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  #21  
Old Posted Sep 25, 2008, 2:41 AM
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I love seeing cities not talked about much on this forum.
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  #22  
Old Posted Sep 26, 2008, 12:39 AM
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Hey wheelingman....

Would you happen to have some pix of Wheeling to post? I was there in 2006 and thought it was a cool town!
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  #23  
Old Posted May 5, 2011, 7:18 AM
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Moving from Chicago to a mid-sized southern NE city: LOVED Springfield, Massachusetts

I am new to this forum -- I've lurked for awhile but this is actually my first post... Hi everyone!!

I just wanted to say THANK YOU (!!) for posting these awesome photos of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Right now, my girlfriend and I -- we're in the process of moving from Wicker Park, Chicago -- and we're deciding on where to move in New England.

We want to move to a mid-sized Southern New England city with a sense of community--not Boston, too big. We both work from home so we're fortunate that we can pick our city

In Chicago, we'd narrowed down our search to Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut, and Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts -- four revitalizing, walkable, urban cities with major construction projects either underway or fully-funded. (We'd rather be involved in a revitalization than a place that's already 'revitalized'--maybe weird but that's us.)

In each city, we were looking for historic Victorian architecture; diverse neighborhoods; a lot to do in terms of culture and other entertainment; parks and intangibles (like the city's vibe--and bonuses like Six Flags in Springfield and East Rock in New Haven.) Now that we're almost 30, we're hoping to put down roots in a new city and start a life.

Just today we finished looking at all four cities, having spent three days in each. (In my opinion, these mid-sized cities are fascinating!! All of them come across completely differently in terms of architecture, vibe, amenities, and joie de vivre.

I'm replying in the Springfield, Massachusetts, thread because Springfield was both of our favorite city of the four.

In my opinion, Springfield has one of the nicest Victorian housing stocks I've ever seen. (My wife said it looked "like San Francisco, but cheap" in Forest Park Heights because of the Victorians and hills.)

Hartford's was very nice too. Both Hford and Sfield have many houses that looked like San Francisco's Painted Ladies--except they're being sold for about $100,000 rather than $2,000,000!!! And they're virtually the same houses.

Worcester and New Haven looked as though their respective "Golden Days" were not as golden as those in Springfield and Hartford -- there were cool Victorians in both places; however, in general, they were more pricey and less "wow are you serious we could live HERE?"

To be honest, in my opinion, New Haven's real estate is over-priced. Right now, the city is ranked the 18th most dangerous city in the US, (2010-2011) and it has already experienced 13 murders in 2011 as of the day we looked there last week. Furthermore, in my opinion, the city has frustrated, angry vibe, like a lot of people are tense. (No offense, New Haveners-just an opinion.)

Hartford experienced its 13th murder on the day we looked at it, so it's dangerous too; however, the vibe there wasn't menacing or 'hole onto your wallet.' We both liked the city.

Springfield and Worcester are statistically safer than the 2 CT cities, having experienced, respectively, 6 and 5 murders to date in 2011. According to the states, neither of the two MASS cities have been particularly dangerous since 2005 or so. Their reputations for crime are greatly exaggerated.

Also, I read (on this forum albeit not this thread) that Springfield is the "6th poorest city in the U.S." Now, lol, I was shocked by this after I saw Springfield so I decided to do some research. Springfield isn't even in the Top 6 poorest cities in Massachusetts, nevermind the U.S. (Why do people say this stuff? That one lie nearly kept my gf and I from looking at the city we may move to now.)

From here on in, my girlfriend and I will concentrate on Hartford and Springfield. Right now, Springfield is choice 1 and Hartford is choice 1a.

I took a bunch of photos of all four cities and will upload them here soon.

