"I Went To Springfield, The Most Dangerous City In Massachusetts" (Boston: crime, buying)

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Camden is actually supposed to be better than it used to be. I grew up in South Jersey and went to Rutgers in the late 70s-early 80s, and one time I needed to take a summer course and did it at Rutgers Camden as that was closer to home than the main campus in New Brunswick. When I walked around campus in Camden, I noticed that from just about any intersection, I could look around and see a cop car in at least one direction. It was reassuring that there was such a strong presence, but it also gave me pause as to what kind of place it was, that it needed cops everywhere. At that time, it was definitely not a place that you went to for fun, or idle exploring to see what you'd find.

Yeah the waterfront area is great and they have a park that reminds me of Frank Sinatra Park/Pier 13 in Hoboken. You look at Philly and the area is cool.

But Camden, while better than it looks as weird as it sounds, is real bad. I went over a pothole that my SUV got stuck in too!

[matrix5k]

How do New Bedford and Fall River compare?

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

How do New Bedford and Fall River compare?

They are meh town/cities. Safe, but sad looking and heavily influenced by whaling and Portuguese culture.

In NJ, I would compare the Brunswicks/Sayreville on the same level as them. Not bad but just meh.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

. And if you did drive through Franklin Park at night make sure your gas tank had gas. lol

Use to work as a contractor for city of Boston ~20 years ago and do calls in that area. Blue Hill Ave @ Morton Street.

Was fine in the daytime...but there were a handful of 3AM calls in which I just showed up, looked around, and left.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

They are meh town/cities. Safe, but sad looking and heavily influenced by whaling and Portuguese culture.

In NJ, I would compare the Brunswicks/Sayreville on the same level as them. Not bad but just meh.

I think crime rates would indicate they are not safe. Where are we getting “safe” from? low Homicide?

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

Use to work as a contractor for city of Boston ~20 years ago and do calls in that area. Blue Hill Ave @ Morton Street.

Was fine in the daytime...but there were a handful of 3AM calls in which I just showed up, looked around, and left.

Good call! haha

[in_newengland]

It's sad to see the condition Springfield is in. I was born there and went to school there until grade 2. The school system was fantastic and the people were nice. I walked to and from school safely and enjoyed living there.

The trend toward moving to the suburbs killed Springfield, I think. But still everyone went back to the downtown because it was fabulous. Grand department stores, Main St lined with independent stores and the best second hand bookstore on earth (probably. But I may be biased.) (Most of it torn down now.) Then malls killed the downtown too.

There are or were some amazing houses in Springfield and some of the best were mansions along Maple St. I don't think I could stand to go there and see any of it now. I certainly don't care about some dumb gambling casino, which I think was a very bad decision for Springfield.

Springfield had it all--a beautiful city on the wide Connecticut River, museums, great city library, and probably the crown jewel, Forest Park, which was designed by the famous Frederick Law Olmstead, designer of Central Park. That park had everything from ice skating to duck feeding to baseball playing to nature trails, to grassy lawns to lie on while you gazed at a stream with a waterfall. It had a lotus pond and a rose garden. Paradise for young and old.

They helped to wreck Springfield by putting interstate 91 right through the city, cutting it off from the river and destroying some of Forest Park. Maybe there's some hope if they could get rail transport to Boston, but otherwise, it probably will continue to go nowhere. Very sad situation.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by massnative71

An interesting watch:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KDNLg6aL34


"Crime is terrible here. Violent crime is three times the national average, and some of the worst offenders in Massachusetts live right here in Springfield. There’s lots of drugs and gangs and lots of kids roaming the streets without guidance."

Interesting, yes, but this guy’s whole thing is to run around the country making alarmist, superficial ‘What happened to…’ videos that invite lots of stupid racist comments. The Springfield tour repeats all the old saws about Puerto Rican migration up the Connecticut Valley because of signs supposedly posted somewhere saying go there, collect benefits, never work again… I’ve been hearing those stories around Springfield and Holyoke since the 60s. SMH.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by missionhill

Interesting, yes, but this guy’s whole thing is to run around the country making alarmist, superficial ‘What happened to…’ videos that invite lots of stupid racist comments. The Springfield tour repeats all the old saws about Puerto Rican migration up the Connecticut Valley because of signs supposedly posted somewhere saying go there, collect benefits, never work again… I’ve been hearing those stories around Springfield and Holyoke since the 60s. SMH.

I'm not a fan of him. Think he's pretty damn lame, and much of his "knowledge" appears to come from quick googling. In this one however, he spent a good chunk of it interviewing an actual resident who provided some valid insight so I thought it more worthy than his typical stuff.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

They are meh town/cities. Safe, but sad looking and heavily influenced by whaling and Portuguese culture.

They are not safe. OK in parts, but both have sections you do NOT want to mess around with.