Want to have your business advert seen by over 500,000 people per month? Email us at Turtleboysports@gmail.com for more information, and check out our website about types of advertising we offer.
Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook
One complaint that the critics like to use against Turtleboy Sports is that we’re too negative about Worcester. Look, I’ve lived in Worcester my whole life. So have the majority of our writers. There’s a reason we’re still here. For a mid-sized city, it’s really not so bad. It’s not so good either. It’s just Worcester. And believe me, you can do a LOT worse than Worcester living in the Bay State. As a matter of fact, we’ve decided to compile a list of 21 towns and cities in Massachusetts that are bigger dumps than Worcester. You find yourself in a weird position in some of these places because you don’t know where you are. You wanna go up to a cop or a someone who seems to be able to spell their name, and ask them where you can find the dumpiest parts of town? You know, with all the crime. But you couldn’t because they’d definitely think we were looking for drugs.
Disclosure: Obviously one person did not travel to all ends of the state for this. We sent multiple people to check out over 50 towns and cities and we all came to a consensus as to which were the dumpiest based on the photographs. The purpose of this isn’t to shame or embarrass anyone. If you town, city, or residence appears in this blog, then tell your local government to get their shit together. Because it looks like crap. If we can shame the city into getting Vernon Hill cleaned up, why not try to help the whole state get their act together too?
Here they are….
21. Revere
If you’re not a guido or someone who enjoys spending their time at the trashiest beach in America all summer, then you’d hate Revere. It’s wicked crowded, planes fly everywhere, and there’s terrible traffic that forces you have to sit there and look at boarded up buildings:
And this right here is what they we call Revere State Swimming Pool:
Hot. Other than that Revere is a never ending stretch of marshy land that takes you from Logan Airport to Lynn. Either way you go, you’re fucked.
20. New Bedford
I’m not gonna lie, I was expecting much worse. New Bedford barely made the list. New Bedford is an old whaling and mill town, which means tons of breathtaking scenery. Particularly if you like looking at gigantic brick warehouses:
It’s also got a lot of fenced in vacant lots, but be warned – you can NOT dump there:
Other than that New Bedford is just an overcrowded cesspool of triple deckers and barbed wire fencers:
19. Charlemont
Charlemont is in Franklin County – the county where a lot of the Springfield hippie protesters drove down from. I assumed that everyone who lived up here was rich and wanted to hide their money from the government. All of the towns are small, including Charlemont, which has a population of about 1,000. And presumably 990 of them live in one gigantic trailer park on Route 2. Because that’s all Charlemont apparently is – an oversized trailer park in the middle of nowhere.
18. Lowell
One of the things I like about Worcester is the West Side. Probably 50,000+ people live on the West Side and we try to keep it looking nice. If you were to take Worcester and subtract the West Side, what you would have leftover is Lowell. There are much worse places to live in Massachusetts than Lowell, but you’ll probably crash two or three times driving down the Lowell Connector and then having to come to an abrupt stop for some reason:
I don’t wanna live in any place where the highway ends at a light. Lowell is a whole lot of what it is. A bunch of wannabe Mickey Ward’s roaming the streets with no purpose
Run down factories and vacant lots:
Random houses with doors wide open for anyone to walk into
Some beautiful rolling hills
A nice trash park
And of course people chillin:
17. Warren
Warren might be the oldest looking town you will ever see.
Every house looks like there’s no possible way it could pass a home inspection.
Several of the loans are decorated with Warren furniture:
It is a very rural town, but no matter where you go there will be a lone man in a hooded sweatshirt walking down an isolated section of road:
It has a vibrant downtown:
And if you really make a name for yourself, you can move on up to West Warren!
16. Adams
North Adams is the big city up in northern Berkshire county, and is an honorable mention for this list. But when you can’t hack it in North Adams, you just pack up and move down Route 8 to regular Adams. It’s a magical place filled with world class shops:
Some majestic alleys
It has some beautiful condominiums, which are the all rage in the coal mining community
And the front porches are covered in the world famous Adams pricker bushes:
or unused grills, which can be used for imaginary Adams barbecues:
15. Lynn
You might recognize Lynn from the 10:00 news. They usually headline with one of their world famous unsolved murders. Lynn is known for it’s aspiring artistic community
community mattresses
wide acceptance of EBT cards
abandoned lots
boarded up buildings
random shady white kidnap vans from the movies:
world class shopping malls
barbed wire fences protecting abandoned lots from loitering:
and best of all – $0.99 Natural Light 25 ouncers:
Show me a place in Worcester where you can buy a 25 ounce Natural Light for your morning slum sociable. You can’t.
