Brockton, Ma (Broketown)

[Baltic_Celt]

Originally Posted by ChunkyMonkey

Population (2000): 6,349,097
Population (2006): 6,437,193

Population difference: 88,096 (+1.4%) which averages a 14,683 population increase per year.

These stats show that the population is essentially stable, not really growing much and not really falling much either. So, those that say people are leaving Mass in droves are clearly wrong. This is probably the reason why housing is still so high, as the demand is clearly still there.

Hi CM -

Good stats, thank you. What am I missing? I've read in the local newspapers the figures I quoted before - 10K leaving, 10K entering every year to replace them. If the stats show an almost $15K increase, then it's increasing, not remaining the same. Very interesting.

Thank you for the clarification. It's not as bleak as I've heard... VV

[dman508]

I moved here over 5 years ago after living in boston and cambridge for years. I grew up in western ma and lived in a few cities out there. I find brockton to be a completely normal place. There is some overflow of the homeless population from boston who come here to use the ample social services, and more projects than most cities, but it is a safe and friendly city that is suffering from a bad reputation.
In the time I have spent here I have seen many improvements. Streets are being fixed, buildings and homes renovated. There really is a boom happening, despite the housing crash. Brockton never was overinflated, so it isn't dropping. My property went up by 50% in the first three years and is holding, on a main street near downtown.
I find all the fuss about brockton to be unfounded. The train is so convenient. I still work in boston. The new condos are beautiful and selling like hotcakes. It is only a matter of time before people realize there are great properties here.

[Boxer02301]

Brockton has always been a diverse city and a gateway city for immigration. Not too many cities offer as much diversity, Liberal Massachusetts seems to have an aversion for people that are different in color and incomes.

There are very good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods in the city. You don't get that extreme of a mix elsewhere. However, the City does have many underrated resources, excellent atheletic fields, believe it or not great schools (they are very sucessfull with an intergrated school system that can take third world children and educate them for the US.) , an extensive librariy system and 3 stops on the Middleboro commuter rail and as well as the nearby Stoughton line with quick access to Boston by Rail or Highway.

I bought my house in the 90's and even in this down market it has retained a doubled value. I have managed to increase my net worth, limit overspending and have become very comfortable financially living in Brockton and commuting to Boston. I could easily relocate elsewhere but like my home.

FYI, I am a graduate of the Brockton Public School Systen and I eat the graduates of more affluent town school systems for breakfeast daily and enjoy it.

[seldomseen]

Brockton, New Bedford, Fall River, Lowell, Worcester, Springfield etc are all basically crapping cities to live in---unless you can afford to live in the "nicer areas of the cities". High crime, drugs, prostitution, poverty etc in each of these small cities. The only good thing about these cities are the affordable housing options.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by seldomseen

Brockton, New Bedford, Fall River, Lowell, Worcester, Springfield etc are all basically crapping cities to live in---unless you can afford to live in the "nicer areas of the cities". High crime, drugs, prostitution, poverty etc in each of these small cities. The only good thing about these cities are the affordable housing options.

I agree to an extent, but I hate lumping them all in together. Some are worse than others.

I wouldn't want to have a child enrolled in any of the public schools in those cities and I think that is the biggest problem that they have right now. While crime in each of them is an issue (worst in Springfield), many of them don't have crime rates that are extraordinarily high on a national scale. Furthermore, in many of them (I can't speak for each city), the crime is heavily localized to certain neighborhoods and many times, particular housing projects (this is the issue in New Bedford).

They do provide affordable housing which is a plus. The REAL deal is in the nicer neighborhoods. We tend to forget that that most of these cities were once incredibly rich and powerful in their prime (New Bedford was one of the wealthiest cities in the world at one time... still has the highest grossing fishing industry in the nation). As a result of these periods of peak performance, some of these towns actually have some incredible neighborhoods and assets that many people don't even know about simply because of the city's reputation.

I will cite the Highland district of Fall River... gorgeous old homes, VERY safe, VERY family oriented (though again, unless you're going to private schools, it's not a great idea to live there with children), and just absolutely stunning. Most people (even without children) won't give it a second look simply because it's in the city of Fall River. Fall River also has 3 (yes, three) excellent parks designed by Fredrick Law Olmstead (the genius who designed Central Park in NYC and Boston's Emerald Necklace including the Fenway and Boston Common). Again, this is overshadowed by a name and reputation caused by a few poor neighborhoods.

New Bedford's Seaport and Whaling District is arguably the best kept secret in Massachusetts. It's a National Historic Park that's part of the core of a really nice downtown area and abuts a beautiful neighborhood in New Bedford's West End (chalk full of old Captain's Mansions) and lies right on the waterfront (where you can catch a ferry to Cuttyhunk or Martha's Vinyard or just eat at one of the many restaurants).

There are preserved vessels to explore including the Schooner Ernistina and the Lagoda (A whaling ship). There is a giant Whaling Museum, Art Mueseum and a New Ocean Explorium. New Bedford is home to Fredrick Douglas and was a key cog in the underground railroad. It's also where Herman Melville lived and based his book, "Moby Dick" out of (in fact, many of the buildings described in the book are in tact and open to the public). There are a bunch of excellent restaurants downtown, beautiful cobbled streets, a gorgeous and active theater with a symphony, and plentiful art galleries and shops, wineries, breweries, etc.

Most people who don't live in South Eastern Mass. wouldn't even know about all this because New Bedford has a terrible reputation built mostly off of crime in a few (mostly) outlying neighborhoods and projects. As a result of the prejudice, they miss out on one of the state's best assets.

So, while I agree that each of those cities has serious flaws (you even left some of the tough spots off the list), and I CERTAINLY wouldn't enroll a child in public schools in any of them (but I would in a private school), there are EXCELLENT values to be had in these cities if you're willing to give them a chance and know what to look for. Most people who do are quite surprised with what they find.