Fall River (Boston, Worcester, Lowell: city hall, house, neighborhoods)

[twiggy]

Fall River always looks so pretty and historic in pictures. Does anyone think it's a good place to live?

[lrfox]

Fall River has some really nice neighborhoods (The highlands are gorgeous and dotted with old captain and industrial tycoon's mansions) and it's location 20 minutes from Prov., 10 from New Bedford, and 30 from Newport, RI makes Fall River an advantageous place to be. The Battleship, Lizzy Borden House and areas around the State Pier have some interesting attractions (Narrows Center is great for live performances), and Heritage Park and the Carousel; and during Halloween Season, there is no haunted house in New England that can top the Factory of Terror (it's HUGE!).

That being said, for every 1 nice neighborhood, there are 5 bad ones. Downtown was literally split in half by 195 being laid through there (though City Hall is on a platform above the highway) and an elevated monstrosity (similar to the upper and lower decks in Boston), as well as a housing project separate the city center from the waterfront.

Fall River has some beautiful architecture, but the city is struggling and hasn't shown many signs of revitalization. It's still a city of 92,000 and has many of the features of a typical city its size including some great restaurants (Fall River and New Bedford make up the epicenter of New England's Portuguese population and both have the restaurants to show it), an acceptable arts scene, and some nice little bars. It's remained stagnant though, and blight is easy to find throughout the city.

Bottom line- I wouldn't suggest living there. If you need to be in a South Coast city, New Bedford is where you should be. It's got a beautiful downtown, a zoo, nice museums (including the Whaling Museum, Art Museum, and a brand new Oceanarium). The streets are cobbled, the city is downgrading route 18 from a highway to a pedestrian friendly boulevard to reconnect it's beautiful cobbled streets to the waterfront. Lots of restaurants, art galleries and shops can be found throughout. and the nightlife, while not upto Providence's standards, is much better than Fall River.

I will post pictures of New Bedford soon.

[twiggy]

Thanks so much. I'm glad to have such a detailed discription. I will look into New Bedford, sounds really nice. I was always wondering why people avoided Fall River, never got a real clear answer until now. Thanks again!

[lrfox]

^No Problem. Are you considering moving to the South Coast? Massachusetts, Southern New England, or just New England in general? I've lived in a few different areas in New England, so if you give me an idea of what you're looking for, I'd be glad to try and throw out some suggestions for you.

^as far as "never getting a clear answer" goes, that happens with a lot of areas in New England. People tend to make assumptions and generalizations about locations based on long-standing reputations. Fall River (and New Bedford) are not the only victims. Dorchester, an area in Boston is torn apart mostly by people who have never been, but are just going on what they've heard from others who have heard from others and so on (you get the idea). Truth is, "Dorchester" is an umbrella term for a large portion of Boston and it contains some gorgeous urban and suburban neighborhoods. Sure, there are some bad ones, but many many good ones as well.

Worcester, Lowell, and Gloucester (and many others) fall into this vaccum as well. If you talk to someone who hasn't been to Providence in 15 years, chances are they'll tell you it's a dump and dangerous place. The reality couldn't be more different. Places change, but reputations take much longer to evolve.

The truth is, someone may tell you, "Fall River sucks!" but when you ask them why, they can't give you a good reason, or throw out something like, "because it's Ghetto," simply because they don't really know.

Good luck in your search, and you're certainly in the right place to get information. I've only been here (on this particular forum) for about a week, but most members seem relatively knowledgable.