I Went To Springfield, The Most Dangerous City In Massachusetts

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It's saddening to see a once-great place look like this today.

Massachusetts. The most liberal state of all. Now, we’re not going to get into politics TOO much here, but there are some interesting dichotomies here. Massachusetts does excellent in education, and is actually one of the safest states you can live in. Some rankings (not mine) have called Massachusetts one of the top 5 BEST states you can live in. So, whatever liberalism exists here, things could be worse. I mean look at California.

However, there are some BIG problems here, too. If you asked someone in Massachusetts where the worst places to live are, some will say Lawrence, you’ll hear Holyoke and Brockton or North Adams. And, of course, there’s Springfield.

For this video, we’re going to drive through the worst parts of Springfield, so you can see what is essentially the worst area to live in this whole state. We’ll talk about why this place is so bad and talk with someone who lives here to get additional perspective. As we’ll see, Springfield has improved, but is still in a bad place right now. And there’s no optimism things will get better.

Every state has a bruise. Even the best places to live have bad sides to them. In the case of Massachusetts, it’s here. Springfield has a population of 155,000 people, but that number is down by 17% from its high in the 1960s. People are leaving here for various reasons - the poverty, the crime, for better opportunities. And word is out about how badly this place is doing. At a time when home prices are astronomically high, Springfield is one of 13 cities where home prices are going DOWN. That’s not a good sign.

Back in the day, this place was jammin. They still call Springfield the city of firsts. They made the first dictionary, the first gas powered car, and basketball was invented here. This place was home to many large manufacturers and inventors. They made bread, cars, motorcycles, guns, brass goods, chemicals, watches, toys, engines, books. A lot of stuff was created and distributed here. There were once big downtown department stores.

But like many of our other formerly great cities, things went downhill in the last half of the 20th century. Factories closed down, Springfield city made a series of poor planning decisions, and industries just left the whole northeastern part of the US. We’ve seen similar declines in other cities out this way - places like Rochester, Buffalo and Hartford.

By the mid 1980s, Springfield was known nationally as a place with high crime, political corruption and poverty. A lot of the factories and manufacturing centers here are decaying and have for lease signs up. Companies don’t need to base their operations in these large urban centers. They don’t need to even be in America anymore.

This place almost filed bankruptcy, though it seems to have recovered from near disaster.

The biggest claim to fame for Springfield’s attempt at a turn around came with the opening of the MGM Casino in downtown. But as you probably know, casinos usually bring in additional revenues, but also bring in their share of crime and blight.

Today, nearly 1 in 3 residents here lives in poverty. This is the second poorest city in the whole state.

Springfield certainly isn’t unique. Lots of our former great cities declined over time. And those with greater aspirations have moved into shinier, newer communities. A lot of people took their families into areas nearby - places like West Springfield, Agawam Ludlow and Longmeadow.

So Springfield’s stuck in a rut. And it can’t really grow, either. Much of New England has no unincorporated land, so it’s not like Springfield can absorb nicer nearby communities to springboard growth.

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.

Although things have improved here - I mean crime has peaked somewhat, though not in some neighborhoods like the one we’re in right now. Graduation rates are going up, and a new train manufacturing plant gives folks hope.

#massachusetts #moving

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