Anyone live in Fall River? (Boston, Worcester: best city, apartment, renters)

[hartford_renter]

Hi,

I always drive by Fall River on my way to MA. I have also spent time in Providence, New Bedford and the towns surrounding it but never Fall River. Maybe that is because there isnt much to draw me there. Anyone live in Fall River I am curious what your opinion of it is.

Thanks

[lrfox]

I grew up around Fall River and have friends and family there so I am frequently there (in fact, I was there today).

Fall River is a city with a BAD reputation. Some of it is deserved, but much of it isn't. The city blew onto the scene with the rise of the textile industry. At one point its population was 120,000. Today it's about 91,000. The manufacturing and textiles have left and so have many of the people. It's economy is depressed and there are some heavy concentrations of low-income residents there.

Many people equate Fall River with crime and poverty. There is a fair share of poverty (no worse than Providence, Springfield, Hartford, etc), but crime just isn't that bad. In fact, if you check City-Data's statistics, crime in Fall River is better than places like New Bedford (another city that gets a worse than deserved rap for crime), Providence, Lowell, Boston, Hartford, Worcester, etc. It's just not terrible.

The reason you probably have little to draw you there is that Fall River doesn't have the attractions the next closest cities (Providence/New Bedford) do. Providence has a thriving downtown and some wonderful neighborhoods. It has colleges and all sorts of dining and cultural attractions (probably second only to Boston as far as New England goes). New Bedford, while a bit rough around the edges, has an incredibly beautiful downtown area, tons of highly publicized history, and some great musuems. Fall River really has none of that (with the exception of the Battleship).

What Fall River DOES have is some wonderful Portuguese and Lebanese heritage and as a result, some GREAT restaurants (New Bedford is known for its Portuguese, but Fall River's restaurants are better). Fall River's downtown is crap. If you're familiar with the debacle that is Government Center in Boston, you can sympathize with Fall River. Like Boston, Fall River destroyed part of its downtown area (in Boston it was Scollay Square) to build a monolithic, brutalist government center complex (Fall River's was designed by the same guy who did Boston's... Paul Rudolph, and it's called Government Center too... you pass right under it on I-195). This complex was situated above a highway which tore an even larger hole through the city center. As a result, the downtown is nothing to write home about, while Providence and New Bedford have far better city centers.

Another positive in Fall River are the Battleship (the largest collection of its kind in the world that's open to the public) which I suggest anyone with even a fleeting enjoyment of war history visit. It's a great asset to have.

Fall River, despite it's bad reputation, also has a HUGE proportion of great neighborhoods. Fall Rivers few trouble spots (Sunset Hill, Watuppa Heights, Flint Village) give it a bad name. What you don't hear about is how the Highlands (Wikipedia page of the Higlands w/ photos: here), North Fall River, and other neighborhoods are absolutely wonderful. The highlands are the best. While Fall River is struggling economically, it's close enough to business centers (i.e. Providence and Boston areas) to be home to many commuters. So while it's unemployment ranks highest (I think?) in Massachusetts, MANY people who are professional and well off make Fall River their home due to the relative affordability (MUCH more for your money), proximity to the ocean, and great dining and cultural options. Many of these folks live in the Highlands area which is a giant (the majority) chunk of Fall River north of I-195 (mainly along Highland Avenue). Driving through this area you get a glimpse of well manicured estates, and incredible architecture. In fact, the TV show, "This Old House" named Fall River's Highland neighborhood one of the best "Old House" districts in the nation (you can read the article: here). I can attest (many of my friends live here) that the views are stunning. Fall River has to be up there with Worcester as one of the hilliest cities in New England and from the Highlands, you can see the Taunton River, Mt. Hope Bay, and even the Providence skyline. It's also centered around a giant, cascading park (North Park) designed by Fredrick Law Oldmstead (of Central Park, NYC fame... Kennedy Park in Fall River's South End is also his work).

If you have kids, Fall River's schools are terrible (something close to a 50% high school dropout rate) and I would stay away. If you were looking for value, Fall River has a TON of it (with the catch that you need to get a job, but commuting to Boston/Providence is easy).

Fall River has a ton going for it, but it doesn't have the attractions (for tourists, anyway) that New Bedford or Providence does. Check it out sometime, it's really not bad at all.

