Is Haverhill viable with no car? (Lowell, Lawrence: crime rates, home, safe neighborhoods)

[zzeezzee]

I'm unable to drive for medical reasons, meaning that (barring some unforeseen advance in medicine) I am permanently reliant on public transit. My partner was offered a job in the region, and we're looking for a place that's affordable but will still allow me to work, run errands, and generally survive. I, especially, don't want to be entirely dependent on him, and want to make sure I can be fully autonomous in a worst case scenario.



We were looking at a couple properties in Haverhill, but I'm kind of skeptical in terms of whether I could actually get by. Could anyone more familiar with the area weigh in?



Is there anywhere in the vicinity that's not significantly more expensive but would be more accessible for me?

[OutdoorLover]

So Haverhill does have a MBTA commuter rail line station
https://www.mbta.com/schedules/CR-Haverhill/line

And it also has several bus routes from the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA), see their system map here:
MVRTA – Transit for the Merrimack Valley

Plus of course there will be some local taxi and ride hailing capacity.

For an outer suburban town, it's actually got a good many options - more than most towns. There are some issues with crime and gangs in Haverhill. It's not terrible, but the crime rates reflect a city, not a suburban town. You'd presumably be doing a good amount of walking on city streets, which is why I bring that up. The Bradford neighborhood in the southern portion of Haverhill, across the river, is generally safer, and for what it's worth, there is an MBTA commuter rail station in Bradford, as well as a few stops for MVRTA Bus #14 there. You might want to look in Bradford?

[zzeezzee]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

So Haverhill does have a MBTA commuter rail line station
https://www.mbta.com/schedules/CR-Haverhill/line

And it also has several bus routes from the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority (MVRTA), see their system map here:
MVRTA – Transit for the Merrimack Valley

Plus of course there will be some local taxi and ride hailing capacity.

For an outer suburban town, it's actually got a good many options - more than most towns. There are some issues with crime and gangs in Haverhill. It's not terrible, but the crime rates reflect a city, not a suburban town. You'd presumably be doing a good amount of walking on city streets, which is why I bring that up. The Bradford neighborhood in the southern portion of Haverhill, across the river, is generally safer, and for what it's worth, there is an MBTA commuter rail station in Bradford, as well as a few stops for MVRTA Bus #14 there. You might want to look in Bradford?

Thank you! That helps a lot.

I'm not overly concerned about crime. Going by the statistics, I've lived in worse places. Other than affordability, the ability to access necessities like groceries, the pharmacy, the hospital, etc. really supersedes all for me. It's difficult to worry about potentially getting mugged when you definitely need your medication but can't get there to pick up your refill.

My concern about the Bradford area is that, at least as far as I can tell via Google maps, the nearest grocery store appears to be across the river, a mile away for much of the neighborhood. That would be on foot, since the buses cut off around 7 and, even if I didn't end up having to commute, you rarely get away without at least some evening hours in my field. In the snow, with arms full of groceries, after a full day of work, that can be a lot.

Am I correct in my assessment that downtown and maybe the northern edge of Bradford are the only areas of town within walking distance of the grocery store+pharmacy+transit combo? This would, of course, not be unexpected for a town this far out, but sometimes weird things happen.

[zzeezzee]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

They have 3 Market Basket Supermarkets, those are the big places, but yes they're all on the north side of the river. I get that walking a long distance with groceries is rough, but why can't you just get groceries on the weekend with your partner? There are a couple of Walgreens drugstores in Bradford, right on South Main.

Again, the goal is to be able to lead an independent life with the options to do all the things non-disabled adults can do. Having to beg your partner to pick up some basic staples on the way home because you can't do it yourself is very demoralizing, you know? Your partner being sick and not being able to take care of errands for them is very demoralizing and guilt-inducing.

I'm not disbelieving you, someone who clearly knows the area a lot better than me, when you say there's a lot of violent crime. If you say the areas where I can function independently are too dangerous to consider, I trust that, and I will try to talk my partner into looking elsewhere.

But as someone who has lived in multiple different urban areas, I have to say that what that particular site counts as a failing grade is pretty hilarious. It lumps a lot of relatively safe neighborhoods in with ones that genuinely are RED FLAG - AVOID. So again, while I absolutely will take the word of a local, I can't really bring myself to take that map seriously on its own.

Thanks again for your insight! It seems like we may need to live closer to the city for the move to be viable.

[bostongymjunkie]

In all honesty, I wouldn't consider living in any part of Merrimack Valley relying solely on public transit unless I absolutely had to. I'm not intimately familiar with Haverhill but I've been there many times over the years. If anything, downtown Lowell might be the best option but it doesn't sound like it's near the job. Haverhill is technically a city, but if you truly want to feel "independent" I don't think it fits the bill. I get that we all have to do what we have to do, but if you have options you may want to explore them.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by zzeezzee

Again, the goal is to be able to lead an independent life with the options to do all the things non-disabled adults can do. Having to beg your partner to pick up some basic staples on the way home because you can't do it yourself is very demoralizing, you know? Your partner being sick and not being able to take care of errands for them is very demoralizing and guilt-inducing.

I'm not disbelieving you, someone who clearly knows the area a lot better than me, when you say there's a lot of violent crime. If you say the areas where I can function independently are too dangerous to consider, I trust that, and I will try to talk my partner into looking elsewhere.

But as someone who has lived in multiple different urban areas, I have to say that what that particular site counts as a failing grade is pretty hilarious. It lumps a lot of relatively safe neighborhoods in with ones that genuinely are RED FLAG - AVOID. So again, while I absolutely will take the word of a local, I can't really bring myself to take that map seriously on its own.

Thanks again for your insight! It seems like we may need to live closer to the city for the move to be viable.

To be honest, I don't understand why asking your partner to pick up a loaf of bread on the way home is demoralizing and guilt-inducing, but I don't walk in your shoes.

I was trying to make you aware that there are some issues with crime there, and yes, there are some pretty bad people - I was just trying to look out for you. Worse can happen to you than losing your money. It doesn't seem to me to be a good idea to be planning on routinely walking through the riskier neighborhoods of that city at night, alone, as a woman with a handicap - maybe not even for an able man, for that matter. But that's just my opinion.

[bostongymjunkie]

Nice of you to have so much empathy, but unsurprising; and who says the OP is a woman?

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by zzeezzee

It's difficult to worry about potentially getting mugged when you definitely need your medication but can't get there to pick up your refill.

CVS delivers prescriptions for free.

[Urban Peasant]

If you are looking into the Bradford area, there is one MVRTA bus route, the #14 that services Bradford and takes you right into Downtown Haverhill. I know for a fact that there is a Market Basket near Downtown Haverhill at the intersection of Water and Main and the #14 does stop nearby there. Having said that, Bradford used to be its own town before merging into Haverhill decades ago and can be seen as the more suburban side of Haverhill. The #14 is the only route that services all of Bradford, which means not all of Bradford is serviced and like most MVRTA routes, has steady but infrequent service. You're best better off looking on the north side of Haverhill or even nearby Lawrence which has more bus routes if you want to stay in the Merrimack River Valley.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

who says the OP is a woman?

The OP did in a post from 12.5 years ago.

Originally Posted by zzeezzee

I'm also a new military wife