Moving to western Mass -- need help! (Springfield, Chicopee: rentals, crime rate)

[jessii]

Hi! My fiance and I grew up in the North Shore in eastern Mass. And after we get married, we're planning on moving out to western Mass as my fiance hopes to attend UMass Amherst out there. So we are looking to buy a house nearby.

The reason I need help is because I have no idea which neighborhoods are good or bad! All I really know is Amherst and South Hadley are good, and stay away from Holyoke and Springfield.

I've done a quick search on realtor.com, and came up with some houses in Ware and Chicopee, but I have no idea what those towns are like.

We're not looking at the school systems, since we don't have kids and aren't planning to for a long time. We're just looking for a nice neighborhood to live in where property value will possibly increase within the next 10 years, when we'll probably make our next move.

Thanks for the help!

[natickmomof2]

How about Northampton? I don't know anything about the housing prices there, but I lived there while I was working at UMass for a while. It was a great town - tons to do and not a far drive from campus.

[theh]

Chicopee, Holyoke, West Springfield, Springfield, and Agawam I would say are the best places to avoid. If you look further North of that whole hellzone, Greenfield is the place to avoid.

Ware is in the middle of nowhere and there's nothing there. It's also a bit of a hike if your fiance is planning on going to UMass.

Just about anywhere in and around Northampton and Amherst are all very safe and great places to live without being too isolated. Property values have been increasing the past few years. If you're looking for houses in Amherst, definitely try looking for places in South Amherst (near Hampshire college). It's a bit more secluded and away from the college kids.

[wheelmannn]

Chicopee and Ware are not great towns. If the houses are cheaper in certain towns there's a reason for that.

[VlyRoadKid]

Well, THIS sure was a load of help for you...NOT!

Originally Posted by theh

Chicopee, Holyoke, West Springfield, Springfield, and Agawam I would say are the best places to avoid. If you look further North of that whole hellzone, Greenfield is the place to avoid.

Ware is in the middle of nowhere and there's nothing there. It's also a bit of a hike if your fiance is planning on going to UMass.

Just about anywhere in and around Northampton and Amherst are all very safe and great places to live without being too isolated. Property values have been increasing the past few years. If you're looking for houses in Amherst, definitely try looking for places in South Amherst (near Hampshire college). It's a bit more secluded and away from the college kids.

You already said you knew to avoid Chicopee and Holyoke, etc., but I don't know where the writer comes off ragging on Greenfield! I've lived here since 2000 and in The Valley since 1970 and Greenfield, while rather provincial having and a recent crisis in the schools (no funding!), is a GREAT place to live, like the sign on I-91 says! Just don't move here if you have kids going to school, though they COULD go to one of the nearby schools, such as Frontier Regional, which is very good.

Would I rather live in Amherst? Once upon a time I did, 20 YEARS ago, before it became an overcrowded, hugely overpriced, status town! It lost its charm when all the meadows filled up with McMansions and the housing market shot through the roof. I know several realtors who routinely sell homes there, with miniscule lots, for $1 million +, that you could buy in Greenfield for half that. The same over-priced homes are the rule in Northampton as well.

No, Greenfield isn't "cosmopolitan" and we have few "hip-oisie", like N'ton, but the crime rate is about the same as the other 2 cities. But if you're into that, you can driver to either town in 20 minutes.

Another thing Greenfield has is a first-rate medical center, affiliated with Baystate. There are nice parks, hiking trails, a decent downtown with some crunchy-granola and not-so-crunchy shops, a renovated YMCA, good library, nice restaurants and easy access to the quaint town of Brattleboro, VT., not to mention skiing and bicycling that ranks up there with anything in the other two towns.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Amherst and Northampton is fun, but unless you can cough up some SERIOUS cash, you won't be able to afford any decent housing there.

Some other towns to consider (if you like the country) are: Leverett, Montague, N. Amherst, Whately, Bernardston and Conway (a hilltown).

All of those (except Bernardston and perhaps Conway) have buses to and from UMass and are in easy biking distance.

[theh]

I apologize for picking on Greenfield. I didn't mean to offend you. I guess it's just all the drug addicts and homeless people living in the ATMs and the murders that turn me off from the place. And yes, Greenfield doesn't believe in education which really turns me off. I guess we all have our opinions.

Amherst and Northampton themselves can be pricey. Nearby towns not so much--Easthampton, Southampton, Westhampton, Sunderland, Deerfield, etc... Amherst and Northampton are pricey for western Mass. But in comparison to much of eastern Mass? Not so much.

North Amherst is part of Amherst, by the way.

[VlyRoadKid]

Thanks for the apology. I'm not a Greenfield native (actually there IS one, I think, who has an anti-Greenfield thread! lol), so I wasn't offended; I just disagreed with some of your assessments.

Of course this town (along with others like Turners Falls or especially, Easthampton-ugh!) is going to suffer in comparison with the slick image of Northampton or the quaint, College-y Amherst. But it does have it's good points. And as for drugs, my friend's two kids actually dropped out of Northampton high, the drug problem was so bad! Even Amherst: when I was a teaching assistant at UMass, the students used to say they got their drugs (usually pot) at Amherst HIGH SCHOOL! Let's fact it: it's everywhere, and I blame the State & Federal gov't. for cutting education and prevention programs, as well as treatment.

The poster wants to go to UMass, so I'd steer them to places closer, and/or on the free bus route. S. Deerfield is okay, but I lived there for 4 years and it's just a provincial as Greenfield; it just puts on more airs and costs more to live there! Belchertown is fairly close and has quite a few rentals, as well as cheaper house prices.

All the Hamptons are quite a haul from UMass, especially bucking the traffic on Route 9 and especially between about 3:30 PM and 6:00. Same thing in the morning.

And yes, I know North Amherst IS part of Amherst (didn't I say I lived there?), but it's more rural than the town proper and housing is cheaper, though less available. Shutesbury is also nice, but again, lacking plentiful housing and not cheap.

[willdufauve]

Greenfield is a dump. You seem intelligent; you're better off thinking about Hampshire County and avoid Franklin County towns altogether (unless you're planning to marry your own first cousin, then Greenfield is the place).

[WestMass79]

I live in Springfield, have for many years, and love it. Don't forget it's a city of 33 square miles, so there is a lot to it. Are there a couple of bad neighborhoods - Absolutely. But there are a ton of great neighborhoods with great parks, nice homes, good neighbors and cheaper prices. One of the worst neighborhoods in Springfield is walking distance to Longmeadow, so does it really matter?

I send people to this site to read more: City of Homes | Choose Springfield, Massachusetts

[Xenos]

Hi! My fiance and I grew up in the North Shore in eastern Mass. And after we get married, we're planning on moving out to western Mass as my fiance hopes to attend UMass Amherst out there. So we are looking to buy a house nearby.

My first warning is to not buy a house until you have rented for a while. House prices have some more declining ahead of them, I would argue (I will leave it at that - it is a matter of dogma to many people and not worth debating).

If you buy a house, at least do so in a community where you want to live long term. Somewhere your husband can get to UMASS easily, and also easy for you to get to route 91 so your job market is not too limited. That says Hadley to me. The schools are sound and the tax basis is excellent, so property values should be stable over time.

For something more rural, look at Sunderland. Ware is way too remote. Chicopee is similarly remote, but make sense if you end up working in Springfield. Just not such a nice spot, really.