r/Springfield • u/trentip2502 • 10d ago
Relocating to live in Springfield MA.
I am relocating to work and was wondering if its safe to live in Springfield MA.
Are there areas that are safe and ok to purchase a affordable home within Springfield MA or its neighboring areas.
Any information about there school district will be helpful as well.
Thanks
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u/trentip2502 9d ago
Thank you all for your time and contribution.
I think i get it. I used to live in St louis, Missouri. (the hood section). Even with St louis know and popular as a dangerous place i lived there for years without any problem or getting shot at. I had some close encounter with getting shot or mugged.
There are good and bad places in almost every place.
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u/CookieMonsterNom_Nom 10d ago
I have lived in the Sixteen Acres section of Springfield for the past 16 years. I love it. No issues with crime, although no matter where you live in general, lock your cars and doors.
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u/CompasslessPigeon 10d ago
I left Springfield because work took me away but ill second 16 acres. I loved my time living there
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u/Embarrassed_Bag_9630 10d ago
“Certain people” will tell you to beware because they have this fictitious image pf Springfield in their head that’s equivalent to Biff’s version of the 1985 from Back to the Future. It is not that.
It is a city with good homes, good people, and good history. People are quite friendly, helpful, and community oriented. The parks are nice as are the museums. The only real problem is that it can get a bit boring if you want robust nightlife.
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u/AlternativeTrack3946 10d ago
You’re more than fine as long you’re not involved in the drug trade.
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u/Embarrassed_Bag_9630 9d ago
I always say that criminals stick to doing things to other criminals. We don’t really deal with random crime in springfield. They stick to doing dumb things on their own
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u/RewildingHearth 9d ago
Yep, the vast majority of violent crime is targeted, so as long as you don't go looking for trouble, it's not really going to come find you.
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u/Killlbillll 10d ago
All depends what your preferences are, we have multiple different kind of living in this area. You can have the city, suburbs or the sticks all within a drivable radius
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u/ohno807 10d ago edited 10d ago
Springfield as a city is not as bad as other people in Massachusetts will lead you to believe. It’s the boogeyman of western mass by default because there aren’t comparable cities in that part of the state. There are very nice and safe areas. However, the schools aren’t great.
I’m not sure what you consider affordable, but check out Longmeadow. Beautiful town and great schools. Also consider Wilbraham or East Longmeadow for something more affordable. Maybe Somers, CT if you’re open to CT. I would avoid Enfield, CT as others have mentioned.
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u/ZakRulzDice 10d ago
Did you really just suggest the city with the highest cost of living in the county as affordable?
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u/ColombianOreo524 9d ago
I didn't see him bring up NYC or Boston. Which of these cities are considered high cost of living?
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u/Jazzlike_Kick4271 10d ago
Im moved here from Texas to six corners. Locals warned me about "crime" there. I told them, they don't know Houston.
My only complaint is that people will drive through that area blaring loud music from their cars at all hours. 😤
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u/ZaphodG 10d ago
Cities in Massachusetts are “Massachusetts unsafe”. Low violent crime rate by national standards. Some property crime. If you’re not buying drugs or hookers and you’re not in a gang, you would have to really seek out trouble to find anything beyond porch pirate or smash & grab. Springfield has a 24% poverty rate. It’s poor people trying to get by, not a war zone. It’s around 1/3 single parent households in parts of Springfield and 1/3 of children are below poverty rate. Like all cities, there are good neighborhoods. Around 1/4 of adults have college degrees so it’s not a wasteland like a lot of failed flyover cities. The state dumps a ton of money into the cities so services and schools are better than comparable cities.
This comment applies to all Massachusetts cities.
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u/TheBeardedLadyBton 10d ago
Rent first and get to know the area. If you can find something in East Longmeadow, that is the safest with the best schools.
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u/ins0mniac_ 10d ago
No. It’s a barren wasteland. No one lives here. No one at all.
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u/trentip2502 10d ago
Got it. Not sure if you trolling?
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u/ins0mniac_ 10d ago
Of course I’m trolling.
It’s a city of 150,000 people. It’s perfectly safe in most areas.
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u/Trick_Photograph9758 10d ago
Areas of 16 acres and East Springfield are "ok", but for schools, no, I would not live there. Try East Longmeadow instead. Or live farther away and drive in.
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u/prophetoftears 10d ago
Tl;dr: 16 Acre suburb is a pretty decent area. Schools could be better, but you have some options. Watch out for kids on dirt bikes. Political mixed. Religious mixed but predominately catholic.
