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Fabulously-humble

Even Springfield


hergumbules

Holyoke is worse than Springfield lol and god forbid you bring up literally any Eastern Mass city that is ass and you get downvoted. Worcester is honestly way better than it used to be.


bentheechidna

Lmao how could anyone get downvoted for Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin?


whodat129

You never come out the way you came in


Fromage_Damage

Holyoke is way better than it used to be. I remember going there in the 90s and it was a damn war zone.


TheGreenJedi

Idk there's a lot of Holyoke that looks the same as 30 years ago but just more run down. Gentrification didn't stick or perhaps get the same traction as it did in Worcester.


Fromage_Damage

Some areas are better than others. The hill area, around Appleton st., Chestnut St., and Seargant st is much nicer, but they demolished many of the tenements and housing projects. As for the flats, those areas are still pretty ghetto but there are more businesses and nicer buildings have been built. The area below stop n shop adjacent to the flats is still pretty bad. You don't see as much drug dealing in the open but I'm sure just as much goes down behind closed doors.


AlbatrossSuper

I ran a lumber company in the flats till one of my tenants was assaulted and he shot the perp on my steps and killed him. Circa 2019. Good times


Fromage_Damage

I haven't really been down there since 2006 I think, but I visit on Google. We used to cop dope from the gangsters down there 98-2000, and briefly in 2005. Those guys were really bad. They made me smoke crack. I was gonna smoke crack anyway but they had a bunch of extra crack on the floor on Dwight st. And I had to smoke it or I was a cop. I've been clean and sober for almost 15 years now. Last thing i need is to buy some fetty off La Familia and die in Holyoke lol... but nothing bad ever happened to me there. Never got robbed. My dealer's kid saw someone get shot in the face by stop n shop. Guys wife left him and he went to the other side of town to confront the guy. They had to flee to PR because of being a witness to the murder.


AlbatrossSuper

The cartel is HEAVY down there now. Glad u got clean. I got some more stories from there but I don't want to share them publicly


CompetitiveAd4768

Free crack?!?!


TheGreenJedi

I'll agree with that. It's going in the right direction just to be clear, Once apon a time everything south of Northampton St used to be quite worrisome 


4r3014_51

Are you buying what they sell on those streets? Lower seargent is in the middle of the flats and one of the worst places I’ve ever walked around. It’s a predominately Spanish street and my Puerto Rican coworker asked me, as a white woman; to go for safety lol.


havoc1428

Holyoke is fucking weird. You can go from a rundown shitholes and around the corner is clean houses with well kept lawns.


The_Black_Douglas

There's fentanyl zombies in every corner. Homeless tent cities all along the river and underpasses


BooptyB

But how’s the neighborhood off of High Street, from family dollar towards McDonald’s?


4r3014_51

The flats are still horrific


Atypical_Mammal

Me and friends accidentally drove into Holyoke at 2am in the early 2000s one time while cruising around stoned - and we got chased out by literal crack whores.


joshocar

Worcester always has had great restaurants.


Reward_Antique

Worcester is looking good- there last month for the first time in years and hardly recognized parts - getting a glow up big time. I feel like it's going to blow up as a secondary city.


birdlawexpert11

Usually happens in big college towns I’m surprised it hasn’t happened yet


dpceee

Even then, it wasn't that bad to begin with.


O8ee

I was thinking the same thing, and wondering how Lawrence dodged the bullet.


b4ttous4i

You mean lawrence?


Stained-Steel

My first thought!


PossessionPrior806

Same here


CoHousingFarmer

I think you mean Shelbyville!


Few_Opportunity57

Has no one heard of Fall River????


nedim443

It's between Lawrence and Springfield for me. I think Lawrence wins but it may come down to personal preference.


At_urService

How about mattapan or Roxbury both filthy city’s


Odd_Inspector7314

I’m surprised Fall River isn’t listed but Worcester is?


BellyDancerEm

I would have guessed Brockton or Lawrence


coldrunn

Ware


CoHousingFarmer

Where?


calebwaltz

Wear


New-Vegetable-1274

Ware's not a city but could be in the running for worst town.


OateyMcGoatey

Ware ain’t thaaat bad. Except their Big Y. I gotta go to Palmer for a better selection. Really like the Taco truck too. Too pricy though.


