Need Info on Greenfield, MA Crime and Schools (Boston, Amherst: low crime, colleges)

[gongachapin]

We are relocating to Greenfield, MA for my husband's job. We are thinking of living in Greenfield, but someone told us the crime rate is really high. Is it a safe town to raise kids in? Is there really a crime problem? Also, are the schools good and safe? Thanks for the help.

[momoffive]

in greenfield?? i don't know but it is so far out of boston i can't imagine it is that bad....please let us know if you find out anything cause now i am curious...

[ontheroad]

I didn't have any children while living in the area, so I am clueless about schools, but I never heard about much crime in this area.

However, if you look at the area, in general, you'll find many lovely towns and hamlets to live in within easy commute to Greenfield. Deerfield, one of Greenfield's neighbours has quite a good reputation as does Shelburne, Millers Falls and Montague, and many others.

You also have excellent amenities, overall, in the area: Northampton, Amherst, Rte 9 (for larger shops); the 5-colleges, and much more.

Here's some data that might be helpful:

http://www.idcide.com/citydata/ma/greenfield.htm

[graymall]

You can actually go to the Greenfield Police Department website and download and view statistics and daily/monthly logs.

www.greenfieldpd.org

[christoforest]

Hi Gongachapin,

I noticed from this website:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Greenf...achusetts.html

that crime in Green is substantially higher than other nearby areas such as Northampton, Amherst and Brattleboro VT. I dont know why but it really seems to be true. Unsettlingly, the rape rate is twice that of Bostons!

[ontheroad]

Overall, it seems Franklin County has a higher crime rate than Hampshire. I apologize that I didn't check figures, and glad to see someone cleared up the issue.

[gongachapin]

Thanks for all the help. We are thinking about moving to Deerfield or Montague. Does anyone know anything about the schools in Montague? We hear that the schools in Deerfiled are great, but have not gotten an opinion about Montague. Since my husband will be working in Greenfield, what towns near Greenfield would you recommend for great schools and low crime? Thanks you again for the help!

[graymall]

You could try checking into Northfield. It's about a 10-15 minute drive to Greenfield, tops. Go to http://www.pioneervalley.k12.ma.us/PVRSD/ to check out the school system. It used to be a good school system when my kids were in it. That was some years ago, though. You can go to http://www.northfield.ma.us for more on the town. Good luck.

[jusbeinlance8908]

Greenfield can b a nice place to live at times. i have lived here for 9 years and have been through some pretty crazy things actually including a couple shootings and stabbings. The schools here how ever i would NOT reccomend for your children. Greenfield is nothing compared to springfield or holyoke but it is not the best place to bring your children up

[wgalway]

Crime here is high.. Had my apt. broken into about 6 weeks ago. There was a double homicide reported today. And yes the schools here are terrible. Thinking of moving myself. The signs are everywhere telling me to move. Found this post while looking for Franklin County crime data.