Whats the difference between Springfield and West Springfield? (Framingham, Westfield: middle-class, crime rates)

[jpinky223]

I keep hearing about how bad Springfield is and I have looked into crime rates and Springfield, Holyoke are extremely high on crime. I have been told avoid Springfield try West Springfield and I am trying to see how far they are. I am looking into Wilbraham, Belchertown, EastHampton, Longmeadow, cause even Northampton has a high crime rate. Thanks

[ogre]

Springfield is the largest city in the area. It does have some bad neighborhoods. It's not a really large city, but think city more than town. And a city that probably has more than its share of rundown neighborhoods, though people intimately familiar with Springfield will say that it does have its nice areas. I'm not highly familiar with these towns, but I do know that Longmeadow is a somewhat upscale suburb, and West Springfield is also a suburb.

I'm not highly familiar with Wilbraham or Belchertown, but from what I used to hear when I lived in Amherst (another town in that area), Wilbraham and Belchertown are kind of small-townish, with somewhat the feel of independent small towns but still with a lot of residents who commute around the area.

Easthampton is another town with a mix of its own independent feel and residents who commute. In addition to Springfield and its close-in suburbs, E'hampton has ties to Northampton, Amherst, and other towns around that cluster of college towns 20 miles or so up the road from Springfield.

The numbers on crime in Northampton may be deceptive. N'hampton is a college town, and a center of nightlife for college students from other towns in the area. As a result, N'hampton is likely to be prone to property crime in the vicinity of downtown, but is likely to be more tame in residential neighborhoods away from downtown where students are less likely to wander.

The concentration of student-oriented nightlife in Northampton may also mean that if you frequent downtown on busy evenings you may encounter the kind of rowdiness associated with crowds of drunken college kids, including the occasional ugly incident like a drunken fight or the like. Overall, though, N'hampton is a clean, rather upscale town.

One point to note is that in N'hampton you should be prepared to be surrounded by some seriously way, way, way far-left politics, and intolerance of other points of view, if that matters to you in either direction. It is a clean, attractive town overall, in terms of everyday aesthetics.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by jpinky223

I keep hearing about how bad Springfield is and I have looked into crime rates and Springfield, Holyoke are extremely high on crime. I have been told avoid Springfield try West Springfield and I am trying to see how far they are. I am looking into Wilbraham, Belchertown, EastHampton, Longmeadow, cause even Northampton has a high crime rate. Thanks

Has it changed that much? Are Smith girls thuggin' out downtown now?

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by ogre

I'm not highly familiar with these towns, but I do know that Longmeadow is a somewhat upscale suburb, and West Springfield is also a suburb.

The south end of West Springfield is a working-class area, and the rest of West Springfield is mostly middle-class and relatively safe. It is just across the river from Springfield, and an easy commute.

[in_newengland]

Adding to what's already been said:

Longmeadow--probably the most elite. The best school system. Schools are high pressure, competitive. Known for being snobby. Beautiful suburban town.
Wilbraham--more rural than Longmeadow. Picturesque. Very good schools. Lovely town.
Both are in Hampden County which is to the south of Hampshire County.
There is also a very nice town called Hampden.
There is also a very nice town called East Longmeadow.

Belchertown, Northampton--Both in Hampshire County. Good school systems. Northampton is what it is. Belchertown has grown dramatically in the past few decades and is generally a somewhat rural suburbia.
Eastampton--also in Hampshire County. Has been traditionally blue collar but has been absorbing the overflow from Northampton so is coming up in the world. Schools are not recommended though.

West Springfield--on the other side of the river and I know absolutely nothing about it.

[western mass and love it]

Originally Posted by in_newengland

Adding to what's already been said:

Longmeadow--probably the most elite. The best school system. Schools are high pressure, competitive. Known for being snobby. Beautiful suburban town.
Wilbraham--more rural than Longmeadow. Picturesque. Very good schools. Lovely town. Wi[COLOR="Red"[/color]
Both are in Hampden County which is to the south of Hampshire County.
There is also a very nice town called Hampden.
There is also a very nice town called East Longmeadow.

Belchertown, Northampton--Both in Hampshire County. Good school systems. Northampton is what it is. Belchertown has grown dramatically in the past few decades and is generally a somewhat rural suburbia.
Eastampton--also in Hampshire County. Has been traditionally blue collar but has been absorbing the overflow from Northampton so is coming up in the world. Schools are not recommended though.

West Springfield--on the other side of the river and I know absolutely nothing about it.

Wilbraham isn't that rural. I would call it more suburban,it has been built up a lot over the last 20 years. It borders Springfield to the East.

Longmeadow is a affluent town on the CT line directly south of Springfield.

West Springfield is directly west of Springfield across the CT river. It has a lot of retail along the rt 5 corridor. The neighborhoods closest to Springfield are more dense, older , mostly multi family homes. The town gets more suburban as you go west towards Westfield. It is a good town with great accessibility to highways and the other area towns.

[The_General]

Springfield is a city and West Springfield is a suburb.

[mdovell]

I live in Springfield. Yes it is a city but the neighborhoods certainly have different feels. "City" is just the way how a place is incorporated. North Adams is a city and yet has about 40K people. Framingham is a town at 68K people.

What are you looking to do? Open a business, go to school, looking for a school system, a job, a place to live etc?

West springfield certainly is more suburban. They also have the Big E. The event lasts around three weeks. Outside of that there are some events there.

There are quite a number of projects going on in Springfield.

MGM casino. We're looking at late 2018 I think. This might go back and forth due to the redesign

CNNA rail plant - This is going to be built and build new rail cars. Red line and orange line of MBTA and rumors of talks with MTA out of NYC

New Pope Francis High School - New Catholic school. It's two that merged due to one being destroyed in the 2011 tornado

Union Station - The current transportation is not that good. This will combine rail (Amtrak), city bus (PVTA), regional bus (peter pan) and cross country bus (Greyhound) under one roof.

Bradley International Airport is gradually adding more international flights - Flights to Ireland are going to be daily starting next fall

Currently there are some talks of bringing the Pawtucket Redsox to the city. It's still early to tell though.

There is talk of gentrification in Springfield because of the growth of market rate housing. Houses in the area are cheap. We're talking pretty low. I know people in their 20's that own their own home. It's like going back in time 20-25 years with housing. If you want to flip homes this is probably the place.

The area also has quite a number of victorian homes. Granted not all are in great shape but still.
Matoon really stands out