[hartford_renter]

Thanks for the post really some good information. Yes the things I think of when I hear Fall River are

The battleship, Lizzie Bordon, crime etc...

I remember someone telling me before that Fall River is the only city where the govt building is over a highway. Kind of strange?

I will have to check out the restaurants sometime - I really like seafood and Portuguese food.

[allofme4yu]

Hi There !
New to the forum and this is my FIRST post, but I have lived in fall river all my life. I am a 22yo female and my opinion on it is, basically to be blunt it is a dump! Only area in my opinion that is considered nice, is the Highlands, which is near bristol community college, and close to route 24 highway. Some nice homes, and not as "city-like" and by that i mean not so many 2-6 family homes ontop of one another, rundown homes, fast food places on every corner, lots of traffic lights, lots of stop an go one way streets that are veryy annoying !

If thinking about moving to fall river, please think twice. There is absolutelyyyy nothing around here as far as beauty, entertainment, no opportunity as far as goals go with work, unless u plan on working at a fast food joint. Some say rents are pretty decent/reasonable, I have never lived on my own (since i go to college fulltime) but many say rents are cheap.

Ehh overall, I wish I Lives Elsewhere !

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by allofme4yu

Hi There !
New to the forum and this is my FIRST post, but I have lived in fall river all my life. I am a 22yo female and my opinion on it is, basically to be blunt it is a dump! Only area in my opinion that is considered nice, is the Highlands, which is near bristol community college, and close to route 24 highway. Some nice homes, and not as "city-like" and by that i mean not so many 2-6 family homes ontop of one another, rundown homes, fast food places on every corner, lots of traffic lights, lots of stop an go one way streets that are veryy annoying !

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the input.

We probably know many of the same people as I'm a 23 year old guy from that area and many/most of my friends still live there (I am in grad school/ working/living in Boston now).

I'm going to start by saying that I'm not picking on you at all, just making a general statement. As you mentioned, you go to college full time and simply because of that, what I'm going to say likely doesn't apply to you.

However, one of my biggest complaints about the people of Fall River is that many of them (again, NOT all) treat Fall River as if it is in Island. What I mean by that is that they tend act as if there is nowhere else on earth and their opinions on "things" having to do with Fall River in general tend to be extreme and lack perspective relative to other places.

This "Island" point of view often leads to FAR harsher criticisms of the city than it deserves.

Your post, unfortunately, illustrates some of what I'm talking about. When you say there is "nothing here in terms of beauty" what exactly do you mean? Yes, Fall River has some three-deckers (check out any New England city... they all have them) and poor urban neighborhoods (again, any city has them). However, it has some EXCELLENT architecture (look no further than the homes in the Highlands, the district courthouse-- formerly Durfee H.S.-- on Rock Street, the Library, the Catholic Home on Robuson St, etc.). It has a beautiful waterfront and heritage park. It's always full of people walking. You've got great views of Narragansett Bay, the Mt. Hope Bridge and beyond. Fall River also has Watuppa Pond (South Watuppa for Recreation and North for drinking supply) which is quite pretty. Behind the Pond you have an expansive state forest with tons of trails and wildlife. Moreover, you have not one, but TWO parks (North Park and Kennedy) designed by the greatest landscape architect of all time; Fredrick Law Olmstead (who designed NYC's Central Park). If you drive just a few minutes, you have towns like Bristol, Westport, South Dartmouth, Tiverton, Portsmouth, etc which are renowned worldwide for their beauty. Many cities would KILL to have what Fall River has in terms of "beauty." To deny that it has beauty is to be completely oblivious of it.

You say Fall River has no entertainment and again, I disagree... you're just not looking. Fall River's nightlife is very weak for a city its size, but part of that is demand. It's fulfilled by nearby places like Providence, Newport, Bristol, New Bedford, etc all of which are within 30 minutes from Fall River. Boston's under an hour away. If you want nightlife, there are no shortage of spots close to Fall River, you just have to look a bit outside the city limits (which isn't hard to do). The Battleship is the largest collection of naval warships open to the public in the nation. People come from all over to visit it. It's a VERY important museum and monument. Once again, there are tons of cultural attractions nearby in Newport, Providence and New Bedford too. The Portuguese heritage brings some great festivals and restaurants to the area. Places like Mesa 21, Sagres, Cinderella, etc are all unlike anything you can find anywhere else. Finally, you have great parks (not to mention the state forest there) as well as excellent beaches nearby. I would hardly say there's nothing to do in the Fall River area.