A couple last observations about Southern NE's mid-sized cities:

* I had no idea that Springfield and Hartford were SO CLOSE geographically--24 miles apart, that's it. From what people were telling us, Springfield-Hartford used to be separate areas, but now it's become one. (more reason, I suppose to move to one or the other--you get both!) New Haven is only 40 miles south of Hartford too -- and Worcester is only 40 miles east of Springfield: these places are close together.

*Springfield is getting a high-speed rail line from the south, an intercity commuter rail headed north, and a $70 million renovation to the train station. Pretty cool, eh?

Your photos capture Springfield like I saw it--everything except how vibrant the place is (maybe b/c it was cloudy the day you were there.) Thanks again. You've helped us in our search.
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  #24  
Old Posted May 5, 2011, 7:37 AM
ArabianNights1 ArabianNights1 is offline
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yr post... so interesting... perhaps because of this location, so many questions.

to the above poster, best wishes to you on your decision, i am sure it is a mutual decision-making process, but avoid crime and stick to resources/beauty
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  #25  
Old Posted May 5, 2011, 10:39 AM
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I am eager to hear response to JJ83s post. I am glad this thread was bumped. I had no idea Springfield MA had such good bones.

Stepper, this is a great set of photographs.
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  #26  
Old Posted May 7, 2011, 4:35 AM
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Originally Posted by JJ83 View Post
I am new to this forum -- I've lurked for awhile but this is actually my first post... Hi everyone!!

I just wanted to say THANK YOU (!!) for posting these awesome photos of Springfield, Massachusetts.

Right now, my girlfriend and I -- we're in the process of moving from Wicker Park, Chicago -- and we're deciding on where to move in New England.

We want to move to a mid-sized Southern New England city with a sense of community--not Boston, too big. We both work from home so we're fortunate that we can pick our city

In Chicago, we'd narrowed down our search to Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut, and Worcester and Springfield, Massachusetts -- four revitalizing, walkable, urban cities with major construction projects either underway or fully-funded. (We'd rather be involved in a revitalization than a place that's already 'revitalized'--maybe weird but that's us.)

In each city, we were looking for historic Victorian architecture; diverse neighborhoods; a lot to do in terms of culture and other entertainment; parks and intangibles (like the city's vibe--and bonuses like Six Flags in Springfield and East Rock in New Haven.) Now that we're almost 30, we're hoping to put down roots in a new city and start a life.

Just today we finished looking at all four cities, having spent three days in each. (In my opinion, these mid-sized cities are fascinating!! All of them come across completely differently in terms of architecture, vibe, amenities, and joie de vivre.

I'm replying in the Springfield, Massachusetts, thread because Springfield was both of our favorite city of the four.

In my opinion, Springfield has one of the nicest Victorian housing stocks I've ever seen. (My wife said it looked "like San Francisco, but cheap" in Forest Park Heights because of the Victorians and hills.)

Hartford's was very nice too. Both Hford and Sfield have many houses that looked like San Francisco's Painted Ladies--except they're being sold for about $100,000 rather than $2,000,000!!! And they're virtually the same houses.

Worcester and New Haven looked as though their respective "Golden Days" were not as golden as those in Springfield and Hartford -- there were cool Victorians in both places; however, in general, they were more pricey and less "wow are you serious we could live HERE?"

To be honest, in my opinion, New Haven's real estate is over-priced. Right now, the city is ranked the 18th most dangerous city in the US, (2010-2011) and it has already experienced 13 murders in 2011 as of the day we looked there last week. Furthermore, in my opinion, the city has frustrated, angry vibe, like a lot of people are tense. (No offense, New Haveners-just an opinion.)

Hartford experienced its 13th murder on the day we looked at it, so it's dangerous too; however, the vibe there wasn't menacing or 'hole onto your wallet.' We both liked the city.

Springfield and Worcester are statistically safer than the 2 CT cities, having experienced, respectively, 6 and 5 murders to date in 2011. According to the states, neither of the two MASS cities have been particularly dangerous since 2005 or so. Their reputations for crime are greatly exaggerated.