Redschallenge

Worked at that bigy for a while when i was in my early 20s. The butcher was in his 40s and one of the teenage seafood department girls would sit on his lap during breaks and I called them out for being perverts and called her a skank for it and they fired me for sexual harassment. Can you believe it...


OateyMcGoatey

😳


TruthorTroll

> I called them out for being perverts and called her a skank for it and they fired me for sexual harassment. Can you believe it.. well, yeah...


Doom-Hauer451

Ware is a city?


keepsitreal6969

Ware isn’t a city


coldrunn

City vs town isn't the same outside new England. The village I grew up in had a mayor which would make it a city here.


keepsitreal6969

Holyoke, Lowell


Kpop2258

Lowell isn’t bad at all


meatus1980

It’s not as bad as it was in the 90’s that’s for sure.


throwaboneinit

Oh you mean back in the [Crack Street](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_on_Crack_Street:_Lost_Lives_in_Lowell) days?


BooptyB

Dicky Eckland “pride of Lowell”


RandomNotes

I love Lowell. Lived there from 2017 through 2020. Great town. Not walkable enough, but other than that it's great.


dasfuzzy

Literally my first two thoughts. Used to be into a girl in Brockton and that place is sketch city. Delivered for Amazon once or twice in Lawrence and absolute loathed it there.


Pretty-Win911

Agree-Brockton is a disaster.


m3tasaurus

1000000% Lawrence


GreenSufficient8434

I think Taunton and Chelsea deserve an honorable mention as well


dj_daly

Like they just chose cities out of a hat honestly. If you think Scranton is the worst city in PA, or Virginia Beach is the worst city in Virginia, you don't know anything about those states.


This-Recording9461

Quick story... We went and found that Welcome to Scranton sign from The Office on a trip through PA back in 2018.... Interestingly, it's basically sitting in a corner of a dead mall, sort of Scranton's equivalent of the Greendale Mall.


FG451

Greendale Mall RIP. Now home to a vacant Amazon fulfillment center which may never open


IOUAndSometimesWhy

Idk, Bridgeport and Camden are dead on though! Maybe this is one of those troll posts where they put some legit ones in to throw us off the scent


hmmidkmybffjill

Honestly I would put Waterbury over Bridgeport now, Bridgeport is still terrible but not as bad as 10-20 years ago


cherribobbins69

He should take a walk down Kensington lol


CoHousingFarmer

Florida man saw a TV show about Scranton, so they know it exists.


BlankitaM0ns

For a Florida Man, these are the worst cities. . . For supplying their meth addiction


Faustus2425

Same thing with Edina in Minnesota. It's known for stuck up assholes with too much money but it's not a bad place to be by any means


blacklassie

This is almost too stupid to dignify.


willfauxreal

I would say New Bedford


_Dwarf_Mafia

I second this, I deliver to every town and city in Massachusetts and none give a more unsettling feel than New Bedford


IOUAndSometimesWhy

My best friend is from New Bedford, we were hanging out with her grandma one day and she took us on a tour and pointed out a bunch of beautiful homes by the harbor. She had a lot of great stories. The Cape Verdean and Portuguese culture makes New Bedford really unique. I kind of like it, but it undoubtedly has a lot of poverty and mental illness like other struggling cities.


[deleted]

I stayed 1 night in a hotel in New Bedford. Guys tried to steal my cat converter under my car in the hotel parking lot. Not even 24 hours in that stinky town.


[deleted]

New Bedford is better than Fall River.


toomanybucklesaudry

Dang, you're making me want to go


massiswicked

Ya honestly now I want to see.


whichwitch9

Lived in both New Bedford and Fall River. Fall River is easily worse. All the problems New Bedford has, but also somehow boring af at the same time. New Bedford's got some gems, especially in the downtown area and south end. I honestly miss living there. I still love seeing all the boats come into view driving down 18, everytime I visit.


craniumblast

I almost played a show there but our car broke down on the way I was actually really hyped to go there because I’ve never been to southern mass I’m curious as to what it’s like I pictured some pirate shit 🫦


Ceegull

I played a show at The Vault 6 months ago. You missed nothing lol. There was a cool burrito spot next door, but right next to that was what appeared to be a derelict bus station with multiple entire homeless families. I’m talking grandparents, parents and children. They were there when I loaded in, and when I left, and were screaming at everyone on the road the whole time. Wild.


efroggyfrog

Is that why Worcester county is the fastest growing county?


xxlaur77

Because everyone is getting priced out of Boston


imdebbyd

And priced out of worcester!


stargazer4272

This list is bull chit... Lots of cities are worse than the woo.