Next, you say there is ONE good area to live in Fall River (the Highlands). I disagree. The Highlands is a HUGE area (really split into two distinct neighborhoods Upper and Lower Highlands). You're talking about an area that stretches from around Charlton, down to about June Street and ALL the way North (along Highland and Robuson) to about Wilson Road. That covers about 1/3 of the city. It's not just "one little neighborhood." In addition, the area EAST of Eastern Ave (and North of Bedford) near Diman is very nice too. Finally, there are some wonderful suburban homes in North Fall River around Shaw's and the Country Club. Yes, there are plenty of areas to avoid, but just about an equal number of great neighborhoods (that many cities would kill to have).

As far as employment goes, it's terrible in Fall River. You're right. What you're not taking into account is that Fall River (being located on I-195, 24 and 79) is an IDEAL location for people looking to commute to Providence, New Bedford, Newport, Boston or elsewhere (all those places are within an hour)-- cities where finding work is a LOT easier (and higher paying). Furthermore, Fall River has lower rents than just about anywhere in the Boston or Providence area (in NICE parts of Fall River too). For example, my friend has a modern 2 Bedroom apartment on June St. (in the Highlands) on the 3rd floor of a beautiful Victorian home with a roof deck, yard, etc that costs him $500/month (for the WHOLE THING!). His windows give you views of the Battleship, Taunton River, Mt. Hope Bay, and even the Providence skyline on a clear day. The same apartment near Providence, Boston, Newport, etc would cost 3x that much. It's a smart place to rent/buy if you work in Boston or Prov. on a budget.

I would suggest moving around a bit after you get your degree and seeing other places. Most of the people I know from the Fall River area who couldn't WAIT to get their degree and leave have gained a lot more love and respect for Fall River once they see what else is out there. Fall River is by no means the best city on earth (it's struggling in many ways); but too many locals take it all for granted (it really does have more than you give it credit for) and don't realize what they do have in Fall River.

[allofme4yu]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the input.

We probably know many of the same people as I'm a 23 year old guy from that area and many/most of my friends still live there (I am in grad school/ working/living in Boston now).

I'm going to start by saying that I'm not picking on you at all, just making a general statement. As you mentioned, you go to college full time and simply because of that, what I'm going to say likely doesn't apply to you.

However, one of my biggest complaints about the people of Fall River is that many of them (again, NOT all) treat Fall River as if it is in Island. What I mean by that is that they tend act as if there is nowhere else on earth and their opinions on "things" having to do with Fall River in general tend to be extreme and lack perspective relative to other places.

This "Island" point of view often leads to FAR harsher criticisms of the city than it deserves.

Your post, unfortunately, illustrates some of what I'm talking about. When you say there is "nothing here in terms of beauty" what exactly do you mean? Yes, Fall River has some three-deckers (check out any New England city... they all have them) and poor urban neighborhoods (again, any city has them). However, it has some EXCELLENT architecture (look no further than the homes in the Highlands, the district courthouse-- formerly Durfee H.S.-- on Rock Street, the Library, the Catholic Home on Robuson St, etc.). It has a beautiful waterfront and heritage park. It's always full of people walking. You've got great views of Narragansett Bay, the Mt. Hope Bridge and beyond. Fall River also has Watuppa Pond (South Watuppa for Recreation and North for drinking supply) which is quite pretty. Behind the Pond you have an expansive state forest with tons of trails and wildlife. Moreover, you have not one, but TWO parks (North Park and Kennedy) designed by the greatest landscape architect of all time; Fredrick Law Olmstead (who designed NYC's Central Park). If you drive just a few minutes, you have towns like Bristol, Westport, South Dartmouth, Tiverton, Portsmouth, etc which are renowned worldwide for their beauty. Many cities would KILL to have what Fall River has in terms of "beauty." To deny that it has beauty is to be completely oblivious of it.

