What is Greenfield like? (Amherst, Franklin: equity, budget, condo)

[willdufauve]

I live in Greenfield. The few jobs will usually go to under-qualified local redneck townies with family/political connections.

The crime rate is surprisingly high for such a small town with so little to do. Sordid drug crimes, race crimes, brutal murders, dead bodies found by the train tracks...that's Greenfield.

The schools are awful. That's why so many families choice-out their students to other towns' school systems. Low academic standards, demoralized underpaid teachers, un-addressed bullying, high teen pregnancy rate.

Mayor Christine Forgey is incompetent (except at hiring her political cronies) and the Town Council are too cowardly to stand up to her, and her revenge seeking, retaliation, and back stabbing. Disagree with her, lose your job.

Look for jobs in Springfield, social life in Northampton/Amherst.

One good thing about Greenfield...you can marry your own cousins here. Just joking, but you get my drift?

[askaboutme8908]

i have lived in greenfield for about 8 years and seen some of the craziest things ive ever seen in my life. the crime rates here are SUPRISINGLY high for a city of this size, the crime rates are higher than some of the bigger surrounding cities such as northampton and amherst. schools in greenfield are the worst you can find.. there are nice parts though all depending on where you want to move. stay out of greenfield gardens, leyden woods, oakcourts and conway st these are where murders tend to take place

[willdufauve]

One murder last year, the dead body was found behind Hope street (otherwise called Hopeless St) but a previous murder - one boy beat another boy to death with an aluminum baseball bat in a sand and gravel pit. (Gives a whole new definition to "Louisville slugger").

It's a very racist bigoted town, with a corrupt town government, poor schools, and a xenophobic, anti-education, townie mentality. There are no nice people in gfld. Get your kevlar vest beforehand, or watch your back around sharp objects.

[teachertype]

The Chairman of the Greenfield School Committee, Dave Lanoie, choices his kids out to another town's school system. I guess he ought to know.

I don't usually like blanket statements, but you won't find a more ignorant and bigoted town than Greenfield anywhere in Massachusetts. Maybe Orange, or Colrain, but they're in Franklin County too.

Sometimes people refer to it as Green-tucky.

[askaboutme8908]

people in greenfield are very rude and vendictive and evil... its weird i have been all over this state and you never see people as ignorant as they are in greenfield. stay away.. jus stay away theres nothing good at all abotu greenfield.. NOTHING

[willdufauve]

That is one unique thing about Greenfield, the level of general mean spiritedness. People gossip and lie about you behind your back and backstabbing is the town hobby. I've never experienced any place like this before.

[Ooooo]

Greenfield sucks. I've lived here a while, believe me.

[teachertype]

There must be something in the water in Greenfield. Very high rate of mentally ill people ready to go postal over nothing.

[Chet-O]

If I believed some of the negative posts about Greenfield, I would be afraid to go there. I think some people have had a few bad experiences within Greenfield and are exaggerating the conditions.
I have lived in Franklin County all my life in a town adjacent to Greenfield. I have never felt unsafe in Greenfield, and I visit there quite a lot.
Not having attended school in Greenfield, I can't make any judgements, except that more leave the system under "school choice" than enter from other towns, according to local news.
To me, the negative posts do not reflect the average opinion of Greenfield.
Trying to make the schools better, is costing Greenfield's citizens some of the highest property taxes in the area, if not the highest rate per thousand.
It has always been true, within my lifetime, that job opportunities in Franklin County are below average unless you have good skills in the trades or professions.
Read my previous post relating to socio-economics.

[willdufauve]

The property taxes aren't high because they're trying to fix the schools. Taxes are high because Mayor Forgery panders to town workers and hires her unqualified friends and croneys for overpaid positions. The Mayor has a heavy handed style so she gets sued a lot. The town is administered very poorly.

There was a cocaine bust 5 days ago that the state police are calling the biggest drug bust ever in western Mass. and over the weekend a man cut another man's throat in a downtown bar.

Read the newspaper.