Need some advice on specific Quincy location, please (Boston, Hancock: appointed, crime rate)

[rubik98]

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well. My wife and I are planning to move to Quincy, and looked at a place near North Quincy T just by the Quincy High School (around E Squantum St).
My wife goes to school in Boston and at times needs to come home late. So, is that a area safe? Anything I should be aware of? In terms of location it works perfectly for us.
I appreciate your input in this matter. Thanks a lot.

[kmann-sherborn]

I have friends who live in Wollaston and are very happy there. It's supposed to be a good part of the city. They're walking distance to the train & the beach. It's a beautiful tree lined street with lots of handsome old homes. The houses are quite close together but that seems quite common in that area. That's the only downside they've mentioned is that sometimes they can hear their neighbor's radio because the houses are close together.

If you'd like I can ask them for the name of their agent. I remember them saying they were happy about the experience & found it helpful working with someone who knew the neighborhoods.

[shiver]

I have a friend (female) who lives alone somewhat in that area and likes it quite a bit. Will your wife be walking home from the T? Quincy is still a semi-urban area and all the same rules of safety apply. Ideally, I would walk the area on a weeknight before you move so you can both check it out for yourselves.

Is the route from the T to the house a main road, a populated residential street? In general, she's probably fine as long it's not really late (before 10 or 11, maybe) and she's not walking through areas that are deserted and isolated at night. If she'll be walking after those times, it's probably not the smartest idea no matter where you live- again, just general city smarts that you likely already know. But all in all, I like the area.

[rubik98]

Thank you all for your input. I really appreciate it. The place is not on the main road and is about 2 blocks from Hancock St and it is a residential area. Yes, she will be walking home from the T.
Also, which parts of Quincy should we avoid? We are not very familiar with the area, hence all these questions. Thank you so much for your help.

[lz1982]

Quincy Center can be kind of dicey at night. Not in a super-dangerous sense (Quincy is pretty safe for a city of its size), but there are some sketchy characters around. Quincy Point, Germantown and West Quincy have a relatively higher crime rate but those areas aren't near the T anyway so you probably wouldn't be looking there.

Recently there have been a few robberies of businesses in the North Quincy/Wollaston area. However, violent crimes against individuals are rare. I agree with the advice above about trying not to walk alone on a quiet street late at night. But that is a good tip for any city.

[bostonguy1960]

I've rented very close to that area for 5 1/2 yrs, and it seems reasonably safe. Some occasional strange/somewhat dirty looking people at times around the subway/bus platforms, though.

There have been various bank and gas station robberies throughout the city since I moved there, as well as a bakery in Wollaston last month, but as a guy I don't worry about crime in the parts of Quincy I drive or walk thru.

On a warm summer nite, I've taken the occasional walk thru the N. Quincy/Wollaston areas on my way to Quincy Shore Drive. I've walked from Stop & Shop on Newport Ave. at 3 am or later w/o problems...same on Quincy Shore Dr. a few times at 2 am in my first few yrs. in Quincy.

I did read a front-page story last fall in the Patriot Ledger about people getting mugged within a 10-min. walk of the N.Q. T station (in Wollaston): 12-14 yo boys had mugged 2 or 3 people at 10 pm in sep. incidents (perhaps at gunpoint). This was an area I thought I'd feel comfortable at that time had I not read the paper that day. Most don't read papers, so they'd remain unaware of this incident.

Regarding the bakery robbed after 5 pm last month, I read that in the weekly Quincy Sun's crime log. I'm a patron, and shocked and disappointed, but it happens in Quincy and elsewhere.

Last year, local tv stations mentioned a wave of nighttime robberies in Quincy of people using smartphones (at the N. Quincy and Wollaston stations), but I wouldn't know had I not watched that night's news.

You'll certainly hear foul language from females and males in Quincy, at least at transit stations. Lots of unpolished people pass thru. Spitting on the sidewalks and train tracks seems common with whites and esp. Chinese. I detest this facet of living in Quincy.