You say Fall River has no entertainment and again, I disagree... you're just not looking. Fall River's nightlife is very weak for a city its size, but part of that is demand. It's fulfilled by nearby places like Providence, Newport, Bristol, New Bedford, etc all of which are within 30 minutes from Fall River. Boston's under an hour away. If you want nightlife, there are no shortage of spots close to Fall River, you just have to look a bit outside the city limits (which isn't hard to do). The Battleship is the largest collection of naval warships open to the public in the nation. People come from all over to visit it. It's a VERY important museum and monument. Once again, there are tons of cultural attractions nearby in Newport, Providence and New Bedford too. The Portuguese heritage brings some great festivals and restaurants to the area. Places like Mesa 21, Sagres, Cinderella, etc are all unlike anything you can find anywhere else. Finally, you have great parks (not to mention the state forest there) as well as excellent beaches nearby. I would hardly say there's nothing to do in the Fall River area.

Next, you say there is ONE good area to live in Fall River (the Highlands). I disagree. The Highlands is a HUGE area (really split into two distinct neighborhoods Upper and Lower Highlands). You're talking about an area that stretches from around Charlton, down to about June Street and ALL the way North (along Highland and Robuson) to about Wilson Road. That covers about 1/3 of the city. It's not just "one little neighborhood." In addition, the area EAST of Eastern Ave (and North of Bedford) near Diman is very nice too. Finally, there are some wonderful suburban homes in North Fall River around Shaw's and the Country Club. Yes, there are plenty of areas to avoid, but just about an equal number of great neighborhoods (that many cities would kill to have).

As far as employment goes, it's terrible in Fall River. You're right. What you're not taking into account is that Fall River (being located on I-195, 24 and 79) is an IDEAL location for people looking to commute to Providence, New Bedford, Newport, Boston or elsewhere (all those places are within an hour)-- cities where finding work is a LOT easier (and higher paying). Furthermore, Fall River has lower rents than just about anywhere in the Boston or Providence area (in NICE parts of Fall River too). For example, my friend has a modern 2 Bedroom apartment on June St. (in the Highlands) on the 3rd floor of a beautiful Victorian home with a roof deck, yard, etc that costs him $500/month (for the WHOLE THING!). His windows give you views of the Battleship, Taunton River, Mt. Hope Bay, and even the Providence skyline on a clear day. The same apartment near Providence, Boston, Newport, etc would cost 3x that much. It's a smart place to rent/buy if you work in Boston or Prov. on a budget.

I would suggest moving around a bit after you get your degree and seeing other places. Most of the people I know from the Fall River area who couldn't WAIT to get their degree and leave have gained a lot more love and respect for Fall River once they see what else is out there. Fall River is by no means the best city on earth (it's struggling in many ways); but too many locals take it all for granted (it really does have more than you give it credit for) and don't realize what they do have in Fall River.

well first i did mention in another post that the area that is decent in fall river is the highlands towards BCC. I had said that either in this post or another one. As far as nightlife yeah as i said "fall river" doesnt have much, unless you want to consider the south end dumps and dives where shootings and constant fights take place. Other than the regatta, which is basically the most decent looking nightlife spot since it is right on the area, there isnt much! Everything is out of fall river as you said.

i agree that the "some" of the parks in fall river area nice such as the battleship, which ok for people who visit here that might be considered something nice to view, but after living here for soo many years, or all your life, doesnt that same scenery get kinda boring? and other then the limited shopping stores that are here, what exactly is in IN FALL RIVER that is considered so great? Im sure that family members arent gonna wanna move here just to show their kids a building and say OoO look at how those corners are designed, quite boring to me, unless that is of your interest.

As far as june st, that isnt such a great neighborhood, and also there is tons of construction going on right near the battleship, which is g2 block renters views of that "beautiful" battleship waterfront you mention.

Hey everyone has their own opinions, if you like parks and the same sceneray and nothing to do as far as entertainment *IN THE CITY OF FALL RIVER ITSELF* then ok move here. I on the other hand wouldnt suggest this place to someone who is moving say from idk LA, NY, Florida etc. Theres no comparison from those places to lousy fall river.


