Moving to Springfield area with middle schoolers - advice needed

[desghise]

my advice would be to go live somewhere else. this city is dying and the local government seems to think its savior will be a downtown casino. always a bad sign when you pin your hopes on a place designed to take your money. ill give you some quick pro's and cons

Pro
greatest tasting tap water supply in the country possibly even the world. its that good

traffic. no where near as bad as it is in a major city like Boston or even Hartford

Forest Park. beautiful well maintained park

location. 1hr and a half away from either nyc or boston

police and fire. generally quick response times

cost of living. while higher then the south its on the lower end for New England in general.

Red Rose, Frigos, AC produce. Frigos is a fantastic Italian deli, AC has a ton of fresh fruits and veggies and nobody makes better pizza in the city then red rose. they are all within 6 or 7 blocks of each other.

Cons
Crime. its only getting worse and theres fewer and fewer safe neighborhoods left

school system. its full of stressed out teachers and disruptive students who are a stones throw away
from lockup. the school dept never seems to have enough money and your kid will be lucky if he learns
anything.

property taxes. seem to be going up every year with no explanation why.

no nightlife. unless your idea of a good time is getting pepper sprayed (if your lucky) outside a club then there isn't much to do here at night anymore.

if you still want to move into springfield I suggest you look into these neighborhoods

16 acres. as close to the Wilbraham town line as possible.

east forest park. the further away from forest park the better.

east springfield. around grove and east streets sections bordering the city of Chicopee


I would stay away from these places if your looking to rent/buy

Forest park. once a great area slowly being ruined by crime. some quiet streets and gorgeous houses waaay in the back of beechwood st. hugging the actual park

hill McKnight. been a hot mess for a while, very small pockets of quiet streets

pine point. see forest park

south end. a few nice eateries by day, hookers and drug addicts by night

Hollywood section. just shoot yourself and get it over with.

downtown. forget it. nothing but bars, clubs and strip joints

north end. I wouldn't live there if someone gave me a house.


if you can try getting a place in

East Longmeadow. nice quiet. good schools

Longmeadow. pricey but very quiet

Agawam. traffic can be a nightmare in the summer and fall (big e and six flags)

Chicopee. the closer to the air base the better.

Wilbraham. a little bit of a hike but worth it.

Enfield ct. as long as you don't mind a 10min drive up and down the highway. great Mexican restaurant called el serape in the city

hope this helps good luck

[desghise]

also forgot to mention that west springfield and those "Hampton" cities the previous poster talked about are pretty good options as well....and if anybody tells you Holyoke pretend you didn't hear them.

[in_newengland]

As long as this got bumped up again, Easthampton has terrible schools and a new high school won't make that much difference, imho. I'm very familiar with the school system. Otherwise, it's not that bad and the location to Spfld. is good. It's an old mill town making a comeback.

Northampton has a lot of old houses of all types, lots of Victorians and if you want a garden that's the place to have it rather than in a spiffy suburb like Longmeadow where you'd have to spend your time keeping up with the Joneses.

Another good town for Spfld is East Longmeadow, which does have older houses and yards and yet is a pretty town and right next to Spfld.

Northampton has a lot going on like trendy restaurants, farmers market, earthy crunchy people and all kinds of events whereas East Longmeadow is purely family oriented with an emphasis on sports and things kids like to do. It's more of a normal all American average town than Northampton, a place that can be boring but your entertainment will be family and neighbors. I would definitely check out EAST Longmeadow.

[Gracehappens]

After reading the tirade about Springfield, thought I would put some balance in. Was involved in real estate and construction for many years in the greater Springfield area and own a music lesson studio in East Longmeadow. As OP specified a 40 minute commute to Springfield, there are many lovely options with highly rated school systems.

Very close to Springfield you have Longmeadow, E. Longmeadow, Wilbraham. A bit farther out but worth considering are Somers,CT and Hampden, MA. Longmeadow has the old money reputation along with older, historic homes on small lots; there is a cute little shopping area on Williams and Bliss with several good restaurants, boutiques, a Starbucks and a small Big Y grocery store. It is often thought to be the most affluent and competitive of all of these towns but I find it to contain a nice mix of people who are generally friendly and welcoming (as with these other towns).

East Longmeadow has more land and consequently more new construction and many sections with larger lots. It's more spread out for shopping needs and has a few sections bordering Springfield that are not as nice. Wilbraham is similar in terms of land and housing options. Some areas are near Boston Road in Springfield which is very commercial with big box chains ("C" area in retail lingo).

I will also confidently throw Somers, CT into the mix, bordering East Longmeadow, it's 20+ minutes from Springfield. Lots of land, rolling hills, views, and a very good school system. It's more rural but only 15 minutes from that area of Longmeadow I mentioned or from bigger box shopping in Enfield, CT. Hampden MA is similarly rural but less expensive and feeds into the Wilbraham school system.

I think you've received good info relative to Northampton already. It's a five college area and the only town with an actual downtown area offering lots of choices in cuisine, cafes, shopping, and places to listen to live music. It has a distinctly different feel from the more suburban towns mentioned above. With such a large college student population, it's artsy and liberal, and proud of alternative lifestyles. Folks from the more suburban areas often go there to grab a bite or walk around on a nice day. There's a Trader Joe's and a large Whole Foods in Hadley, about 15 minutes from town, with traffic. South Hadley might also be a possibility. It has a charming but much smaller town area near Mt. Holyoke College but it's pretty spread out.

Lots of good options . . . Hope the exploration is going well!

[FutureSoxFan?]

I moved here about 5 yrs ago. My first choice would have been Northampton but there were pretty much no houses for sale there at the time ( at least none in our size/price range). It's hands down the most attractive and commercially/culturally "vibrant" town in the area -- most other towns are run down has-beens (Springfield, Holyoke), convenient but bland bedroom communities with decent schools (Longmeadow, Wilbraham) or little burghs with not much going on (Hadley, South Hadley, Easthampton, etc).

Keep in mind though that "NoHo" is not for the politically or socially conservative-minded! ;-)

[jeffw]

anyone live in the areas they suggest?

no to Easthampton, Northampton, no to Amherst to far a ride, best schools and average drive would be Agawam, feeding hills, Westfield, maybe west Springfield but not high on my list, Westfield and Southwick would be my best choices and yes I have lived in most of the towns. bets places to raise teenagers and have a short trip to Springfield for work.