Southbridge is definitely not anywhere close to as bad as people make it out to be. I think it gets such a shitty reputation because of the town’s large Puerto Rican population which I’m sure doesn’t sit well with the white townies who have been there for generations. There’s not a lot of crime there, but like a lot of towns in Central Mass west of Worcester (Ware, Spencer, Webster, Athol etc), there’s no industry in Southbridge and poverty is a very prevalent there as a result. The schools are also horrible and if you have kids I’d ill advise moving there. Otherwise, if you’re just trying to find an apartment for cheap, it’s not that bad. Everything you need including highway access via 84 and the Mass Pike is pretty close by.