Im not going to say that some areas arent good because yeah the highland area is, but to be really blunt and honest other than that, most areas arent nice. Everyone has different opinions I guess. Ask majority of people about Fall River and they will tell you there is nothing here.

[lrfox]

^Like I said, you're using the "Fall River is an Island" point of view which is a terrible way to look at it. Do you take care of your business and everything just INSIDE Fall River? Probably not. When you move somewhere, you take into account the entire area. While Fall River may have some issues itself it's in a GREAT area and located close to so much (and for a LOT less money).

What's so bad about the nightlife not being specifically IN Fall River (by the way, Flaunt, Raw, St. James, Skylounge, etc aren't bad at all) if it's close enough by? Is it really so hard to drive 15 minutes to Providence? It's not like you have no access to that stuff while living in Fall River which is my point. What people from Fall River fail to realize is that anyone moving to a place like that is taking account what's AROUND the city, not just in it and Fall River has a lot right around it.

June St. is a 50/50 neighborhood. right off of President ave it's not so nice all the way to about French Street where it gets nice (all the way towards downtown). He lives past French in a nice spot.

What construction near the Battleship are you talking about? The Courthouse (the new building downtown on South Main)? That's not going to block any views that weren't already blocked. Actually, they are planning on taking down the elevated highway (79) along the waterfront to open up more views and reconnect the downtown area with the waterfront. It's going to improve. The inconvenience of construction is always temporary anyway (not to mention, construction is a sign of growth which is a GOOD thing).

Parks and outdoors activities are nice, but it's fine to not like them. However, to not count them as things to do just because YOU don't like them is pretty unfair. Many people do enjoy those things and to have some really top notch parks is always a plus. They help improve neighborhoods too; so just because you don't use them, it doesn't mean they don't enhance where you live.

My question to you is whether or not you've been to L.A., or N.Y.C. or Florida? Much of Florida is bland with very little to do in the ways of nightlife, etc. Is Fall River ever going to be Miami? Absolutely not. It's about one twentieth the size of Miami. However, I'll take Fall River over Branford, Florida or any town like that any day.

NYC, LA, and just about any city in Florida has neighborhoods that make the worst Fall River ghettos look like Candyland. If you think the bad neighborhoods in Fall River are bad, you need to take a closer look at the cities you've listed. Of course Fall River has less than those cities you mention as they are the biggest in the nation! Fall River barely cracks the top 10 biggest in Mass. You can't make a comparison. And my guess is that anyone coming from those places isn't exactly looking to have everything they just left (why would they move if they have what they want?) so the change may not be a bad thing.

You're right... we're entitled to our own opinions, but you're faulting Fall River where it shouldn't be faulted. Fall River doesn't have certain things because it doesn't NEED them as they're close by already. It doesn't have to be WITHIN Fall River's city limits for it to be close enough to easily get to (like I said, the "Fall River is an Island" perspective). If you want upscale shopping, you have it in Dartmouth and Providence so close. Good dining can be found all over the area (including in Fall River), good nightlife can be found right nearby too. Fall River has no need for great clubs and bars because they're so close in places like Providence, Bristol, Newport, etc. Why does it matter if it's not in Fall River if it's so close?

If people didn't have access to things like good shopping, dining, nightlife, etc... I'd see your argument. However, they do. It's very close by. Just because it's not exactly within Fall River's political boundaries doesn't mean that you don't have it. Fall River's NOT an island and you can find just about whatever you need close by. Maybe you would be happier somewhere else? If that's the case then you should absolutely go where you're happy. However, it's not fair to say someplace is terrible just because it doesn't have exactly what YOU want. I know many people in Fall River who don't like it. They also happen to rarely get out of Fall River so their perspective is incredibly limited. The people I know who like Fall River tend to be the better traveled ones.

[allofme4yu]

well im not going to bicker back and forth. u have your own opinion, you keep tending to think that fall river is gods gift to the state of mass and its not. I do not care about what is close by or near or 15mins away from fall river, when i gave my opinion i based it on the city of fall river itself. i said this numerous times while writing my reply.

and for you to say that I think parks arent a great place just because I dont use them, isnt fair to say because you dont know what I do or how I spend my own quality time. I did agree that the parks were nice and there were many parks to choose from. Maybe you didnt read that part well enough or misunderstood my point.

