Become a Pittsfield slumlord in 10 years (Boston, Worcester: cheap house, buy, income)

[panchilly]

DO the following:

1) buy cheap house for < 100k in pittsfield such as https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...73_rect/14_zm/
2) work from home at high paying job
3) pay house off in 1 year
4) repeat

[western mass and love it]

Pittsfield is probably the most depressing place in the state. So that'd be a no from me.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by western mass and love it

Pittsfield is probably the most depressing place in the state. So that'd be a no from me.

It's not exactly thriving, but it's also not on the total skids like Ware.

[western mass and love it]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

It's not exactly thriving, but it's also not on the total skids like Ware.

Ok so it's tied for most depressing place in the state. North Adams being a close 2nd.

[FCMA]

Pittsfield is depressing though actually has a functional downtown with shops and a few decent restaurants, an effect of its Berkshires location amid surrounding towns with second homers and arts tourists - the city borders Lenox to the south. There’s no way to go around Pittsfield either since there’s no north-south interstate through the Berkshires. Travelers on Route 7 are funneled right through the city. If you want irredeemably bleak Gateway cities, try Chicopee and Fitchburg.

[G1..]

Originally Posted by FCMA

Pittsfield is depressing though actually has a functional downtown with shops and a few decent restaurants, an effect of its Berkshires location amid surrounding towns with second homers and arts tourists - the city borders Lenox to the south. There’s no way to go around Pittsfield either since there’s no north-south interstate through the Berkshires. Travelers on Route 7 are funneled right through the city. If you want irredeemably bleak Gateway cities, try Chicopee and Fitchburg.

Yes there is rt 22 ,I will disagree about Pittsfield, it's is starting to make a nice turn around after decades of depression and being screwed over by GE. It's not there but to me it nicer than Worster or some of the place's around Springfield.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by G1..

Yes there is rt 22 ,I will disagree about Pittsfield, it's is starting to make a nice turn around after decades of depression and being screwed over by GE. It's not there but to me it nicer than Worster or some of the place's around Springfield.

Worcester? Maybe in 1998, but certainly not 2019.

[mdovell]

Eh. The downtown has changed and wayfair is coming in. 300 jobs isn't that bad. There are jobs in the area but the rates aren't enough for everyone to live there.

The Berkshire flyer for NYC trips starts next summer.

Rail from Pittsfield to Springfield palmer worcester and Boston is going to take longer.

The poorest place in Mass is actually Franklin country. Don't get me wrong I like Greenfield but a town of 20k can't prop up a whole county. But it does have better highway and rail access.

[FCMA]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Eh. The downtown has changed and wayfair is coming in. 300 jobs isn't that bad. There are jobs in the area but the rates aren't enough for everyone to live there.

The Berkshire flyer for NYC trips starts next summer.

Rail from Pittsfield to Springfield palmer worcester and Boston is going to take longer.

The poorest place in Mass is actually Franklin country. Don't get me wrong I like Greenfield but a town of 20k can't prop up a whole county. But it does have better highway and rail access.

I hear that a lot about Franklin County but it’s really not true. 2017 ACS data doesn’t support it. Western MA counties are neck and neck for income with Hampden squarely at the bottom, and comparable to Bristol County. Hampshire is notably higher than the others in median household $ probably due to tenured academic salaries. The data also points out the dirty laundry of Suffolk County in metro Boston - Per Capita of only a few thousand dollars more than Western MA counties points out the poor folks still scratching by in the midst of Boston glitz. Keeping in mind though that Suffolk is only Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop.

What’s true about Franklin County is it’s certainly not big enough to support a diverse economy when its major towns are Greenfield, Montague, and Orange and all told the county has the population of approximately Somerville.

Median household income by Western MA county:
Berkshire: $55,190
Franklin: $57,307
Hampden: $52,205
Hampshire: $64,974

Others of interest-
Suffolk (!): $61,242
Bristol: $62,514

Per Capita-
Berkshire: $33,245
Franklin: $33,010
Hampden: $28,072
Hampshire: $32,198

Others of interest:
Suffolk: $38,031
Bristol: $32,406

[Space_League]

Looks like a nice place for the money. What's wrong with pittsfield ?