14. Fall River
The Riv is a prime example of what a city looks like when their entire economy revolves around an out of commission battleship. This former mill town is widely known for it’s state of the art factories:
As a matter of fact, pretty much every street in Fall River ends because it runs into an abandoned factory
And with a skyline like this, is there any wonder why Chris Herren got addicted to oxycotins?
It has some abandoned lots, which are a great place to meet up with some old friends and shoot some heroin
The Rive also has the highest concentration of satellite dishes in a concentrated area:
Tons of upscale shopping opportunities:
Some guys chilling in cut off denim jackets
And a carpool lane for the can guys
13. Webster
Speaking of places to score some drugs, Webster is like Grafton Hill with a big ass lake. There are some nice areas the closer you get to Douglas, but the closer you get to Dudley, the more magical the town becomes. I wouldn’t recommend buying a house in Dudley right now, because property value is through the roof (no pun intended)
They call it the Paris of Worcester county because some big shot developers are investing in property along the French River
It also has a lot of special features, such as the nationally renowned Webster yard sales:
There are some auto-body shops right on the sidewalks so you can get your 1995 Minivan souped up for the holidays
There are some world class mansions protected by stolen shopping carts
I definitely wanted to trespass all over that house. Luckily I saw the sign and realized this was against the rules. And of course Webster is the perfect place to raise a family. After all, what kid wouldn’t wanna grow up playing in a Webster jungle gym?
And what vibrant city would be complete without a hot nightlife scene downtown?
12. Colrain
Colrain is like Charlemont without all the fancy trailer parks. This place is what Jerry Springer would call a “gold mine.” Sure, some of the houses are fixer-uppers
But there’s plenty to do downtown
And in Colrain you get to bring your trailer home with you
Oh yea, and I hope you like snow and giant orange cones, because they never go out of season in Colrain.
11. Boston
When people think of Boston they think it’s this emerald city where rich people go shopping on Newbury Street. That’s because you’ve probably seen about 5% of Boston. The North End and the Back Bay are not the real Boston. That’s tourist Boston. The real city is where people actually live. and that’s in Roxbury, Hyde Park, Dorchester, Southie, Charlestown, East Boston, and where we visited – Mattapan. If you think the Boston Common is nice, wait until you see Central Park in Mattapan:
The skyline is sublime
And the streets are vibrant and full of rich culture
10. Pittsfield
Appropriately named, Pittsfield is the armpit of the Berkshires. If you play your cards right, you could get a job at the factory!!
There are tons of playground in Pittsfield
Luxury apartments
Free couches and baby strollers
And a never ending supply of boarded up buildings
9. Southbridge
I’m sure Dudley residents are thrilled that they live smack dab in the middle of the Webster to Southbridge express. Because as you know if you follow the news, Southbridge is where you move when you’ve hit rock bottom in Webster. It’s where dreams come true in southern Worcester County. Try to tell me that you wouldn’t wanna live here
You can’t. It’s just too pristine to stay out of. Oh yea, and there’s free TV’s for everyone!!
The local art scene is off the hook!!
There’s tons of jobs
Urban renewal is in full swing
And who needs a Market Basket when you’ve got yourself a Big Bunny Market?
8. Athol
Athol is a great place to get rid of a body. That whole part of the state is one giant casting call for MTV’s hit program “16 And Pregnant.” Orange, Templeton, Winchendon, and Gardner were all candidates too, but nothing exemplifies the Route 2 area of Western Worcester County than Athol. As you drive down Main Street you will be greeted by the homes of Athol’s most prestigious residents
One person in particular has turned his lawn into a rummage sale
And everyone is welcome in Athol. Except for Obama of course
And just like any gentrified area, Athol has plenty of old, run-down mills
And in Athol, it’s ALWAYS Christmas!!
7. Fitchburg
The dirty burg is one hilly shmorgisborg of enchantment. If you like traffic, street lights that don’t come on at night, boarded up buildings
random grain elevators
abandoned trash
and a never ending supply of empty lots for Moose to hang out in
Then Fitchburg is the place for you!!