Also, I read (on this forum albeit not this thread) that Springfield is the "6th poorest city in the U.S." Now, lol, I was shocked by this after I saw Springfield so I decided to do some research. Springfield isn't even in the Top 6 poorest cities in Massachusetts, nevermind the U.S. (Why do people say this stuff? That one lie nearly kept my gf and I from looking at the city we may move to now.)

From here on in, my girlfriend and I will concentrate on Hartford and Springfield. Right now, Springfield is choice 1 and Hartford is choice 1a.

I took a bunch of photos of all four cities and will upload them here soon.

A couple last observations about Southern NE's mid-sized cities:

* I had no idea that Springfield and Hartford were SO CLOSE geographically--24 miles apart, that's it. From what people were telling us, Springfield-Hartford used to be separate areas, but now it's become one. (more reason, I suppose to move to one or the other--you get both!) New Haven is only 40 miles south of Hartford too -- and Worcester is only 40 miles east of Springfield: these places are close together.

*Springfield is getting a high-speed rail line from the south, an intercity commuter rail headed north, and a $70 million renovation to the train station. Pretty cool, eh?

Your photos capture Springfield like I saw it--everything except how vibrant the place is (maybe b/c it was cloudy the day you were there.) Thanks again. You've helped us in our search.
I would be interested in talking to you more about your decision making process. I grew up in Hartford and love Hartford and New Haven. I now live in NYC (Brooklyn)- I want and need a huge city. Anyway, to be honest Springfield is nice but I would never in a million years move to Springfield over Hartford or New Haven. New Haven is more expensive than Springfield and Hartford for a reason and Hartford is more expensive than Springfield for another reason. Anyway, I don’t want to get into a whole discussion on this threat but feel free to shoot me an email michael.manhattan1987@gmail.com - maybe I can further discuss your choices with you. Don’t look at everything by the numbers. I have never been a victim of crime in Hartford in 20 years. And you note Springfield is getting high speed rail from the south - well I am 23 now and I will probably have gray hair by the time high speed rail connects New Haven to Hartford and Springfield.
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  #27  
Old Posted May 7, 2011, 5:50 PM
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I am glad you are looking at moving to Springfield. My ex's family lives in nearby Chicopee and they gave the impression that Springfield was "dangerous". But, when I went, I really was impressed with the city. And like JJ83 said there were some beautiful row houses and Victorian homes within walking distance of downtown and relatively cheap. I don't know about the job prospects in the area, but, Springfield, to me, seems undervalued and under appreciated.

And Springfield's proximity to Hartford is striking. My ex always prefers flying home through Boston, but, the family always flies out of Hartford because it is so close. Good luck with your move!
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  #28  
Old Posted May 8, 2011, 8:41 PM
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Yea Springfield is one of those places that some people love to trash talk and honestly I don't know if it is as bad as they say but it looked pretty good to me. I was even more impressed with some of the surrounding suburban towns like Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Wilbraham (home of Friendly Ice Cream) and South Hadley and others I can't remember. It seemed to me like a great place to raise a family.
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  #29  
Old Posted May 9, 2011, 2:00 AM
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Originally Posted by bryson662001 View Post
Yea Springfield is one of those places that some people love to trash talk and honestly I don't know if it is as bad as they say but it looked pretty good to me. I was even more impressed with some of the surrounding suburban towns like Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, Wilbraham (home of Friendly Ice Cream) and South Hadley and others I can't remember. It seemed to me like a great place to raise a family.
From growing up in Connecticut I can tell you that trash talking cities in Connecticut and Massachusetts (except for Boston of course) is the thing to do and it annoys the heck out of me! Springfield, Worcester, Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and many other places in between deserve a lot more love than they are receiving now. Many of the suburbanites of these cities grew up in and around them when they were thriving and they subsequently witnessed their decline (and in some cases slow revival). Their views were then passed onto their entire families and offspring and now the majority of people view the actual city as dangerous, desolate, blighted, etc. I tend to take these comments much more seriously than comments made about NYC for instance because NYC can live with the small handful of people who dislike it for whatever reason it may is.
Anyway that’s my rant! And this is a Springfield thread but another great New England city not mentioned is Providence
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  #30  
Old Posted May 11, 2011, 7:23 AM
JJ83 JJ83 is offline
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We chose Springfield! Thanks everyone :) (It was close.)

