Submitted by nofog2234 t3_xu6514 in WorcesterMA
Just asking out of intellectual curiosity. I like studying things such as gentrification and I think with the recent announcement of the east west rail this entire state will become such. Even Pittsfield is becoming kind of a ritzy place
I agree. It takes up to 1.5 hours commuter railing from Leominster to Boston. I can only imagine how long it would take from Springfield. 3 hours?
It boggles my mind that they can’t do express routes. Maddening.
Even if they could run from Springfield straight to Boston they would still have the ridiculously slow zones, like Framingham center, where the speed limit is a major factor in route time. It will never be as efficient as true high speed rail, which is unlikely to ever happen given that the existing rail can’t be moved away from those high density zones. At a minimum they would need to implement solutions like they did with the Acela grade level crossings and install more fencing along many miles of track.
Even springfield has begun to appreciate though i don't fully understand it. Even worcester-boston can be quite the commute
Yeah, the entire state has seen quite a bit of appreciation in the past five years. Even out there. I have most of my family in that area and it's tough for the younger generation to find anything reasonably affordable without breaking the bank.
I wouldn't expect a huge influx of people into Springfield or Palmer (where the two major stops would be) for commuting opportunities into Boston unless it can get them there in a half hour or less. There will be some but not many.
I have seen something else happening though - a lot of Boston based companies have opened up office space in Worcester, which allows them to tap into people that live in the Springfield area. It seems that the companies are making themselves more accessible to more employees probably as a need - they are realizing that they don't pay enough for people to live in the Boston area.
There was an option for HSR in the original proposal, but IIRC they rejected that option outright.
I suspect the east-west rail concept is being hyped to further raise real estate values. All the powers that be can't even keep the T running properly, I can't imagine how any agency will manage to reconstruct rail lines for high-speed service and then keep that service running reliably. At least within the next 10 years.
It took them like 30 years to add a few stops to a Green Line extension.
There is no political will at the state or federal level to build out a robust commuter train based infrastructure. I would love it if they did but it's just not a priority.
Springfield is a dump.
Springfield is sketchy, not much going for it, a fair amount of crime and there's the casino and the casino people. West Springfield is ok and Chicopee but stay away from Holyoke the whole city is like Worcester's worst neighborhood. Northampton has Cambridge sort of vibe, lots of good food and plenty of entertainment. East of Springfield is sleepy small towns that have their own charms. I can't see anyone being priced out of Springfield, it's not like there's a massive wave of people headed there. If you like the outdoors fall in western Mass is spectacular.
Is this a joke?
I mean Springfield is increasing a lot too. When I was working in Springfield and renting in 16 acres I briefly looked into purchasing a house. Most of the redone, nice and modern houses in 16 acres were about 160 at the time. I’ve looked on Zillow occasionally since then. Doesn’t seem to be anything like that anymore
I just moved to the Springfield area, from Boston.
I can buy a starter home in Worcester or a giant 5 bedroom house in Springfield. Lol
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A large number of students at the high school I work at have left for Spfld.
I'm looking for a new place because my rent went up to 2k. And the cheepest studio or 1 bedroom I can find is like 1300 without parking or utilities.
I'm like about to stay here and pay the extra in rent while I look for a roommate. 90% of the listings around here have like, visible mold. That's lame
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Watchfull_Hosemaster t1_iqu8kgf wrote
I'm not holding my breath for that East-West rail. It will need to be a high speed rail line to make it effective for commuting from Western Mass and I don't see that happening any time soon.
I almost moved to the Springfield area five years ago after being in Boston for a long time but chose Worcester instead. Back then housing costs were roughly the same for Worcester and the Springfield area for starter homes. Since then, there seems to be a much wider gap.
The state seems to think that this rail line will somehow open Eastern Mass up to commuters from west of Worcester, but I think this is just another instance of Beacon Hill being so oblivious to the needs of Western Mass. If you're living out there, you're far more likely to take a job in that area or in the Hartford, CT area. That area is more closely tied to CT than it is to Boston.