'the Ghettos of Massachusetts..including towns'..100+ photos that will likely change your perception of Massachusetts (Worcester: high crime, motel)

[timberline742]

Who doesn't see them? I'm in them weekly pretty much.

It also tells me you've never been to a blighted ghetto.

[mwbms28]

Despite the snarky comments accompanying the pictures, I think it is important for people to see these photos. If you live in certain areas of MA, you can go three or four towns in any direction and never see anything like this. It's easy to forget parts of MA like this are there.

I've lived in Natick or Wellesley for my whole life, except for when I went to college, and it was only in the past couple years that I decided to visit places like Fitchburg and Brockton to see what was up. You can go your whole life without seeing the blight that exists 45-60 minutes away from you.

I've only realized recently that if you live in an affluent suburb, the whole road system is designed so that you really never have to go through bad areas. Live in Wellesley? Just take 16 into Newton and the Pike into Cambridge/Boston (and the nice part at that). Take 9 out to 27 and then go North into Wayland, Sudbury, and Lincoln. Take 9 to 95 and go South to the Cape. Literally nothing leads you to Fitchburg unless you specifically intend to go.

[wror]

Originally Posted by mwbms28

......
I've only realized recently that if you live in an affluent suburb, the whole road system is designed so that you really never have to go through bad areas. Live in Wellesley? Just take 16 into Newton and the Pike into Cambridge/Boston (and the nice part at that). Take 9 out to 27 and then go North into Wayland, Sudbury, and Lincoln. Take 9 to 95 and go South to the Cape. Literally nothing leads you to Fitchburg unless you specifically intend to go.

So true,so true.
Also, the roads of many affluent Massachusetts suburbs seem to be laid out to stop the 'undesirables' from nearby Massachusetts communities from traversing in. For example, The Roads of affluent Lincoln,Ma.,home of a number of Editors of the Liberal Boston Globe, is like a labyrinth. Attempting to go from the ethnically diverse,sanctuary community of Waltham into Lincoln is almost impossible, all the roads leading into upscale, Liberal town of Lincoln seem to be one way/do not enter. Lincoln residents likely know the secret paths to take to easily get into Lincoln and out, while non-residents taking roads into Lincoln end up going into circles, ending up on the road they started on!
And let us not forget the story some years ago when ONE HOMELESS PERSON decided to call upscale, Liberal town of Weston his new home. A huge controversy. Wonder what other town Weston residents had him dropped off.

[BostonMike7]

I could drive over to Lynnfield to a few specific areas I'm aware of, snap a couple photos of some abandoned houses, and write up something making it out to seem that Lynnfield is a slum. Nobody would believe it, but I could sell it pretty well.




The photos the turtleboy article used of Revere (where I grew up) are in an area I knew they would target. Sure as hell, the pics are of the run-down area along 1A coming out of Lynn. Nothing mentioned about the other half of the city where you will find white fences, and nicely maintained yards and lawns, and overall visually appealing parts of town.


I could take some pics of the "best" parts of Revere, and the "worst" parts of Lynnfield and try and tell you a story.

[FCMA]

Fairly good overview illustrating that there are absolute smoking craters of humanity peppered across the entire state. Not just west, nor middle, nor east. The whole region is covered in these relics of the industrial revolution that couldn't cut it anymore especially after the 1960s. Also it is certainly possible to find ugly areas of "nice" towns and nice areas of "trashy" towns (most all of them do have nice parts) and confuse the matter when all you're basing it on is a selective photo montage.

For selective example, besides that ridiculous trashy strip joint, Whately is a pretty stable old Polish farm town mixed with university-employed intellectual types, with barely any blight to see, full of postcard New England architecture. Wouldn't be a candidate for this list.

[FCMA]

Originally Posted by wror

Look at this way, these blighted ghettos areas in Western Massachusetts are part of Massachusetts many people dont get to see. We cant close our eyes to these towns of Massachusetts. This will make you appreciate what you have


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwBoa-NbNL8

I think it is important to illustrate this. Provincial assumptions happen in metro areas too, not just rural ones. I remember when I was going to UMass that so many drone suburban kids from 128 belt didn't even realize Holyoke was 10 miles away and the poorest city in the state, and a real city (if small) that feels and acts like one. Some diversity class I had to take, we went on a field trip there to tour a community development org and it opened some eyes. I literally heard statements after it like, "Until this trip I literally thought Western Mass was nothin but cows and fahhhms." I suppose that's what it seems like if all you do is sit in the dorm towers doing coke and looking out at the fields of Hadley.

[mwbms28]

I thought the article cherry-picked the Pittsfield pictures pretty badly. Yes, if you're coming up from Lenox, the neighborhoods behind the left side of the Main Street are bad. But, the Main Street itself is pretty decent - almost all of the business are full. And the area to the right of the Main Street is fine, with some nice older houses. You can do much worse than Pittsfield.

[Cape Cod Todd]

There are good and bad sections of most any town. I live on the Cape and we have bad areas mostly in Hyannis that are dens of druggies.
I lived on Marthas Vineyard for a few years and even on that wealthy island there are troubled spots.
I grew up in a town that bordered Brockton and it started to go downhill in the 70's. I worked there in the 80's.
It is now a dangerous place that I avoid.

If we can be honest many of these towns that are listed here have 3 things in common. A majority of minorities that don't seem to care about their neighborhoods. An underlying drug problem and poverty.

[bolehboleh]

Originally Posted by wror

Look at this way, these blighted ghettos areas in Western Massachusetts are part of Massachusetts many people dont get to see. We cant close our eyes to these towns of Massachusetts. This will make you appreciate what you have


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwBoa-NbNL8

It's one think to recognize that there are areas in the state that need work. It's another to mock peoples' homes and belittle people for doing something as innocuous as having a conversation outside of their houses.

And you still haven't told us where you live.

Your move, chief.

[wror]

bolehboleh:

And you still haven't told us where you live.

Your move, chief.

I live in a real ghetto dump cr-p community. A real sh-thole.
Guess that would make me an expert on what is and is not a ghetto. I have hands-on practical experience.