Thank you for your responses everyone!

Earlier today my girlfriend and I decided on Springfield, Massachusetts!!! (It was a difficult decision between Springfield and Hartford, Connecticut.) This afternoon we set-up appointments to look at houses in the Forest Park Heights neighborhood. (When we were touring the 4 cities, we agreed that Forest Park Heights was our "dream 'hood.")

@CTMan: We took into account a few different factors in choosing Springfield over Worcester, New Haven, and Hartford. We never wrote them down, although in retrospect, that might've helped... My girlfriend and I talked about things like this in comparing the cities (none of them was a deal-maker or breaker

* architecture and city planning (e.g. walkability, greenspace, and parks -- plus a proactive city planning dept.)
* the city's potential for growth (based on the cities' current projects and plans)
* the price of residential architecture (i.e. we'd prefer to get a steal than get stolen from)
* geography -- ideally, we'd be in close proximity to both nature and big cities
* city culture, festivals, and entertainment
* crime and trends in crime (overall and in particular neighborhoods)
* diversity of cultures and food
* overall vibe and atmosphere

For us, Springfield ranked either #1 or #2 in most of these categories. Some factors were more important to my girlfriend and others were more important to me.

We both really liked Springfield's and Hartford's residential architecture -- in both of our opinions, it was more attractive than Worcester's and New Haven's, and in general, the neighborhoods were more cohesive.

Currently, Worcester's and New Haven's prices are up. You write that New Haven is "more expensive than Springfield for a reason" -- it's true that right now New Haven's housing is more expensive than Springfield's - not a plus for us, lol - however, in our research we learned that during the 1980s, Springfield's housing was much more expensive than New Haven's. Presumably that was "for a reason" -- do you know what I mean? In other words, residential prices are cyclical -- kind of like the stock market -- in most cities. (New Haven's and Worcester's happen to be historically high right now. Hartford's and Springfield's happen to be historically low.)

We both think that we're buying at the low-ebb of Springfield's RE cycle. The low cost of real estate in Springfield gives us cause to believe that it will rise when some of the city's current projects are completed. (For example, according to our realtor, within several weeks, a large hospital is relocating its offices to Metro Center which - unfortunately for us - is already starting to raise prices.)

For us, Springfield and Hartford had the best locations -- both in the middle of everything, close to major cities and close to nature. We love snowboarding, hiking, and rafting. That said, in my opinion, New Haven's location on the Sound is appealing for different reasons.

I know what you mean about crime. I've lived in Chicago since college -- the "murder capital of the U.S." -- and I don't consider it dangerous. This is mostly due to Wicker Park, my neighborhood -- if I lived in a different neighborhood, it may be a different story.

We found that to be true of Hartford as well -- according to its crime statistics, most of Hartford's crime was concentrated in a few specific neighborhoods. That, in my opinion, would make crime easy to avoid there. On the other hand, New Haven's crime statistics indicated that crime is a citywide problem. My girlfriend did not feel safe in New Haven, and that was before she learned that there had been 14 murders there in the past 4 months.

Statistically, Springfield and Worcester are significantly safer than New Haven, and also safer than Hartford. That's a big deal to my girlfriend -- but as we're thinking about having kids, it's becoming a bigger deal to me too.

I hope the high-speed rail comes before we're gray, lol! It'd be cool to get to NYC faster than in a car. I read on masslive.com today that both of Springfield's new rail lines are scheduled to be running by 2015. The northern line will be up and running next year, supposedly. We'll see, I guess.

