Where are we going? Oh, Oh. What's the future showing?

May 14, 2007 11:34 AM

I am moving to the South Coast of Massachusetts. What do I need to know about it?

I've been accepted into MFA program and need to move to New Bedford, Ma over the summer. I've never moved this far or been to Massachusetts before, so naturally I have a lot of questions.

• What is the city like? The stuff I found online was pretty generic. Does anyone have any firsthand experience with being there?

• What should I know about housing? What to look for, where to look for it. Just enough room for me and a cat. I've heard the city has somewhat of a crime problem. Which areas should I avoid?

• Any other general advise for moving and living in Massachusetts? I am moving from a small town in Oklahoma so I know there will be a lot of differences.

• Also, what's the deal with car insurance. None of the companies I looked at sell it there. Will my insurance still be good or will I have to get a different one?

Thank you all in advance.

posted by fair_game to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

Insurance rates are set by the state. That's why most companies don't sell there.
posted by smackfu at 11:59 AM on May 14, 2007

Prepare yourself for cost of living adjustment. It's expensive in MA. You're right that New Bedford has a bad crime problem. I have never lived there, so unfortunately I can't be of more help with location.

Some info on Massachusetts' car insurance system... It's skewed on location and by driver. IMO, it's a miserable system. This may also be of help to you.
posted by jerseygirl at 12:19 PM on May 14, 2007

New Bedford is . . . "up and coming" and has been so since I was a kid in the early 80s growing up nearby. It was once a very rich and prosperous city benefitting from money from the whaling and fishing industries then subsequently textile mills, it's really suffered since the 50s and 60s and is a city struggling to find itself. There is a sense of "salvation" on the horizon in the form of the commuter rail to Boston being extended to NB but it's still quite a few years off. The nice things about New Beige are the cultural diversity, relatively cheap rent, and proximity to Boston, Providence, and Cape Cod. There are quite a few artists moving into the area for all of those reasons as a matter of fact. Anyway, I'm sure you've already found the local paper, The Standard Times (or as my dad likes to call it, the Sub-Standard Times). Another interesting site I stumbled across is South Coast 24/7 which has some good info on stuff to do in the area. By the way, no one and I mean no one here calls it "South Coast"; it's actually a bit of a local joke. Stick to New Beffid or New Beige and you won't get laughed at.

With regards to places to live...I assume you're doing the UMass Dartmouth MFA programme. I can't remember if the MFA programme is located at the campus in Dartmouth or at their location in downtown NB. If it's in Dartmouth, there are plenty of really nice spots to look at. The coolest in my opinion is South Dartmouth and more specifically Padanaram. Rent cost (or purchase cost if you're thinking about going that route) will be pricier than other areas but it's an incredible little village.

Another great town right next door to NB is Fairhaven. It's a wonderful, quiet little town with a very interesting history and some amazing architecture. The center of Fairhaven is cool and totally safe. Again, you're looking at like a 10-15 min drive to downtown NB. Given the choice, this is probably where I would live if I moved back to the area.

If you're looking in NB proper, the downtown area is a bit sketchy as is the south end (though it's getting better). The west end is very nice and suburbany, and there are also some nice spots in the north end. All of these locations are within a like 10-15 min drive of downtown. I'd encourage you to visit and really have a drive around to check stuff out. It's not a super fantastic place to live but given the right attitude and intentions, it could be way cool -- especially if it ever up and comes.

(Full disclosure: I grew up in the next town north until about 1993 and then moved away from the area. My folks still live in Freetown -- where I grew up -- six months out of the year. My grandfather still lives in New Bedford and my other grandmother still lives in Fairhaven. Oddly enough I'm at my folks' house for a visit from England as I write this.)

On preview: The crime problem from what I understand is really constrained to a few areas (south end and downtown) and socio-economic groups. In 32 years, I know of one family whose house was broken into, that's it.
posted by lazywhinerkid at 12:41 PM on May 14, 2007

By the way, my aunt is an insurance agent with an office in downtown NB. Email me at the address in my profile and I'm happy to put you in touch -- she can give you loads of info.
posted by lazywhinerkid at 1:06 PM on May 14, 2007

New Bedford is a typical New England blue collar city; faded from its glory days, hanging on tough for good times that never quite seem to come. Anywhere in New England that's more that 30 miles from Boston is the same (plus or minus a few specifics). Lots of Portuguese immigrants. Emeril Lagasse, who is half-Portugese, is from New Bedford. Everything always seems down at the heels in places like New Bedford, Worcester, Lowell, etc.

NB is just a smidge too far from Boston or Providence to be really convenient to either one, but not so far away you can't make the time to go if you want (by car or by train).

I'd listen to lazywhinerkid about the parts of the city to avoid, since he's a local.
posted by briank at 1:44 PM on May 14, 2007

Just to nitpick -- Emeril is from Fall River not New Beige. They can have him :-)
posted by lazywhinerkid at 3:19 PM on May 14, 2007

Emeril is from Fall River not New Beige

Oops, sorry.
posted by briank at 5:01 PM on May 14, 2007

Not sure when you're moving, but I went to Summerfest in New Bedford last year and had a good time.

lazywhinerkid definitely has the best specific info.

I know that the cost of living will be lower than Boston, but potentially still pricier than you're used to. And folks tend to move quickly and talk in that clipped New England way that may make you think we're being mean--but we're not (always, anyway). My friends from the South and/or MidWest always say we seem less friendly than where they're from.
posted by jdl at 5:23 PM on May 14, 2007

Welcome to the neighborhood! I would second lazywhinerkid's suggestion to consider the surrounding communities when looking for a place to live. Many people from other parts of the country don't realize how close and convenient neighboring towns are in New England. Depending on where you are going on a daily basis, it can be easier to live just outside of town. If your school is on the west side of town, say, it can be much simpler and quicker to get there from a western suburb than to cut across the city from an apartment on the east side that may be closer as the crow (or seagull) flies.

As for car insurance, yeah it's pretty fucked up. Call your current company and ask -- I was with State Farm while I lived in NH and VT, and while they did not sell policies in MA, they did have a branch there to service existing customers who moved to the state. I have since switched to MetLife (because of a good employee discount), and I have had no problems so far.

The biggest changes for you may be cultural. Massachusetts, and especially the South Coast and the Cape (and I HAVE heard it called the South Coast lately, lazywhinerkid) are surprisingly diverse. The Portuguese/Brazilian community will be the most visible to you in New Bedford. Do your best to accept and enjoy the differences, instead of fearing them. It can be intimidating to walk into a Portuguese bakery for the first time, but if you smile and ask "What's good?" I guarantee you'll come out with some yummy shit.

Email in profile for more specific questions.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:08 PM on May 14, 2007

while new bedford may not be the best place to live, it is on the ocean. it's also quite close to very cool places like providence, boston, newport and all of cape cod.
posted by brandz at 6:11 PM on May 14, 2007