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Old Posted Aug 24, 2012, 6:48 PM
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GI-Gizmo GI-Gizmo is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Springfield, MA
Posts: 6
SPRINGFIELD, MASS. - - - I've lived in Springfield, MA my entire life and even though I'm only 30, I've seen the city and metropolitan area drag along the bottom for years. The crime rate is very high, poverty is rampant, there is massive white flight, the area has not been able to adapt to the post-industrial economic way of life. Springfield, MA was once an amazing city. It is still called the city of homes. For generations home ownership was a given for everyone who lived here. We invented all of the small arms used to fight all of our wars, the Springfield Armory invented the M1903 Springfield and M1 Garand battle rifles among many other famous firearms. George Washington, Jonh Browning and John Garand all called Springfield home at sometime in their lifes and worked at the Armory. Indian motorcycle, among many other manufacturing pioneers called Springfield home. Smith & Wesson is still headquartered in the city. Into the mid 20th Century the city started to slip down the slope and has still not got on steady ground. Springfield is always on the list of most violent cities. The most recent statitics place us at #12. If that isnt bad enough, our sister city, a 30min trip South on I-91, Hartford, CT came in at #14. The entire area is in desperate need of an injection of life and hope. Gambling just became legal in Massachusetts and all the major gaming corporations are battling to build a casino in Springfield. MGM has plans for a massive casino right in the downtown area. I dont know if that will help or hurt, but atleast it is change with a chance of going either way. It means jobs and a needed cash infusion, but who really knows what will happen to the city because of it. Springfield, MA deserves a fighting chance. It is in a great geographical area, right on the Connecticut river. It is the crossroads of I-91 and I-90, has Amtrak connections leading right to downtown, shares an International airport with Hartford, CT (Bradley IAP), has 2 military bases right outside the city (Barnes ANGB and Westover JARB). The weather is decent, four beautiful seasons, not too much snow in the winter. The city has a population of around 160,000 and a metropolitan population of around 700,000.
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