Thanks again, everyone - especially stepper77. This thread was one of the impetuses for us to check out Springfield and now I'm really glad we did.
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  #31  
Old Posted May 11, 2011, 10:30 AM
sterlippo1 sterlippo1 is offline
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I'm impressed. This is my first time seeing Springfield in depth. It definitely has a reputation as a pretty downtrodden city, but the downtown looks great. A couple of the pics show a neighborhood that resembles Boston's South End - very cool.
me too and not only the South End but a few pictures looked a little like Comm Ave near the Public Garden with the brick row houses. having lived north of Boston my whole life i can honestly say i have never been here and have never heard anything good about it other than to avoid it. Boy, what a bad rep! great thread, i cant wait to take a day trip here and check it out! i like worcester but this seems a lot nicer than worcester!
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  #32  
Old Posted May 11, 2011, 11:50 AM
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^^^Me, too! After seeing this thread, I am eager & excited to visit Springfield. Never been there before.

JJ83, I have enjoyed reading about your decision. Now I want to see a pictorial thread on the Forest Park Heights neighborhood. Maybe I will get down there and do it myself one of these days. Interesting to me that Springfield is called the 'The City of Homes'.
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  #33  
Old Posted May 11, 2011, 8:32 PM
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Thanks again, everyone - especially stepper77. This thread was one of the impetuses for us to check out Springfield and now I'm really glad we did.
I'm happy to have contributed to your discovery of what Springfield has to offer and hope you and your girlfriend will be happy with your move. I've never been to Connecticut, but, comparing Springfield to Worcester, I definitely felt that Springfield has a better, more laid back vibe. Hopefully, with your move, this will mean more exposure for Springfield, and the area, on this forum! Good luck!
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  #34  
Old Posted May 15, 2011, 8:14 PM
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To most Bostonians, Springfield, MA is somewhere in the midwest. Out of sight, out of mind. A few pictures in the thread are reminiscent of Boston: bow fronted rowhouses etc. There are unfortunately a few pics of beautiful but empty Victorian buildings in the thread too.
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  #35  
Old Posted May 16, 2011, 10:16 AM
sterlippo1 sterlippo1 is offline
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To most Bostonians, Springfield, MA is somewhere in the midwest. Out of sight, out of mind. A few pictures in the thread are reminiscent of Boston: bow fronted rowhouses etc. There are unfortunately a few pics of beautiful but empty Victorian buildings in the thread too.
Tom, i would even say that most Bostonian's think west of Worcester is in another state...........heck, they dont even talk like us
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  #36  
Old Posted May 16, 2011, 12:43 PM
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Tom, i would even say that most Bostonian's think west of Worcester is in another state...........heck, they dont even talk like us
LOL Even Worcester is considered the borderlands. I also noticed that there were no three deckers shown in the thread, a sure sign that you have crossed the frontier.
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  #37  
Old Posted Jun 2, 2011, 1:42 AM
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Tornados in Springfield

Anyone know if the areas shown in this thread were in the tornadoes' path?
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  #38  
Old Posted Jun 2, 2011, 2:56 AM
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Very nice!!!
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  #39  
Old Posted Jun 2, 2011, 6:40 PM
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Anyone know if the areas shown in this thread were in the tornadoes' path?
Tom, I guess you know the local news stations are showing tons of footage from Springfield & the other areas that were hit near there. It looks like a lot of large historic buildings in & near downtown Springfield were hit. I don't think this is at the level of what happened in Joplin, but it is strange to see so many downtown buildings destroyed.

Monson, MA was really hit hard. The historic First Church of Monson (Congregational) lots it's steeple.
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  #40  
Old Posted Jun 7, 2011, 2:38 AM
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Anyone know if the areas shown in this thread were in the tornadoes' path?
Source: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.s...asures_pr.html

Scroll down, there is a map which can be enlarged. The tornado path happened on Springfield's south side according to the map.
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