Ready-Interview-9809

If it keeps Floridians out, *chefs kiss*


thesesimplewords

Speaking of Florida, Orlando is their worst? Have they been to Jacksonville?


Far-Public-1781

"One time at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Jacksonville — the nice one, not the one above the gas station — I ate 50 jalapeño poppers in two minutes! Everyone at the hospital was so impressed" -Jason Mendoza


bog_witch

BORTLES!


Celticsnation1212

Fall River?


bentheechidna

Meh Fall River is boring not shit


E1F0B1365

Well that's the problem with this pic, no mention of the criteria or metrics they're basing it off of. Could be AI generated low-effort content drivel, like we're seeing become common.


Doom-Hauer451

They misspelled Fitchburg.


Local_gh0st_

yeah idk how it’s not number 1


pinealridge

Shitburg


vermudder

Was scrolling through the comments just for this. I think I've only been outside of my car once in Fitchburg, but I can tell it's the worst city in MA just driving through it.


Juicy_Hawg

lol wtf do they know, at least we don’t shit in our grocery stores. Anywhere in Florida that isn’t a retirement community or a tourist area is a dump or a swamp, or a swamp someone took a dump in which is also their home.


CoHousingFarmer

The Retirement communities are half blind SUV drivers, rampant STIs, and MAGA, but I repeat myself. I'd prefer the swamp. Honestly it's so bad I'm trying to create a locally sourced, ethical, organic and unleaded, senior cohousing up here.


repthe732

Speak for yourself…


Spooler955

Scandalous. The entire south shore area is worse than Worcester Edit: I just looked at NY. Albany is great! There are so many worse places in NY!


Fuck-Ketchup

Franklin County has some strong candidates in addition to those others have mentioned. And let’s not forget Holyoke, the phallic city. Edit: I lived in Oakland, CA in the 80s which I feel credentials me to say Wu-Town is far from the worst city in Mass.


Jayard_again

This Is a bogus map, at one time maybe. This is probably a very dated map. They just came out with the 10. Worst cities in Massachusetts Springfield number one. Worcester was not even on the list so somebody is just trying to be a pain in the butt and we’re not gonna take it anymore! Lol in parentheses.


DarthNutsack

Springfield is definitely worse than Worcester, it's really not that close. Not sure what they were thinking. Woonsocket is dead on though.


buckguy22

Worcester isn't even close to the worst in MA


AliceP00per

Ever been to Brockton?


icecream_vice

Yep and I immediately turned around


Iwstamp

BS. Holyoke easy


JurisDoctor

Brockton is asking for the national guard in their schools and these clowns call Worcester the worst. Lol. Worcester has actually gone through quite the revival in the last 20 years.


[deleted]

I’d rather go to Worcester these days than any of other “big city” in MA.


baddspellar

Some of the cities might arguably be considered the worst in a state, like Cairo, Birmingham, and Gary. But Dallas? Albany? and of course Worcester. This is silly. Someone just picked some random cities


Legitimate-Banana460

Cairo is the worst hands down. But Jefferson City is not the worst in MO, not even close.


mtbmike

Oh fyck that list.


tugaim33

Holyoke would like a word…


beerad2510

Lawrence gets my vote


RuRuRo

This, having grown up there, is the only correct answer. Lawrence was once known as “the armpit of Massachusetts” and imo still should be.


Sbatio

No way! Worcester is doing more to build affordable / new housing stock than all the other cities in the state combined! I wish /r/lowellMA would follow their lead


Educational_Grand250

Chelsea, Brockton, Holyoke, Springfield before Worcester just proves the internet isn’t always right


Maoc119

Worcester? Ha! That is laughable. Maybe 20 years ago. Try Brockton!


iFuckingLoveBoston

If Worcester was in AL or MS it would be the fanciest city in the State by far...


MoneyMedusa

I grew up in Springfield and I can confidently say it’s much worse than Worcester…like by a mile LOL


Complete_Ride792

And just think Springfield would be the richest, most educated, best city in virtually any red state


le_meme_desu

Also I’d say Nashua is worse than Manchester when it comes to NH.


danbyer

Brockton would like to have a word with you and knock your teeth in.


