Best location off I-91 (Springfield, Westfield: apartment complexes, for rent, houses)

[MaCtCouple]

My husband and I will be moving to the area this summer. I have a job in Northampton and he has a job in Windsor, CT so at least one of us will be making a fairly long commute. In the long run, if we both decide to stay at these jobs, we'll probably look at buying someplace in the middle but are planning to rent for at least a year while we learn more about the area and decide whether the jobs are a good fit.

We're definitely considering living in Northampton itself, but were wondering about recommendations for other places off I-91 in between. Our main criteria would be easy access to the highway. If we decide to go for someplace in the middle, we'd want to be saving money relative to Northampton. We don't have kids and aren't necessarily planning to settle in a location long term, but we'd like to feel safe in our neighborhood. Any recommendations for towns and especially specific neighborhoods in towns in between that would be nice?

[missionhill]

If public schools are not an issue at the moment I'd look at Holyoke. The Highlands section (Exit 17 from 91) is long on charm -- Victorian houses, tree-lined streets -- safe, very convenient to I-91, and has a number of Northampton would-be's who appreciate the lower buy-in. You're 10 miles closer to Windsor too. The area east of Northampton Street is vintage-1890s, west of Northampton St is 1950s and newer. Northampton St (Route 5) itself north of Lincoln Street is still lined with houses built by the paper and textile magnates who made Holyoke a wealthy city 100 yrs ago. The area is mostly single and two-family houses, no doubt some of them available for rent.

[MaCtCouple]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'd been wondering about Holyoke since we'll definitely be moving before schools are a concern. Is there any rule of thumb for how far south/east in Holyoke is still "the Highlands" or more importantly is still pretty nice/safe? We have a very short trip planned for some house hunting in a few weeks (we're across the country now) and I want to make sure I'm focusing on the right areas as I sort through listings. In particular, are the areas around Hampden and Dwight St nice?

[missionhill]

Well, the Highlands go down to about Dwight Street. Maybe some would say as far as Beech, but I'd say Dwight. The eastern boundary is Pleasant Street, more or less. The choicest Victorians are on Lincoln, Fairfield, and I guess Morgan, and side streets like Nonotuck, Pleasant, and Pearl. North of there, houses are generally newer, say 1920 or later. Streets like Lexington, Madison, and the "college" streets are probably the best streets in Holyoke.

My feeling is that the whole Northampton St corridor in Holyoke is nice enough and safe enough, with the Highlands being nicest, except that Hamden and Dwight seem a little sketchy--see what you think. But south of Dwight down to Beech is a nice area as is the stretch between Beech and Whiting Farms Road, which is the "Elmwood" section.

[MaCtCouple]

Thanks! I'll set up appts for places I find in those areas and then we'll make a point of driving around the area for a while and getting a feel before committing.

[in_newengland]

Longmeadow. Right in between and easy access to rte 91. Excellent schools. Pricey though.

[cvap]

I would prefer to stay off 91. If you were in Russell or even Westfield, you would be within 25 minutes of both N' hampton and Windsor on back roads.

[MaCtCouple]

Thanks for all the advice. We have appointments scheduled to look at several places in Northampton, Holyoke Highlands, and Longmeadow.

Any thoughts on West Springfield? The area close to the river just off Rte 5 is just about exactly half way between our offices and there are some nice looking places with pretty decent rents, but I don't know anything about the area. We have a very limited time to see apartments and I don't want to miss any likely options or waste our time looking in places that won't be safe neighborhoods.

[missionhill]

West Springfield is an older, "inner-ring" suburb of Springfield. Status of the downtown areas closest to Route 5 has slipped a bit over the years but it's probably OK. Other parts of town, like the Mitteneague section, are newer (post-World War II), middle class, and less dense, but farther from I-91. W. Springfield also has some apartment complexes off Route 5. Longmeadow is the highest-status suburb of Springfield, popular with affluent families who want top-rated schools. You might also consider the Forest Park section of Springfield, which is right off 91. Sumner Ave (state route 83) has apartment buildings, synagogues, and churches. The side streets have big wood-frame houses on small lots. F. Park itself is a a very nice city park of 600 acres or so, with ponds, woods, fields, gardens, tennis courts, and a zoo.

[western mass and love it]

West Springfield has a lot of apartment complexes just off of and around RT 5.and the center of town has an abundance of 2 -3 family houses. The Merrick section was probably the worst part of town but the city has done a lot of work down there and it is also where a lot of immigrants from Russia ,Bosnia ,Ukraine and former soviet bloc countries settle. And have for the most part taken the neighborhood back from the absentee owners and really take pride in their houses,which also helps to bring the neighborhood back to life.overall i think west springfield is a great place to live.