Western Mass (Boston, Worcester, Springfield: crime, homes, neighborhoods)

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by lettuce

We have snow plows that clear the roads. I never once had to drive in snow all winter. I think winter is a mindset.

I understand but in DC they don't! A few years back it snowed in DC and freaked so bad they stopped their cars on the WW bridge and left them there........walked right off the bridge to VA or MD and all becuase of about 8 inches of snow.Western Mass gets a little more then that.

[Phoenix lady]

I lived not far from Western Massachusetts for many years. It's beautiful; quaint towns, restaurants, some gorgeous homes.

[DCtoMA]

thanks so much for all this lively conversation! i really am interested in learning about western mass...i am not too scared of massachusetts winters, and having lived in DC for 10 years, I can agree DC cannot handle their winters

any other info is greatly appreciated

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by DCtoMA

thanks so much for all this lively conversation! i really am interested in learning about western mass...i am not too scared of massachusetts winters, and having lived in DC for 10 years, I can agree DC cannot handle their winters

any other info is greatly appreciated

DC winters are nothing to Western Mass but I will admit they(Mass) knows what they are doing when it does snow.

[path9]

Hi,I think that you have received some good advice from the prior posts.I would like to add that many people run all season radial tires all year but using real snow tires during the coldest months will greatly enhance your sense of well being while driving.

[ConfusedGal]

I live in western MA. westborough, MA to be exact. Its a lovely town! About 10 minutes from Natick where there is a lot going on! Tons of restaurant, shopping, and the new Natick collection (Huge NYC city high end shopping.) Its 45 minutes from Boston. I have lived in Boston as well. I am an urban gal and still like Western MA cause there is a decent amount going on! (But I dont like Worcester! Yuck)

[mikeemon]

If Westborough is "western MA" , then those of us living around Worcester are where? This region is generally thought of as central MA. Springfield area being western. If you consider Westborough "western MA" please go back to Boston.

[Xenos]

Definitely check out Longmeadow: the house price to school quality ratio is excellent. Longmeadow high school is in the top 10% of the state, and the home prices a reasonable as the town was built out 60 years ago and the housing stock is old yet relatively affordable. Preppy and WASPY, though, if that is an issue.

Amherst is a bit far for a daily commute, but if you want a less suburban atmosphere with more of a non-conformist culture you may want to check it out.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

Western Mass (west of Worcester) is a fairly depressed and IMO depressing place. Coming from DC, I'm not sure you understand how much more impoverished those more remote places in America are. Dive bars, mud trucks keggers and dirtbikes are primary in the culture. Ther's a reason why it's so much cheaper.

Well, okay, it is true that this part of MA, like much of the Northeast outside the major urban areas, has its share of faded little towns with a rednecky culture, but this area also has some nice towns too. It's not fair or accurate to generalize that the whole area is the way Bostonian describes. There are plenty of nice towns in west-central MA, but the MA and CT towns that FutureSoxFan and Lettuce have suggested are nicer towns that are reasonably close to Springfield. The city of Springfield itself is kind of decrepit in a lot of areas, but there are some nice towns in the vicinity.

[Southcoaster]

I live in Fall River (eastern MA) but I LOVE Western MA! My family tries to get away to the Berkshires at least once a year for a couple of days and to me it's like visiting another part of the country because it's much more laid back than eastern MA. Folks are friendly and polite (at least the ones we met), it's much cleaner than Eastern MA and the mountains are beautiful! There are also great art museums and shopping-let's not forget the BIG E in West Springfield in the fall! I know the Berkshires are a little further west than Springfield but if you relocate to the area check them out! As an aside, being a lifelong resident of eastern MA, I'll take dive bars, mudtrucks, keggers, dirtbikes, rednecks, preppy and waspy any day of the week over crackhouses, pimped-out Honda Civics, heroin busts, gangbangers and rude, surly people!