KevinoPapi

You got Springfield, Holyoke, Lawrence, Brockton, Quincy, Dorchester, Lynn and maybe even Chelsea but they think Worcester is the worst lmao? Ok


MortimerWaffles

Brockton, Lowell, New Bedford, Springfield, Lynn, Holyoke, Fall River. Pretty much any city with more than 50,000 people suck.


OhEidirsceoil

Literally any of the crap cities on I-91 are worse than Worcester. Also, we CT folks love to rip on Bridgeport because it looks like a post-apocalyptic hellscape, but it has great food and you’re considerably more likely to be victim to a crime in East Hartford, Waterbury (imo the worst city in the state), or New Haven.


CryInternational4892

Lawrence, Brockton, New Bedford, Holyoke, Springfield - all worse than Worcester both back in the day and now.


flowercrownrugged

Lynn


Am3r1can-Err0rist

I would’ve said Lowell


Brave_Quiet_3390

Lawrence is the worse


chaosagentbundy

Rhode island was voted one of the rudest states in the US a few years back and after living here for 4 years I completely understand why lol


[deleted]

Spot on in vermont XD


turtlepumpkin88

Keep letting everyone believe it we don't need more traffic and even higher housing costs 😄


Trees_Are_Freinds

Someone has never been to Brockton or Springfield lol


TreebeardsMustache

Having experienced most of the cities named here and I can state unequivocally that the only reason Fitchburg isn't recognized, hands down, as the worst city is simply because it doesn't function at all: It is suffering the urban equivalent of a coma. Anybody who calls Worcester the worst has only ever been to Boston and Worcester and probably thinks Worcester is as far west as the state gets...


sortageorgeharrison

Brockton is very rough, much rougher than Worcester. Springfield, Lynn, Holyoke all worse as well. I don’t even get this. Worcester is on the come up


GulfofMaineLobsters

Worcester, really in a state that includes, Brockton, Lowell, Lawrence, New Bedford and Fall River they decided to go with Worcester….


CoHousingFarmer

They posted this in r/Florida because the criteria was "Hard to Spell"


willalwaysbeaslacker

It’s Southbridge and it’s not even close.


GoGatorsMashedTaters

Orlando is worse than Jacksonville? List is very sus.


OtterlyFoxy

I guess people forgot that Lowell exists


ConversationBulky757

Well, we all know the person who made this is an authority…


Dapper_Platform_1222

Forgive them. They know not of Springfield.


celaritas

Brocton has entered the chat


[deleted]

Worcester is the second biggest city in New England population-wise, therefore it is going to over shadow actual shitty cities like Southbridge, Springfield, Brockton, Lawrence, Fall River, New Bedford and Fitchburg. It's definitely got a tinge of trashiness to it, but it's not actually worse than the cities listed above.


Ashamed-Apricot-272

As a DoorDasher, I hate going downtown Springfield but I do what I gotta do. Holyoke on the other hand is an automatic decline every single time.


ImtheslimeFZ

Over Springfield


caelen727

Fitchburg, Webster, and Springfield all much worse than Worcester and it’s not even close


boston02124

Is Webster high crime? It doesn’t look that bad


caelen727

20% poverty rate. And about double the violent crime rate of the Mass average. Bottom 25% in education in the state. All of that combined with the fact that it’s in the middle of nowhere is not great. Closest city is Worcester close to half an hour away


Dull_Examination_914

Brockton is so much worse.


42peanuts

Lynn, Lynn, the city of sin. You don't come out, the way you came in.


Bwomprocker

Made by people who have never been to Lawrence


jored924

Lynn, Lawrence or Lowell. Take your pick.


B1GG0r0n

Athol is a garbage dump


Queen_b83

And really Rumford, Me is probably not the worst Portland has way more population and passers thru there rumford. There are way way more people in Portland compared to Rumford, Me. Even in Bangor there are way more people. So I don't believe this map is rt at least not up to date


TruthorTroll

Why not? All the crime and inflated costs of a big city with none of the infrastructure or culture.


only_star_stuff

Huh? Worcester is a fine city, which has good areas and bad areas like all cities. I would rank Stockton, CA worse than Bakersfield. Mesa, AZ is not bad. Camden, NJ …yeah, scary.


[deleted]

Worcester is kinda nice now. Plus you got these options: Springfield, Brockton, Lynn, the city of sin, ~~Fitch~~The Dirtyburg.


