Possible job in Brockton, what nice towns are nearby? (Boston: crime, houses)

[MTQ3000]

Originally Posted by ferbstoesser

Thank you! We are looking at Dartmouth now. New Bedford looks pretty and historical from pictures I have seen, but would it also be a good option? I noticed rents there are fairly inexpensive.

+1 for Dartmouth -- I like it there a lot. Consider the next town over, Westport, too. I don't know your threshold for daily commute, however. With no traffic, it will take 35 minutes from Dartmouth to Brockton, I believe. I don't think the traffic is horrendous on 24N until you get close to I-93, so if you exit around Brockton you should be fine.

New Bedford has some REAL rough areas . . . . be careful.

Mick

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by n1ey

I am agreeing with you, somewhat. I think that it should be mentioned that the physical quality of each elementary school in Brockton is considerably better. Most of those buildings are brand new.

I agree with your underlined list of towns with high drug usage. I think that people should stop trashing Brockton. The murder rate is not high. The crime rate is not higher than found in many other locations in Massachusetts. The crime rate is considerably lower than the rate of places in Texas, the Midwest, or California.

Bill

We know you love Brockton. By every measure Brockton is one of the most dangerous places in Massachusetts. New schools are nice but the fact remains that Brockton has a lower graduation rate and higher drop out rate than the nearby towns you trash as drug infested with inferior schools.

[MrLinderman]

Originally Posted by n1ey

I am agreeing with you, somewhat. I think that it should be mentioned that the physical quality of each elementary school in Brockton is considerably better. Most of those buildings are brand new.

I agree with your underlined list of towns with high drug usage. I think that people should stop trashing Brockton. The murder rate is not high. The crime rate is not higher than found in many other locations in Massachusetts. The crime rate is considerably lower than the rate of places in Texas, the Midwest, or California.

Bill

I don't know why I engage with you because you're delusional about Brockton and enjoy backing up your arguments with "I live in the area, I'm old, and other towns have bad things happening too", but here we go again:

Based on the FBI crime stats, which can be found here https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/uc..._City_2014.xls in 2014 Brockton had the 6th highest violent crime per 1000 residents in the state. In 2013, Brockton had the MOST violent crime per 1000 in the state, and the 4th highest raw total in the state.

Ah but you say the murder rate isn't high? Well, actually it is. In 2014 Brockton had the highest Murder (and nonnegligent manslaughter) rate in the state! The rate of 0.127 per 1000 is 1.5 times higher than the third highest murder rate in the state, Springfield.

But but but the drugs are bad everywhere else! Heroin is ruining everywhere on the South Shore except Brockton! You can't walk down the street in Abington or Weymouth without stepping on a needle! oh dear!

Let's actually look at some numbers. Using the MA DPH collection of opiod overdose deaths by town found here http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/q...s-may-2016.pdf let's objectively examine it.

Brockton in the years 2013-2015 has had the 4th, 10th and 5th highest amount of opiod deaths in the state, respectively. Now since I have to input population data manually to calculate the rate (and since sheets don't match up town by town perfectly) I'll only calculate the rate of a few of the biggest offenders for you, and only for 2015.

Per 1000 residents:
Abington (according to you the hotbed of drugs worldwide)- 0.25
Boston- 0.19
Worcester- 0.31
Lowell- 0.428
New Bedford- 0.48
Brockton- 0.434
Lynn- 0.45
Weymouth- 0.39

Now, as you can clearly see here, Brockton's rate is significantly higher than Abington, Boston, and Worcester, noticeably higher than Weymouth, and right on par with Lowell, Lynn, and New Bedford.

I respect and enjoy differing viewpoints on this site, but I'll be frank with you, Bill- your opinions are deluded and honestly dangerous.

[Dm84]

Anyone not from the area who took Bill's advice would quickly dismiss him as a nut job the second they drove through the center of Brockton.

[timberline742]

Lets be serious, it is bad for this state, no doubt, but this state is beyond safe. That's a good thing, but "bad for Massachusetts" is still pretty safe, as a "bad school" for Massachusetts is still above average for most places.

[n1ey]

Originally Posted by Dm84

We know you love Brockton. By every measure Brockton is one of the most dangerous places in Massachusetts. New schools are nice but the fact remains that Brockton has a lower graduation rate and higher drop out rate than the nearby towns you trash as drug infested with inferior schools.

You can keep spinning your trash. Fall River has the high drop out rate. Brockton is not the cesspool.

In regards to real effectiveness the 5 year success rate of students after graduation in the surrounding schools is actually low. Many of the kids do not even complete a junior college. A smart kid will have more opportunities for sports and education in Brockton. Stoughton is one of the worse of those surrounding communities that you highly endorsed. Try taking an AP class in that town.

[n1ey]

Originally Posted by Dm84

Anyone not from the area who took Bill's advice would quickly dismiss him as a nut job the second they drove through the center of Brockton.

Your callous comments are not warranted. Nor does your description match Brockton. You can drop yourself into Quincy and see the same effect of Father Bill.

[n1ey]

Originally Posted by MrLinderman

I don't know why I engage with you because you're delusional about Brockton and enjoy backing up your arguments with "I live in the area, I'm old, and other towns have bad things happening too", but here we go again:

Based on the FBI crime stats, which can be found here https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/uc..._City_2014.xls in 2014 Brockton had the 6th highest violent crime per 1000 residents in the state. In 2013, Brockton had the MOST violent crime per 1000 in the state, and the 4th highest raw total in the state.