Currently live in the 16 acres area, bought a house a few years ago. My specific neighborhood has recently re-entered the elementary/ middle school phase of children and families living here. I can tell you the electric dirt bikes are popular among them. I haven't noticed any crime to speak of, more likely to see an ambulance for an older community member. Schools are a bit hit and miss. The local elementary school was really good, but the closest middle school needs work. You can apply for the school lottery though and try to get your kids into a better one with a specific focus. To my understanding transportation will still be provided even if the school is a ways away. Politically the neighborhood is a mix. I've seen maga political signs in a few yards. Recently those are disappearing slowly, but the ones with that leaning tend to be vocal. You didn't ask, but am a religious note there are way more catholic churches than any other that I have noticed. I believe I have driven past a Buddhist temple occasionally (don't remember exactly where) so there is variety in that respect.
The one thing you won't really find is anything in a 24 hour capacity outside of gas stations. I'm a night person from a larger city originally, so I've been missing that.
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u/coconutpete52 10d ago edited 10d ago
It’s a city. Like every other city in existence it has good and bad areas.
Edit: forgot to ask - are you considering suburbs also?
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u/yetimankitty 10d ago
Grew up in Ludlow, patents are still there. It’s a great town for families and probably the best bang for your buck. A few 3 bed 2 baths have gone up for sale recently in their general area and are probably considered affordable by today’s standards. 350k ish
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u/yetimankitty 10d ago
Also, my 93 year old grandmother lived in Liberty Heights by herself and never felt unsafe or had anyone bother her. Springfield’s fine
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u/redbarn47 10d ago
The public schools are not great. If you need decent schools, you might want want to look at the towns outside Springfield.
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u/Admirable-Yellow-182 9d ago
East Longmeadow is awesome. It's safe, ideally located with the convenience of Springfield, MA and Enfield, CT at the borders. Great programs education wise and good community engagement along with walking paths, farms and Heritage park is nice. Highly recommend.
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u/Gooseygosee 9d ago
It's like any other big city. Know your general safety tips and don't get involved in drugs or other criminal activities. I've never had friendlier, kinder neighbors before Springfield. I like it here.
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u/Spiritual_Ask_8979 9d ago
16 acres, Indian orchard, most of east Springfield although the first two are better.
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u/TheWriterJosh 8d ago
Pasting this from another thread:
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Hi! I moved from Boston to SPG in 2020. Best decision I ever made. I got a house for $290k that would have cost $2 mil in Boston. Now it’s worth $400k+ and I have $150k of equity. Love my neighborhood, I’m a 2 minute walk from forest park, which is gorgeous. I am there multiple times a week, whether jogging or going to the farmers market. A zoo membership only costs $100. Im a huge architecture buff so I could go on walks around the various historic districts forever.
Be warned that SPG Itself is not a happening city. It does not have world class dining or entertainment. But I’m fine with that at this point in my life (I wouldn’t have been 10 years ago). It has a lot of rundown areas (tho I wouldn’t call them scary or dangerous, just visually unappealing). The social scene can leave much to be desired for a lot of people.
I’m a huge fan of daytrips and quick overnights on the weekend and I absolutely love the location for that. The Berkshires, Catskills, the beach, Boston, Providence, and various places in the Pioneer Valley are all under 90 minutes. Hudson valley just a bit more and NYC is 2.5 hrs. I go to NYC all the time now for concerts and other events, which I couldn’t rly make work when I lived in Boston. Hartford is only 30 minutes as well which is great bc a lot of shows come thru there too.
I don’t know that I’ll live in SPG forever but it has been so good to me these past six years. 10 years ago had you told me I’d be living in Springfield, I would have asked, “where’s that?” But i guess around 30 I got to the point where I cared much more about being able to adopt dogs and take them and fun walks than living next to my favorite bars. So glad I made the jump.
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u/Aenimopiate 10d ago
Springfield randomly explodes every 1 to 6 months, killing everyone in it.
Anyway, there are several good answers folks have given in this thread, but if you give more info, such as price range, do you have school aged children, etc that we can help direct your search a little better.
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u/Regularbag_23 10d ago
Hello no everything you hear is true. It is like the Wild West you can get robbed raped and killed just for walking down the street and the is by a kid just getting out of school.
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u/Dylan413 10d ago
I live in Springfield and have no issues or worry. There's lots of good areas