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Hello All,
I currently live in Washington DC and will be taking up a job in UMASS Dartmouth. I was wondering if I could get some information as to which areas should I be looking in to rent a studio or 1 bed room apartment. Over the past few weeks I have got mixed opinions about the New Bedford and Fall River areas. The general opinion however is to avoid the downtown areas in these places.
Other areas like Dartmouth, Westport and Fairhaven come highly recommended. I have been checking on craigslist for ads regarding 1 BDR apartments. Most of them are either in Fall River (FR) or New Bedford (NB). I have barely come across any postings for the Westport or Fairhaven or Dartmouth areas. Also I have been checking rent.com but the options are quite limited.
Are there specific websites / sources to find apartments in Westport or the Dartmouth area. If not, I was wondering if there is an approximate geographical location within the NB and FR areas which I should be looking into. The rent in these areas (via postings on craigslist) varies from $525 - $800 for a 1 BDR. Is it true that the cheaper 1 BDR's posted on craigslist are not in a safe area.
Same thing I wrote in response to your other post:
Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox
Fall River and New Bedford are where you'll find most of the rentals (you've been searching, I don't need to tell you that). Both of those cities are old manufacturing and textile mill towns that have fallen on hard times since the exodus of those industries. Almost any issue in either town is likely related to the decline of the city's formerly predominant industries. Unemployment is high in both towns while education is low and there is some crime in pockets of either city. The population of these communities is very insular. Many residents rarely leave their respective city and opinions of their cities are often reflective of that. On the down side of that, many locals treat these small cities (both around 90-95,000 people) as if they are much bigger than they are. Just know that for most real "urban" amenities, you will be traveling to Boston (about 50 minutes away) or Providence (20-30 minutes away).
The flip side of the insular attitude is that the local take on crime is often overblown. That's not to say it doesn't exist. It does. There is gang activity and pockets of occasional violent crime. Generally, it's isolated to certain areas of either city (unfortunately, it's often a public housing project that is central to the crime). I lived in metro D.C. for a while (Kensington, MD) before moving to the Fall River/NB area (and eventually Boston via Portland, Maine). I can safely say that there is nowhere in Fall River or New Bedford that looks anything like the worst parts of D.C. At the same time these two little cities lack many of the great things D.C. has to offer as well.
While the two cities are so close together and often talked about as one, it's worth noting that they are different in many ways. Fall River was founded specifically for textile and manufacturing industries. It grew during that era and has been in decline ever since. It is scarred deeply by urban renewal. Of course, industry brought wealth and with wealth comes good things and you can still see that in Fall River. It has a few neighborhoods chalk full of beautiful Victorian Homes (which can be had at very low costs) and some other great architecture. The waterfront park area (Heritage and Bicentennial Parks) are quite nice as well. Still, most of the city is in very rough shape and doesn't appear to be improving.
New Bedford is a little different. New Bedford has an industrial past like Fall River; but the city was around as a significant port long before that. The result is a more colonial looking urban core with cobblestone streets and colonial seaside architecture. Downtown New Bedford is a far more attractive place than Downtown Fall River. It was the whaling capital of the world (Moby Dick was written by Melville while he was on a New Bedford boat and many of the city's landmarks are described in the book) and twice in its history the wealthiest city in the world (the second time coming with manufacturing and textiles). There is rich architecture and history everywhere. Unfortunately, like Fall River, the city has declined since the glory days. Unlike Fall River, New Bedford has made quite a comeback in the past half decade, particularly downtown. New Bedford's port is growing in terms of traffic, it's the highest grossing fishing port in the nation and there seems to be a budding high-tech manufacturing and healthcare industry. Add to that that small businesses are popping up and thriving downtown (4 times as many independent businesses opened downtown than closed during the recession). It's still early and as you'll see the city has a LOOOONG way to go, but improvement (especially in this economic climate) is a good thing.
As far as areas to live, I drew up this map for those moving to the area. Basically, Green is a good area to look (cross-check street addresses on craigslist ads to the highlighted areas) and Red areas are places to avoid. Also, UMass Dartmouth has a listing of off-campus rentals.