[lz1982]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

I did read a front-page story last fall in the Patriot Ledger about people getting mugged within a 10-min. walk of the N.Q. T station (in Wollaston): 12-14 yo boys had mugged 2 or 3 people at 10 pm in sep. incidents (perhaps at gunpoint).

....

Spitting on the sidewalks and train tracks seems common with whites and esp. Chinese. I detest this facet of living in Quincy.

I remember those muggings too. They were at knifepoint. Fortunately the teenagers were caught. Those were in the part of Wollaston west of Newport Ave.

I also agree about the spitting on train tracks. Seems to be a cultural thing. However, in downtown Boston, I often see people spitting right on the street, and happily I don't see that as much here.

[rubik98]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

I've rented very close to that area for 5 1/2 yrs, and it seems reasonably safe. Some occasional strange/somewhat dirty looking people at times around the subway/bus platforms, though.

There have been various bank and gas station robberies throughout the city since I moved there, as well as a bakery in Wollaston last month, but as a guy I don't worry about crime in the parts of Quincy I drive or walk thru.

On a warm summer nite, I've taken the occasional walk thru the N. Quincy/Wollaston areas on my way to Quincy Shore Drive. I've walked from Stop & Shop on Newport Ave. at 3 am or later w/o problems...same on Quincy Shore Dr. a few times at 2 am in my first few yrs. in Quincy.

I did read a front-page story last fall in the Patriot Ledger about people getting mugged within a 10-min. walk of the N.Q. T station (in Wollaston): 12-14 yo boys had mugged 2 or 3 people at 10 pm in sep. incidents (perhaps at gunpoint). This was an area I thought I'd feel comfortable at that time had I not read the paper that day. Most don't read papers, so they'd remain unaware of this incident.

Regarding the bakery robbed after 5 pm last month, I read that in the weekly Quincy Sun's crime log. I'm a patron, and shocked and disappointed, but it happens in Quincy and elsewhere.

Last year, local tv stations mentioned a wave of nighttime robberies in Quincy of people using smartphones (at the N. Quincy and Wollaston stations), but I wouldn't know had I not watched that night's news.

You'll certainly hear foul language from females and males in Quincy, at least at transit stations. Lots of unpolished people pass thru. Spitting on the sidewalks and train tracks seems common with whites and esp. Chinese. I detest this facet of living in Quincy.

Thanks a lot bostonguy and ls1982 for your input. So are you saying then Wollaston is not a safe area? We found a place at the intersection of Merrymount Ave and Fenno St that we really liked. In terms of the size and everything, it is perfect for us. It is also about a 6 min walk to the Wollaston T. We felt that walking on Hancock St and Beale St wouldn't be really unsafe. Are we mistaken here?
Are house robberies are a common thing? Do we need to get some sort of a security system? We won't returning home really late, at most 8 PM. We have been living in JP, the past couple of years, so is it going to be worse or better?
Thanks a lot again. I really appreciate your help.

[crazyworld]

You will be in a nice section of Wollaston and you will be able to walk to everything. Welcome to Quincy.

Quincy to me and I have been here for 30 years is that while yes it is a city it feels like a lot of little towns inside the city. You will love the pizza at Alumni and if you like Chinese you have the best in Great Chow on Beale Street.
On the other side of your street (the other end of Fenno) is the beach where if you are into walking it is a great walk.
Although there have been incidents of crime there seems to be incidents everywhere. I feel very safe here and always have.

Enjoy!

[lz1982]

rubik98, you should be safe there. It's a nice neighborhood with some lovely houses. The thing to remember is that Quincy is a city of 90,000 people. It's safer than most cities of its size, and in fact, one of the safest cities in MA. That said, with 90,000 people in a fairly dense space, you're going to have more crime than you would have in an outlying suburb or small town. Just be aware of that and you should be fine. Those armed muggings bostonguy and I mentioned were pretty out of the ordinary, and anyway, the muggers were caught.

ETA: Just saw that you've lived in JP for a couple years. I'd consider Quincy to be safer than JP, on the whole.