Springfield MA, whats wrong with it?

[western mass and love it]

Thank you for the last post. It really does get under ones skin when all people can do is focus on the negative aspects of places such as Spfld, New Bedford , Fall River , Haverhill , Worcestor and so on. Do these places have issues,sure they do. But there is also a lot of good,good people,good business , and good community. I don't know when it became a social faux paus to live in an urban setting but i really wish that people could see the good things instead of just harping on the negatives.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by western mass and love it

Thank you for the last post. It really does get under ones skin when all people can do is focus on the negative aspects of places such as Spfld, New Bedford , Fall River , Haverhill , Worcestor and so on. Do these places have issues,sure they do. But there is also a lot of good,good people,good business , and good community. I don't know when it became a social faux paus to live in an urban setting but i really wish that people could see the good things instead of just harping on the negatives.

You're welcome! I'm right there with you.

I don't think it's so much the general feeling in the state as it's the general feeling on these forums. The negativity towards our cities is MUCH more apparent here than it is in real life (in my experience, anyway). Even though City-Data has tons of members, I would not call it an accurate representation of the population of the entire state.

However, like you, it bugs me that people are so quick to paint a picture of a city with such broad strokes and write it off entirely simply because it's not what THEY like. What bugs me most is the visibility and influence of this forum. If you search cities and towns, on google, City-Data often comes up near the top. City-Data is a great resource, but too many potential future citizens read about places like Springfield and are scared off because some suburban soccer mom or dad who drove through twice and read a bad story in the paper last year thinks it's a "dump."

[skydiveintohell]

I stand by everyone of my statements/posts about Springfield!

Its a cesspool with small islands of sanctuary.

(You know who you are) I sent you a PM after the strip bar on your street blew up asking how you were, you must have missed it.(In an older post you told people where you lived, although to be accurate you embellished a little by leaving out the businesses you really live across from, not diagonally from)

Its a shame they are only down to 3 strip bars and 2 homeless shelters in your neighborhood now.

[Snowball7]

Same things have happenned to Providence and any other semi-major city
from back in the day, the demographics have changed dramatically..
nothing will change, the population that produces children votes to keep it
the same. They are subsidized and everyone else struggles. We're talking about
3rd generation welfare populations, it's a lifestyle choice they see and make
early on in life, hang out, goof around, get high, everything is e-z.. when
you're on the dole.. like a little prince/princess ward of the state, these
"disabled" imps are the "pets" of hard-working taxpayers, they are expensive pets
with teeth who make messes and take over the former gem cities of the realm.
I am tempted by the inexpensive lure of housing in Springfield but will not
bite. I don't need the aggravation of dealing with the entitlement class
which for the most part has no respect. I don't need the dangers they bring,
trust me, it's not them I am worried about as much as it's me doing something
that will land me in jail, which is just as possible.
This is what the people wanted across Southern New England, even into
Northern New England now.. it's the ever-growing cancer of listlessness,
immorality and immolation of personal responsibility which infects these
populations, many of which moved here from other areas and/or countries
when they got word of our generous welfare programs. They are
multiplying much faster than the productive, reserved citizenry and have
converted the political forces to accomodate their interests in such a way
that cannot be reverted. It is a permanent demographic crisis.
Our political system makes it impossible to put the evil genie back in the bottle.
I have solutions, but could not win, like I said, in a democracy, majorities
force the minority to obey, and, my friends, we are the minority now.
If housing values ever rise again in Springfield, it will only be due to
inflation, which means everything else will go up with them, making the
entire exercise pointless.

[in_newengland]

As a person who is originally from Springfield, I would not go anywhere near it the way it is now. There is absolutely no resemblance to the way it used to be. There is no answer either because it's the people who make a place the way it is and you'd need to get everyone out and start all over again with new people.

I hate the fact that this was allowed to happen to our third largest city. Beautiful city by the river, beautiful valley, City of Homes. Used to be.

[mesa1974]

I used to go to Central High School in the 90's what is the school like now? When I was there it was a great high school.

[TheWB18]

It's a shame there's so much negativity. I was born in Worcester and raised in and around Providence, and really...these places are not the terrible war-torn slums people want to make them out to be. There is not a place in the northeastern U.S., certainly not in New England, where I would feel so uncomfortable or in danger as to post warnings to people on a forum.

If you want to see a slum, check out the older parts of Bangkok. At midnight there are rats the size of puppies and teenagers on dirt bikes weaving in and out of alleys looking for trouble. Bodies get dumped in the canals and that's the end of the story. Springfield, Worcester, Providence, Fall River, Lawrence, Bridgeport, Hartford, Brockton, New Bedford, Woonsocoket, Pawtucket: there's an endless list of places people here "would not go anywhere near". To a general audience, these comments make you seem like paranoid housewives ripped out of Leave it to Beaver.

[raveabouttoast]

Originally Posted by TheWB18

If you want to see a slum, check out the older parts of Bangkok. At midnight there are rats the size of puppies and teenagers on dirt bikes weaving in and out of alleys looking for trouble. Bodies get dumped in the canals and that's the end of the story. Springfield, Worcester, Providence, Fall River, Lawrence, Bridgeport, Hartford, Brockton, New Bedford, Woonsocoket, Pawtucket: there's an endless list of places people here "would not go anywhere near". To a general audience, these comments make you seem like paranoid housewives ripped out of Leave it to Beaver.

That's such an extreme though. Of course you're not going to find a city as bad as a third world country in New England. But it is safe to say that certain areas of Springfield are among the worst that you'll experience in MA.

When you become used to the generally safe atmosphere that most of N.E. consists of, then yes, parts of Springfield can be considered "dangerous". I've spent time in Springfield, Worcester, Randolph, Dorchester and other "unsafe" areas and never felt that that my life was in danger. But I wouldn't want to live in any of those areas. It's nice to be able to live somewhere where you don't need to worry if you've locked your front door.

[mdovell]

"Of course you're not going to find a city as bad as a third world country in New England."

Maybe not in New England but in the rest of the country maybe...
Three words: East St Louis

No trash collection and the mayor gets shot..population has dropped significantly. Personally I wouldn't go in there unless I was in a tank. Murder, rape, assault and theft rates are well beyond the national average.

I can understand what you mean with locking doors but frankly locks only keep honest criminals out. Bump keys can pretty much open any door. snopes.com: Bump Keys