When i mentioned NY, FL, LA those were examples of areas that people might be moving from. I named them briefly, i know nice states like florida have dumpy ones as well. Also Mass has some great cities, especially the western part of mass, so im not disagreeing or saying the whole state of mass is a dump, but in my opinion Fall River wouldnt be a first choice to relocate to.
If someone is moving to fall river, they should know the most important part which is the city itself, and then the surroundings are whats always a plus, but I rather know the neighborhood im living in, and moving around in on a daily basis, rather than knowing that there is a great city outside of where im living. thats not the most important thing when describing fall river. The important thing is to explain the "reality" of crime, safety, employment, opportunity, and maybe then entertainment etc.

[lrfox]

I don't consider it bickering. We're bringing up opposing points of view which is healthy and good for anyone looking into a certain area. The more information to look through, the better.

I am going to clarify that Fall River is certainly not "God's Gift to Massachusetts." It certainly isn't. It has a ton of issues (for example, crime in select pockets, TERRIBLE public schools and high unemployment). However, despite those issues, there is a lot of good in Fall River which too many people overlook.

I didn't say you didn't use the parks, I'm saying that in your first post you said there was nothing in terms of entertainment. I said that parks, architecture, restaurants and other things were among things that there WERE to do in Fall River. You said it gets boring after a while... I disagree. If parks and scenery get boring in Fall River, they get boring anywhere... Fall River's not an exception.

It's fair that you mentioned those places (NY, FL, and LA) as examples, but my point was that usually when someone moves, they do it to be somewhere different than where they came from. As a result, the fact that Fall River is different than those places isn't necessarily bad.

I'll even go so far as to agree with you that Fall River wouldn't be my first choice to move to either. However, if someone gets a job in Boston or Providence and can't afford to live there (or just want some place cheaper), there are plenty of nice, safe, affordable places in Fall River with good access to plenty to do. Fall River can be the perfect spot for someone in that situation. It's a goldmine for affordable homes in nice areas and affordable is something that's hard to come by in Massachusetts. For many people a place like Fall River is ideal in that it's cheap, has some nice areas, and a decent amount to do as well as access to nicer areas (that are more expensive).

You're also right about people needing to know the city itself. I'd want to know about the neighborhood that I'm living in too. My point about that was that there are plenty of nice neighborhoods in Fall River that are dirt cheap. If I work in Providence and have $300,000 to spend on a home and I can buy a raised ranch in Barrington, RI or a Victorian mini-mansion in the Highlands of Fall River, I'm going to go with the Victorian in the Highlands as it's a better value and it's still a nice neighborhood. You can buy a new 4 bedroom home near the Fall River Country Club for about 100,000 less than the exact same home across the town line in Assonet (1/2 mile away, mind you) simply because the zipcode says Fall River. That's a deal.

As far as crime goes, it's just not that terrible in Fall River. It really isn't. Look at the statistics (on this website) and compare it to the cities you think are "nice." To give you an example, Fall River's crime rate is lower than Providence, Boston, Springfield, Hartford, etc. It's about 1/2 as bad as Orlando, FL. It's lower than Phoenix, AZ and it's on par with San Francisco (a city most consider to be VERY safe). What's more is that Fall River's crime is really isolated to certain small pockets... it's not widespread throughout the city.

I wouldn't move to Fall River looking for a job, but there are jobs to be had nearby which is what may make Fall River attractive to someone who has a job in Boston or Prov and wants a cheaper place to live. Fall River has the worst unemployment in MA so jobs are hard to find there, no question. Entertainment is relative. A 45 year old businessman working in Boston probably doesn't care about nightlife. They may find that Fall River's access to the outdoors, restaurants and beaches are more than enough. For a 22 or 23 year old (like you and me), nightlife is important. However, it's not non-existant in Fall River although I'd rather live in Boston (like I do now) or Providence if that was important.

[seldomseen]

Fall River is pretty much a dump...the only things it really has going for itself are: affordable housing options, proximity to Providence and Newport. If you decide to live in Fall River, consider living on the periphery of the city! Fall River is also known to have a racist tone too so if your a person of color you may want to keep this in mind.