info on Springfield, MA (Boston, Chicopee: relocation, property taxes, housing)

[nmgecko]

I am living in a hot!!! area and am interested in moving to the east coast.
I am looking at Mass because of it's liberal views. Does anyone know about Springfield? I am a high school teacher and have a son in elementary school. I also would like to know about the school districts. Please let me know if there are any other towns that are less expensive I should check out.

[leecee]

I don't know a lot about Springfield, but it has a reputation of being a poor town-- meaning the residents there don't go far beyond a highschool education and maybe some type of vocational training. I know they are working towards building it up. It is from what I hear not that expensive to live-- compared to Boston.

[wurd4wurd]

My husband was born in Springfield. His family roots originated there, but his immediate family relocated to Vermont shortly after he was born. It is definitely not an area I would ever want to live. Most residents are low income and crime is rampant. I have a friend that lives there with her elderly father and young son. She refuses to send her son to school in Springfield and instead home schools, which considering she is a single parent is no small feat. Her goal is to get out of there sooner rather than later, but financially she is trapped for now.
If you want Western Massachusetts try Ludlow, Pepperill (absolutely lovely and picturesque). Massachusetts nickname is Taxachusetts. Vermont is definitely a liberal state (didn't used to be years ago) and New Hampshire has certainly turned blue/er in the last few years too and there is no state income tax or sales tax!
My advice is to steer clear of Springfield - pure and simple.

[Dragondog]

Try Westfield Mass- west of Springfield. Nice town with good schools and lots of shopping. Low crime.You might also try Enfield, Somers and Granby Connecticut- just over the stateline. Also Southwick, Longmeadow and East Longmeadow are very nice as well.

Yes- Avoid Springfield- try West Springfield across the Connecticut river.
To the north Northhampton, East hampton, Amherst all are really wonderful places to live.

[nighthawk2325]

Agree with all posters...stay away from Springfield.............

[winnie]

Absolutely avoid Springfield, Holyoke, Chicopee.

Go for Granby, Belchertown, South Hadley, Agawam, Southwick, Ware, West Brookfield, Palmer and Monson. Or just about anywhere in the hilltowns should be nice.

Russel is also a nice lil town, as well as Chester and Blanford. That is west of Spr.

Amherst is expensive, but very, very nice. Northampton is a touch expensive too. Ludlow is nice, the southern part is expensive. Schools are going a tad downhill due to the spillover from Spr.

North of Springfield is Sunderland, Pelham, Hadley, even so far up as Deerfield and Orange - all great places to live and raise a child, all an easy drive up 91 (except for Sunderland which is NE of Amherst).

Springfield has higher property taxes than most of the other towns, and your auto insurance can me markedly higher than the other towns too. The school district is not desireable and many people choose to bus their kids elsewhere.

[lingua]

Do not move to Springfield, especially if you have a child in the school system. There is a lot of gang-related violence and the city is in a fiscal crisis. The nicer communities are going to be a lot more expensive, but places like Northampton, Amherst or Longmeadow have far superior schools and communities. I would also think twice about Orange. The schools are not that great and the community is very isolated. Also, they have the highest rate of sex offenders per square mile or some crazy statistic like that!

[winnie]

According to the USDOJ's sexual predator's website, there are 3 registered sex offenders in Orange.

That is about average for the small towns I have lived in. And the best part is you can find their pictures online at the DOJ's website! Do a search for sex offender database on your favorite engine..their website should show up top. Good info for every parent.

[hoopcity]

Please stop bashing Springfield!!!!!!!! Most of the posters don't know Springfield based on what I've read. No, sorry, commuters and those who are related to someone that lived here once upon a time does not qualify you to make these statements with any accuracy or creditability. As a nearly lifelong resident(Though a Boston native), I'll be the first to acknowledge Springfield more than has her work cut out for her. However, at what point do we stop putting down and start building up? It's no fault of Springfield that it has suffered years of neglect both by it's own ineffective leadership and also neglect from Boston. If you fall for the 30 second soundbites on the evening news that always paints the city as nothing but a haven for poverty and crime,(Which is true in some instances) then you would duck for cover if I told you the sky was falling. But people on here act as though poor people deserve a poor quality of life to go along with their low income as though it were a required package. It's people with attitudes like these(Including past mayors & other city leadership past/present) which have played a major role in bringing the city down. Let's face it, we've seen other cities throughout the country come back. Case in point, Hartford, CT. pop 121,000 est. Just 25 miles South, Hartford is on the fasttrack to recovery with very tangible economic development. Over the past several years the city has demolished nearly all of it sprawling public housing complexes and is building quality, mostly single family affordable housing. Though in fairness to Springfield, we are nationally recognized as having one of the best systems of public housing in the country. However we all know when families have quality housing of their own, this greatly increases the quality of life in many areas. Combine that with accessable education and career opportunities and you have a win win for everyone. Why can't Springfield have that? Are we unworthy because we have too many blacks and latino families living in poverty that don't deserve a chance at a better life? Does not everyone deserve that opportunity? And I'm not talking about a hand out. I'm talking about an opportunity to earn it. So if you want to simply give up, then go ahead. We don't need you anyhow.

[winnie]

I worked at two hospitals in Springfield and had my coworkers cars stolen right out of the hospital parking lot. We had someone mugged right in broad daylight on Carew St. I did not bother to watch the news there I had enough of my friends encounter problems in Springfield.

This is a relocation question. How do you think the OP would feel if I mislead him into moving to Springfield, a town with serious issues and poverty (and it is not just blacks and hispanics, there are very poor Russian immigrants, whites and other populations as well), crime and don't forget the lovely sky high auto insurance.. and then have him see all the nice towns around it???? We are talking credibility here, and I would have ZERO if I said Springfield was the hot place to relocate in Western MA. Let the locals stick it out and change the place don't drag outsiders looking for a nice life into it too!

I am so sick and tired of people coming here and pleading their case for their hometown. Do something about the problems there and THEN come here and boast about it. Don't try to get people to move there just because you think the place is nice or deserves a second chance- you have to show them it is nice too. These are people trusting you with their lives and happiness and the advice you give needs to be unbiased, honest and fair no matter how much you love the place. I do the same for my hometowns and places I have lived in and liked - people who ask get the negatives right off the bat.

The tone of your post sounds just the same as the guy on the NY forum touting Newburgh as a wonderful "misunderstood" city.. Tho he is bragging about a city with the 2nd worst crime rate city in NYS...