Wondering from afar. (Boston, Brockton, Avon: real estate, homes, public schools)

[CALGUY]

I left Ma many, many years ago, and visited for the last time in 1990.
Born in Brockton, and raised in Avon, I wonder how these areas have changed over the years.
I have heard terrible things about Brockton, and it breaks my heart to hear of it's decline.
Avon being such a small town, I can't imagine it changing much, but one never knows.

I googled my old homestead in Avon, and it no longer exist.
A huge raised ranch now sits on that property on Page street.
So what have I missed in all these years?

[Remy11]

Unfortunately what you heard about Brockton seems to be true. At my first job out of college, I worked with a lovely Greek woman from Brockton and our other very blunt and snide coworker used to say to her every morning, "Hey, Demi—did you survive another night in ghetto Brockton?" And this was 20 years ago, so I think it's safe to say it's had a bad reputation for some time now.

[massnative71]

Avon is now home to IKEA, that's the only significant change I can think of. Brockton kids are allowed to school choice to Avon, which brings down their test scores. Other than that I don't know a whole lot about Avon, I know one person who has lived there a while and he never says anything really good or bad. A lot of the towns surrounding Brockton have gone downhill though, although nowhere near as bad as Brockton itself.

[CALGUY]

What happened to Brockton?
What changed that has made it the city it now is?
I don't want this to become a racial issue, but when I lived back there, the only black people living there, lived on one street (bay street), and hardly left that area.
There were very few blacks in Brockton.
My understanding is blacks are the predominant race living in Brockton now.
Did/does that have anything to do with the city's decline?

Whatever the cause, I still have fond memories of Brockton, and all it's surrounding towns.
I graduated from Avon High class of 1956.
We (all 26 of us) were the first graduating class of the new high school that replaced the old Gifford school that burned down.

Someone mentioned Ikea being in Avon.
The property that Ikea, and many other corporations now sit on, was owned by a farmer named Orville Stockwell.
When it was a farm, I worked for Orville, and farmed all that land that is now a huge metropolis of cooperate enterprises.

[P Larsen]

It's certainly a poverty issue in the wake of the deep decline in manufactures that used to float Brockton's boat. And it's been one of the places to which Boston's poor have migrated after being priced out of Boston. (FWIW, there is currently no Bay St/Av/Rd in Brockton.)

[robr2]

Like many other mill cities, as the jobs disappeared so did the white residents. Real estate in those cities became cheaper and a viable way for people of lesser means to afford home ownership.

In 2000, Brockton became a majority minority city. For many that means the place is now a hell hole. Just like any city, there are problems but Brockton isn't as bad as some make it out to be. The vast majority of the residents simply want the a safe place to live and to improve the lives of their kids.

[mdovell]

I don't think Brockton is technically bad. I have some family and friends there. To take a step back the issue is that gateway cities largely focused on one industry and when that declined property prices dropped and that attracted poorer people. That attracted non profits and government which eroded the local tax base further.

The other issue is that Brockton is surrounded by much more affulent areas that had people going to Boston. You also had (until the committee rail) little transit to Boston.

Brockton also had and still has an odd water issue. It's complicated but during the 90s the state severely restricted commercial business and residential expansion until it was resolved.

Politically the city can be divided. The western parts actually look quite good however the leadership varies. One mayor's race was won by 100 votes, that is Very close and is nearly unheard of.

The fairgrounds are no more. There used to be horse racing there. It also with dog racing have significantly declined over the past 25 years if not ended. They thought they could get a casino but their proposal was extremely weak. I'd argue they need a city manager, not a mayor.

Other industries aren't as big. Boxing has a long history but boxing itself declined by the late 90s.Rocky Marciano is legendary but UFC pretty much took over. I'd love to see boxing make a comeback but it's too violent for mainstream TV and not violent enough for ppv.

I wouldn't exactly say Bostons poor went to Brockton, many do have jobs. It isn't that hard to be priced out of Boston.

[msRB311]

Too many people living there don't really care about the city.

[CALGUY]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Too many people living there don't really care about the city.

That was my first thought, so why was this allowed to happen?
Was/is it city leadership, or lack thereof causing the decline in Brockton.

[bricka]

brockton public schools score an "A" in the diversity category on niche.com