Ah but you say the murder rate isn't high? Well, actually it is. In 2014 Brockton had the highest Murder (and nonnegligent manslaughter) rate in the state! The rate of 0.127 per 1000 is 1.5 times higher than the third highest murder rate in the state, Springfield.

But but but the drugs are bad everywhere else! Heroin is ruining everywhere on the South Shore except Brockton! You can't walk down the street in Abington or Weymouth without stepping on a needle! oh dear!

Let's actually look at some numbers. Using the MA DPH collection of opiod overdose deaths by town found here http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/q...s-may-2016.pdf let's objectively examine it.

Brockton in the years 2013-2015 has had the 4th, 10th and 5th highest amount of opiod deaths in the state, respectively. Now since I have to input population data manually to calculate the rate (and since sheets don't match up town by town perfectly) I'll only calculate the rate of a few of the biggest offenders for you, and only for 2015.

Per 1000 residents:
Abington (according to you the hotbed of drugs worldwide)- 0.25
Boston- 0.19
Worcester- 0.31
Lowell- 0.428
New Bedford- 0.48
Brockton- 0.434
Lynn- 0.45
Weymouth- 0.39

Now, as you can clearly see here, Brockton's rate is significantly higher than Abington, Boston, and Worcester, noticeably higher than Weymouth, and right on par with Lowell, Lynn, and New Bedford.

I respect and enjoy differing viewpoints on this site, but I'll be frank with you, Bill- your opinions are deluded and honestly dangerous.

Great stuff.

Except that the crime rate for theft, grand larceny, etc is higher in Wareham, Hyannis, New Bedford, and Fall River. You are likely to walk on a needle in Abington.

The murder rate pales in comparison to places such as Houston with 6000 murders in a 20 year span.
What does this mean? You are not likely to be murdered due a "drive-by." Just because someone dies from an overdose does not mean that they are involved in crime. There are serious logic faults in this argument. You are ignoring the housing policies of the state which have an influence on those numbers.

I suggest that you mind your own business. You have not actually seen crime in Brockton. Step into Boston around the South End. Your chances of a "drive-by" increase considerably.

The postings show that none of the respondents actually live in the area or work in the area.

Bill

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by n1ey

Your callous comments are not warranted. Nor does your description match Brockton. You can drop yourself into Quincy and see the same effect of Father Bill.

You're entitled to your opinion but I'd be willing to guess that most people don't agree with it.

FWIW I was last in Brockton on Monday.

[MrLinderman]

Originally Posted by n1ey

Great stuff.

Except that the crime rate for theft, grand larceny, etc is higher in Wareham, Hyannis, New Bedford, and Fall River. You are likely to walk on a needle in Abington.

The murder rate pales in comparison to places such as Houston with 6000 murders in a 20 year span.
What does this mean? You are not likely to be murdered due a "drive-by." Just because someone dies from an overdose does not mean that they are involved in crime. There are serious logic faults in this argument. You are ignoring the housing policies of the state which have an influence on those numbers.

I suggest that you mind your own business. You have not actually seen crime in Brockton. Step into Boston around the South End. Your chances of a "drive-by" increase considerably.

The postings show that none of the respondents actually live in the area or work in the area.

Bill

Now lets go point by point here.

Since you prefer anecdotes and stories over data, we'll start there. My dad worked at DMH in Brockton for 25 years. I spent plenty of time there just because of that. On top of that, half my friends went to Spellman. In Brockton. So even more. On top of that, in my old career, I spent plenty of time in the Plymouth County Family and Probate Court. In Brockton. On top of that, I have cousins who have been arrested, in Brockton, numerous times. Suffice it to say I'm pretty familiar with the place.

Now lets go point by point here.

The murder rate pales in comparison to places such as Houston with 6000 murders in a 20 year span.

Now based on the same evil data pulled from the FBI's stats, in 2014, Brockton's murder rate per 1000 was 0.127. You say it pales compared to Houston's? Eh, no. Houston's was actually 0.109, which is lower than Brockton's.

Just because someone dies from an overdose does not mean that they are involved in crime.

I mean technically they are since possession is a crime (and possession w/intent or distribution is a felony), but that's besides the point. My point was to show that the drug problems that are wreaking havoc all over the state are just as bad, if not worse, in Brockton than the other places you like to trash. You can't rail on towns like Abington for their drug issues, then ignore them in Brockton because it doesn't fit your narrative. You just can't.

Except that the crime rate for theft, grand larceny, etc is higher in Wareham, Hyannis, New Bedford, and Fall River.

Some yes, some no. Let's examine it. I'm taking the numbers, again, from the FBI website and calculating the rate per 1000. I'm looking at violent crime, burglary, and larceny for Brockton, Wareham, N.B. and F.R. I'm ignoring Hynannis because it only gives me numbers for Barnstable as a whole.

City VC Burglary Larceny
Brockton 10.51 6.06 22.22
Wareham 5.05 7.61 21.39
N.B. 12.57 9.08 23.62
F.R. 11.65 5.93 16.44

So you're right, and you're wrong. But, even when you ARE right you're wrong. You're saying Brockton isn't bad because FR and NB are worse (and only in some aspects)? That's like saying Hitler was a great guy because Stalin was worse. Just because you can think of something worse doesn't make everything else good.

Step into Boston around the South End. Your chances of a "drive-by" increase considerably.

If you count Methadone Mile (but drugs don't mean crime!), maybe. But, I drive it every day and haven't been shot yet, so I don't know. 99.99% of the South End is like the most expensive part of Boston to live. This isn't 30 years ago (the last time you probably ventured into Boston).

I suggest that you mind your own business.

Not when you are giving out dangerously wrong advice. I'll make it my business.