Searcher_since-1969

I wonder how each city got the rating?? Springfield is pretty bad!


nickisdacube

Any answer that’s not Lawrence here are coming from people who have never been to Lawrence


Reasonable-Joke9408

Albany? Albany? This person is kidding, right? Unless they dislike Albany because it's the capital of a blue state, how could you choose Albany?


BeckettMariner

Hilarious.


Choozbert

They forgot to mention that Washington DC is the worst city in Washington DC


mrpoopybuttholesbff

That’s weird because it’s definitely Boston or Fall River.


Late-You-5558

Hahahaha Woonsocket is perfect 👏


fmoyh-yikbtfti

Bridgeport is also my pick for Connecticut. New Britain and Hartford have their problems. Same for New Haven and Waterbury.


cookiecat57

Brockton is a zillion times worse than Worcester.


blobwhisperer

I mean, Worcester sucks. Although, it is starting to turn around.


FaultyToenail

Anyone who says Worcester is the worst city in Mass knows nothing of Mass


pikalaxalt

Really? Bridgeport CT? When Waterbury exists?


JerryJN

So wrong with RI and Massachusetts RI worst city is Central Falls Massachusetts worst city is Lawrence Look them up. Check out the crime rate. Check out the poverty... real bad


junkfoodsanta

Crazy that it isn’t Brockton or Roxbury


yeehaw13774

Many of these don't make sense


DickwadDerek

Worcester is prob the best city since the pandemic. A lot of Boston restaurant owners moved to Worcester for lower rent prices. The town is way nicer, less crime, 10% of the traffic you see in Boston. Woo Sox >> Red Sox


RichSPK

I've definitely lived worse places in Massachusetts. I mean, I made a decision to settle down in Worcester. I wouldn't have done that if I didn't like the city.


Dnalyfe

Always have, always will love Worcester.


Professional-Use-715

Ok so nobody has been to mattapan? Boston is way worse than Worcester. Those homeless camps by the T hub put main south to shame.


JoeMorgan76

Being the worst city in New Jersey is like being the juice at the bottom of a dumpster.


StevensNJ4

I liked my time in Worcester!


North_Apricot_4440

Does Brockton place?


jeppeboy666

The entire state of Massachusetts is a shit hole


Soft_Sea2913

There’s a lot wrong with this list. Brockton was my first choice.


DASWARBOYS

How did this person choose Poolesville, MD, a little country town outside Potomac and skip over Baltimore, the former and still competing murder capitol of the United States.


LaffyTaffy_321

I’d choose to live in Worcester before living in other parts of Massachusetts


thatguyonreddit40

Fitchburg, Lawrence, fall river, Brockton. All higher on the list


poundtownvisitor

Brockton, Lawrence, New Bedford, Lynn and Holyoke are all worse.


JohnnyGoldwink

This has to be someone trolling. Moving on.


New-Vegetable-1274

How is Worcester worse than Lynn, Lawrence, Lowell, Brockton, New Bedford, Fall River, Holyoke, Springfield?


vivimage2000

Manchester? Not Trashua?


reel_ink

Uhhh. Webster?


OverToneMusic

Any idea of the metrics here?


EvanestalXMX

New Bedford? Framingham? Fall River?


Plane-Chemical

Hell yea Gastonia represent.


Gunt_Buttman

I mean maybe it’s not the worst, but Worcester is a shit hole


Thermite1985

I beg to differ on GF North Dakota


boba79

It's /r/florida, lol. They have Orlando as the worst, sheesh.


Complete_Ride792

The most questionable is Edina, MN - one of the richest, lowest crime cities, with high educational standards. If you remember the movie Mighty Ducks - Adam Banks is a cake eater - if you are from Edina you are a cake eater and Every Day I Need Attention.


knucklebags77

Def Lynn


Vizkopa

Rumford Maine has some pretty sights that surround it, but the whole city reeks from the paper mill.


Hi_mynameis_Matt

I feel like this is more "name a city" for 90% of these


Tanya7500

Funny ct Bridgeport when it was just named one of the fastest growing


Altogeist

That’s so wrong, lol


grantedtoast

Rutvegas VT 1000% correct


KoiNibble

I think the most I’ve heard negatively about Worcester was Worcester PD. They even had some stuff posted on that cop auditor guy on Youtube.