving to Boston for a good meal and a night out either (it's only an hour and street parking is free every night and Sundays). Fall River may not be the best food city on the planet, but it's not "horrible" by a long shot. And it's very close to some of the best places you'll find anywhere.
Where I do agree with you is city government. I've had to do some work with them over the past year. My mother works with them on a regular basis (and other local governments). Compared to New Bedford (not exactly a model of local government either), it's a train wreck. Corruption? Not as much as people like to claim. However, there's a certain ineptitude that's astounding. I almost wish the problem was corruption as it makes for an easier reason to remove people. I can't believe how much I've watched the city shoot themselves in the foot and how often it's the same handful of people. Fall River can feel pretty insular, but I find most of the people to be decent enough anyway. I'm not from the Fall River area and my family moved there from other areas of the country too. None of us ever had too much trouble adjusting.
As far as walking and jogging close to town, I believe Battleship Cove park just put in some trails. The area looked quite nice the last time we were there.
You know, I don't think a lot of temporary renters care much about the local politics of an area. To them, what's important is low rent, safety, and general atmosphere.
As far as walking and jogging close to town, I believe Battleship Cove park just put in some trails. The area looked quite nice the last time we were there.
You know, I don't think a lot of temporary renters care much about the local politics of an area. To them, what's important is low rent, safety, and general atmosphere.
Good points!
There's a mile long boardwalk along the waterfront from Battleship Cove to the Iwo Jima memorial at Bicentennial Park that's always full of joggers and walkers. It's a pleasant place for an early morning or evening walk.
The city government really shouldn't impact a short term (a few years or so) renter. Its those that have been there a long time that will pick up on trends. If the OP should happen to fall in love with the area, it's not very difficult to escape the local government problem by moving just outside the city limits.
How about Tiverton, RI. Tons of great beaches due south but limited public access in Little Compton area.
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