As far as the bad areas go, United Front Homes and North Front Street in New Bedford are the worst (Sunset Hill in Fall River is pretty bad, but a little more isolated away). However, I'm a bit surprised that your sources advised you against living near downtown New Bedford. If you enjoy an urban environment, it's just about the only place to be in the South Coast. In addition, it's quite safe and quite attractive (it's not a big area, but it's nice). 13 Blocks of the downtown area make up the Whaling District National Historic Park. There are some good museums there (an Art Museum, the Whaling Museum and a small Ocean Explorium) as well as a number of good restaurants, shops, galleries, UMass Campus and a nice theater. If I were in your shoes (I prefer an urban area) The downtown area of New Bedford would be my first choice by a long shot. I'd also consider the Lofts at Wamsutta Place. It's one of a few new Mill Conversions in New Bedford (two are still under construction) that's complete with a pool, small museum (two, actually), gym, and security on site. I think the units are beautiful and reasonably priced. They are located right near I-195.
The Highlands in Fall River (upper and lower) are nice as is the County Street Historic District in New Bedford (near downtown). Areas on that map that aren't highlighted aren't necessarily good or bad. It just probably varies too much to highlight a certain color. If you have a question about a specific address, feel free to ask and I'll let you know what I can.
Rentals are harder to find outside of those cities because the towns outside are mostly single family and suburban or rural. Craigslist has some from time to time but your best bet may be the UMass site. Basically what you're looking at is urban v. rural. New Bedford and Fall River are the urban centers, but most people who live in MA or RI and want urban environments go to Providence or Boston. Any why not? Those cities offer far more than New Bedford or Fall River. Still, there are pockets of each of those cities that are just fine. If you look there, you'll probably do quite alright. If you'd prefer the rural areas, keep looking... Westport, Fairhaven and Dartmouth are beautiful.
Hello Irfox,
Thanks for the valuable information. I am currently looking at apartments in the areas you specified on the post. As a personal preference which would yo prefer New Bedford or Fall River? or is there any other place you think may be better than these two.
The Highlands in Fall River are pretty much the largest, safest neighborhood in those two cities. As has been mentioned Fall River is, overall, the safer of the two cities. Still, both have their bad spots and both have their good spots. While the Highlands in Fall River is physically the largest safe neighborhood, there are some nice ones in New Bedford too.
What you choose depends highly on personal preference. I prefer to be in a more urban area. I like being within walking distance (or short bike ride) or urban amenities like restaurants, shops, museums, galleries, etc. Because of that, I prefer the central New Bedford area (County Street Historic area or Whaling District/Downtown) by a long shot. After I finish my graduate program, my goal is to actually get a home in that downtown area (the Whaling District if possible) and live and work there. Getting a job there will be the hardest part.
The Highlands and the majority of the other nicer neighborhoods are more suburban. I don't mean cul-de-sac low-density suburban; just not wall to wall urban. The Upper Highlands Highlands (North of President Avenue in Fall River) is a mix of old historic homes (late 1800s, early 1900s, many of them Victorian in style) with small yards and quiet streets as well as some more recent 1950s and 60s style ranches and split levels (this is generally West of Robeson St). The Lower Highlands (South of President Avenue) is more of the street-car style suburb. The homes are closer together (many of them nice old Victorians) and the yards are smaller. There are a good number of rentals here. Personally, I would emphasize a focus on Rock, High, Highland, Underwood, Belmont and June Streets (but only on June South of French Street, the area closer to Highland isn't as wonderful). You'll still have to drive to most things (groceries, dining, etc).
Again, I'd go with New Bedford's Whaling District (part of downtown) or the County Street Historic area. That's my preference but it's not for everyone. I think NEOhiobound is much happier in her home in the Highlands. I still believe that if you chose either of those areas you'd be surprised to find that either city isn't nearly as bad as it's often made out to be. Is there any way you can get a chance to visit before the move, even for a weekend? Google's Streetview isn't particularly helpful in this region.
I've emphasized the two cities in my posts. There are rentals in the surrounding towns that Hollytree mentioned, but they are harder to come by. If you prefer rural or more low-density suburban area, then you can keep looking in those towns (UMD's website will have more Dartmouth listings). It will be tougher, but you can get lucky from time to time.
