[vermonter2006]

Good afternoon to all of you. My husband and I have found a property on the Internet that looks like what we are searching for but we know nothing about Springfield. I was born in Barre, raised in South Barre, married and raised my family in Highgate. Now I'm in Wisconsin and have happy plans of retuning to Vermont in the not-so-distant future. Please let us know what you like and dislike about the Springfield area. Thank you. P.S. I truly miss those Green Mountains.

[ex-springfielder]

A lot depends on if you're looking for work, have a job lined up or are retired. Springfield is an old machine tool town where most of the industry closed 20 years ago and little moved in to replace what was lost. The local government still thinks it's in the old boom days and spends like there's a big tax base to support them which results in little services and high taxes. They do have a new rec center which was paid for by the state in exchange for permission to build a prison in town. I moved out of Springfield a couple years ago and it was one of the best moves I ever made, I go back to visit family but would never even think of living there again. It has a high percentage of low income residents and the associated crime and drug problems. You can buy a house there cheap but there's a reason for that, no one wants to move there. There's one grocery store so the prices are high but you can travel the 20 miles to Claremont NH to shop and the best job opportunities are in the Lebanon area 40 miles to the north. Sorry to be so down on Springfield but there's not much good to say about the place unless you're comparing it to Detroit or someplace similar.

[OhBeeHave]

When I was looking to purchase in VT I wanted property within a short distance of Ludlow. We say properties for sale in Springfield, but I was less than thrilled by the proximity of some of them to industrial areas -- I was looking for the field and stream, not easy access to commercial enterprise.

Ex-Springfielder makes come good points against Springfield, but I feel he is a little too hard on the area. Saying Detroit makes Springfield look good is utterly hysterical. Springfield is down on it's luck, does have some issues with low income and drugs; however drug problems are not exclusive to Springfield -- they are everywhere in the US. He would have you believe that there is crime afoot down every back alley. Don't believe th hype.

Shaws, the supermarket in town, is about average compared with supermarkets in other places. Smaller, local groceries in the area charge more. There's a food coop in Springfield as well.

Employment is hard to come by, I agree with ex-S.

[ex-springfielder]

Come on BeeHave...I thought I was being gentle in my description, truthfully things are so bad they even closed the unemployment office.

[OhBeeHave]

Gentle to some extent, but when you brought in Detroit, you lost some credibility. I was born in the The Bronx, spent a lot of time in NYC. Springfield's problems are a cake walk compared to what I've seen. My HS classmate was assasinated as he sat in his NYPD patrol car guarding a drug informant's house. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_...police_officer)

Springfield is Romper room compared to real urban area crimes.

The State of Vermont is responsible for closing the unemployment office. That decision is a reflection on the economic climate of Vermont in general, not Springfield in particular.

[ex-springfielder]

The unemployment office in springfield was closed because there are too few workers in the area for them to service now. After J&L, Gear Shaper and Bryants closed the town lost 2500 good paying jobs, and that's in a town of 10,000. You're right, compared to big cities Vermonts crime is low but my statement was that Springfield is not a place I'd want to live unless you were comparing it to a place like Detroit so I don't understand what you're disagreement is? I was born in Springfield, raised there and raised my family there, how well are you acquainted with the town and it's past? I remember the serial killer Springfield had who was murdering young girls, he lived less than a mile from me. Springfield is not immune from horrible crimes either.

[ex-springfielder]

This morning on Yahoo they listed the five highest taxed states, Vermont is #1. I went online and looked up tax rates by town in vermont and guess who leads the way, Springfield. If you're living in Springfield you have the dubious honor of living in the highest taxed town in the highest taxed state in the country.

[cgregor]

People who benefit the most from government should pay the most taxes. Anybody who thinks taxes are too high in Vermont is entitled to gripe about it, but the quality of life in the state is near the top in almost all categories-- and the real problem is the quintile earning half the aggregate income in Vermont is not sharing the tax burden with the rest of us. Okay, off my soapbox...

You'll make Springfield what you want it to be. If you're into art, there's a great artist's gallery and a lot of people willing to include you. If you want to make a difference in the community for the elderly, the schools, the kids, the foster kids, the parks, the wildlife, you'll find your niche, and you'll find people glad to have you aboard. There are the usual groups-- Audubon, line-dancing, contra-, what have you; snowmobile clubs, Garden Society, all the civic groups (who in my opinion really want new blood), good church groups. Various literary/New Age discussion groups. Register to vote & you'll get visited by the Democrats, thanking you just for registering!

On the other hand, if you just want to sit and watch TV and gripe about kids these days, Springfield is not that much different from most other towns.

But as I say, if you want to make a difference, Springfield's a great town-- and far better than picture-postcard-perfect Grafton!

PS-- I used to live on Blaine Avenue, right around the corner from the freshest kringle in town. You must live in the burbs?

[sugarmaple]

There are a few new businesses that have just opened in Springfield; the old beautiful brick Gear shaper building has been purchased and major renovations are going to begin shortly on that building. One of the previously controversial institution that was going to move to Springfield, that being the medium security prison, raised some eyebrows and concerns among neighbors, but I believed (and as a real estate broker, would tell new customers that a prison was going to be coming in--had to disclose that) ended up not being a deterrent but rather another avenue for jobs and families moving into the area.

I certainly believed that an inmate was not going to escape, walk down to the shopping center, go to Friendly's and order a frappe but rather hit I-91 and be gone -

The Springfield Chamber of Commerce has been working really hard; the restaurant at Main Street is good and generally quite busy; with the rebuilding of the Ellis Theater, Penelopes and McKinleys (and respective apartment building) was burned down several months will add another face lift to the area as well. And of course, the Simpson yellow hand and pink donut will always remain on Main Street, in the Springfield Chamber of Commerce window.

[sugarmaple]

You might want to consider Cavendish/Proctorsville ... not terribly far from Springfield and taxes are somewhat lower.