Hello Guys,
Thanks for the response. Actually I will be staying in Brookline, MA starting next week when I start looking at apartments in the UMass Dartmouth area. I did see the Dartmouth housing listing .. the problem is most of them are all shared apartments.
My preferences for the apartment are as follows:
1) 1 BRD / Studio Apartment.
2) Would like the entire apartment for myself as will have wife visiting over the next couple of months.
3) Would like to spend not more that $700-$750 (with utilities, preferably)
4) Would like a maximum of 15 miles commute to Umass Dartmouth.
I Will check in the areas mentioned. Have not come across many rental apartments in this area. Also could some one recommend areas and sources where I should look into where the price range is met.
Perfect. Staying in Brighton will allow to actually see the areas you'll be looking before you rent. Your price range is plenty reasonable for the area. You may be priced out of some of the developments in Dartmouth, but you can do well in most other areas for that budget (studios, one and even two bedrooms).
Keep checking craigslist , new places come up daily. I just double checked and there are a number in your price range (much lower, actually) in good neighborhoods (including some outside the city like in Somerset). I'd use the search feature on Mass ( make sure you're in the south coast section of the site, here's the link. You won't find much in the Boston or general Mass. section) craigslist to look for apartments using key words like "highlands", "historic" (the historic districts are best in both cities), or even town names like "dartmouth."
Here are the results for a search I did (for "historic" in the south coast craigslist). There are a number of apartments in good areas in your price range.
Thanks Irfox. Will check these apartments and ask for one last help with addresses of safe places. Looks like my budget should be okay to manage with. hopefully will get some good place. Was more interested in a management rental... there are a few in that area like royal crest, Border city mills... but with utilities and stuff .... go around $850-900. Since I am going to be in this area for three years .. would prefer not to spend that much.. but at the same time would want a reasonable place.
Will keep you posted. Thanks a lot for your help. I really appreciate it. By the way, I was recommended the following website by a colleague: MyLocalCrime. You can check it out too. I checked for Fall river area .. other than flint village other areas you marked (red/green) are quite accurate.
Hello Irfox,
Thanks for the map you have drawn. It is quite helpful. I though had a quick question. I understand that highlands is a good neighborhood to stay in. I wanted to know if the area below I-195 outside the red zones are good areas. There are a bunch of apartments in the range of $500-$600 in that area. Will be visiting them this friday, but would appreciate if I could get a head start. Will also be checking apartments at Fairhaven as it comes highly recommended.
The reason I didn't highlight some of those areas either red or green is because it can vary significantly by a small area of even a few blocks. I'm sure you don't want to publish addresses of places you're looking online, but if you want to give me a street name or send me a direct message with some of the areas, I'd be happy to give my opinion. NEOhiobound lives in the Fall River area too and may know some of these areas.
From a general rule of thumb, much of the area to the very south end of the city (along the border with Tiverton, RI) is sort of middle class and suburban and mostly safe, but not really attractive. This is particularly true closer to the Harbour Mall and Route 24 (south of I-195). Some of the streets off of Stafford Road and William S. Canning BLVD are fine too, but others are not.
I really wouldn't like to have a place on or just off of Plymouth Avenue. The area between Plymouth Avenue and South Main St (bounded by Dwelly to the South and I-195 to the North) can be rough in spots and is really chalk full of the prototypical New England 3decker tenement homes (very ugly in my opinion). I would avoid it if it's in that area.
The areas along Brayton Ave, Rodman Street, and Warren Street are also full of old industrial structures (many abandoned) and those old three deckers. They're not all particularly dangerous, but they do look and give the feeling that they are foreboding (and depressing to a degree). Again, in this area it can really vary by block. If you have a choice, I would go for the Highlands which is really by far the most attractive and safe neighborhood in the city.
I can give you more specific opinions if you can give me some more specific locations. Fairhaven is mostly quite nice and very safe.
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Looks like my budget should be okay to manage with. hopefully will get some good place. Was more interested in a management rental... there are a few in that area like royal crest, Border city mills... but with utilities and stuff .... go around $850-900. Since I am going to be in this area for three years .. would prefer not to spend that much.. but at the same time would want a reasonable place. 