6. Brockton
Brockton might sound familiar, because it’s where a 100 person melee erupted over a basketball game the other day which resulted in three stabbings and a fatality. Naturally then they fancy themselves the “City of Champions”
And just like a lot of the other wonderful municipalities we’ve seen, Brockton has a never ending supply of abandoned lots surrounded by barbed wire
Community couches
Well-kept homes
Random old guys training on the sidewalk like they’re Rocky Marciano
Dudes drinking 40’s in broad daylight at noon
No trespassing signs on houses that you had absolutely no desire to trespass in
Shopping cart watch dogs
And of course dudes chillin on broken down appliances
5. Springfield
As someone who was born and raised in Worcester and went to Worcester Public Schools my whole life, I consider myself somewhat “street smart.” And by that I mean, I know how to not get killed, and possibly who to ask for drugs. But that’s the difference between Worcester and Springfield. I wouldn’t last five minutes in Springfield. Because unlike Worcester, Springfield as no good parts. You know you’re in the wrong part of town when you come across the Mission Church. They don’t see these things up unless there is some MAJOR sinning going on
Springifled is also the place where basketball was invented, so naturally they have some world class basketball courts
Their fences are about as effective as the Rio Grande River
There is a never ending supply of chillin going on
And of course plenty of boarded up homes
4. Ware
If I were a Level 3 sex offender, I would definitely move to Ware. It seems like a great place to blend in and no one will bother you as you put the pieces of your life back together. I mean, why would anyone pay attention to you when your neighbor’s house looks like this?
Plus, no one will suspect you of any sort of criminal behavior so long as the guy down the street is driving the shadiest orange rape van you’ve ever seen
There’s plenty of alleys to smoke crack in
abandoned lots for mischief
A vibrant downtown, filled with growing industry
A general store
A car dealership
Great neighborhoods for kids to play hopscotch in
And a world class makeshift trailer park
This could all be yours if you move to Ware!!
3. Holyoke
I don’t know why Holyoke is shaped like a mixture between someone giving a middle finger and a flaccid penis, but it certainly couldn’t be more appropriate or fitting. From it’s never ending supply of abandoned, barbed-wire protected parking lots
to it’s highly desirable housing projects
Nothing screams “American Dream” more than Holyoke
2. Chelsea
I’d never been to Chelsea before, and I’ll likely never go back because I wanted to kill myself the entire time I was there. It’s not very big, but the people are packed in like sardines.
If you’re the entrepreneurial type there are plenty of places to set up a thriving corner heroin dealership
There are some really nice waterfront properties
And I hope you like falling asleep to the sound of 727’s flying over your head on the way to Logan Airport, because there are a never ending supply of those in Chelsea.
1. Lawrence
Lawrence if the official winner of Turtleboy’s dump tour 2015. It has all of the elements of a craptacular existence. You’ve got your old, run down, abandoned factories
Fences protecting abandoned lots
An endless supply of bike gangs
Including eight year olds in wife beaters doing wheelies
Barbershops and unlicensed vendors
And a never ending supply of gorgeous property.
Congratulations Lawrence, you are the dumpiest city in Massachusetts. But all 21 of these places are easily worse places to live than Worcester. So cheer up folks, it’s not so bad here after all.
Honorable mentions: Orange, Spencer, Quincy, Everett, Saugus, Haverhill, Winchendon, Shirley, Gardner, Malden, Medford.
Want to have your business advert seen by over 500,000 people per month? Email us at Turtleboysports@gmail.com for more information, and check out our website about types of advertising we offer.
Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook
138 Comment(s)
I have never laughed reading something online as much as I did with this article. It’s funny because every bit of it is 100% true. The US Government should give Lawrence’s residents 72 hours to leave town before they napalm the entire city, just wipe it off the map and turn it into a nature reserve.
I’ve never regretted moving anywhere more than Massachusetts. Most of the state, along with southern NE, is just as disgusting as these examples. Everyone just loves overpaying to live in what appears to be a state wide dump, trashing the area further, and ensuring they are as rude and obnoxios as possible. I’ll never be proud of the state or stick around to fit in with the trash here. Who is raised by such horrible parents to be proud of hoarding on their lawn, constant parties, harassing neighbors who dare to request they stop trespassing, and far worse? The state needs to be wiped out by a natural disaster to stop the spread of mass holes. Great approach to over tax the few who work, forcing them to live in neighborhoods that become slums while their neighbours live freely off that assistance. This entire stare makes me want to vomit
Let it be known that in terms of #17 Warren, since this blog surfaced a few things have happened. 1. I didn’t see it here, but I have seen TB use a photo of a overflowing dumpster on a sidewalk on North Street. It was swiftly removed once the article broke. 2. The first photo of the white house with the red star on top? With the overflowing trash in the front? The house has since become abandoned. The yard has been cleaned up a bit, but no signs of life in nearly a year. I like it better abandoned. 3. The photo of the underpass? It was recently closed and re-done. It might look the same, but it’s less hazardous now. We’re not a beautiful town, but getting #17 ruffled some people once the post was shared to town FB sites.
Have you been to Hyannis in the last 10 years? It’s called Brockton by the Sea for good reason!!
There is NO way Templeton is even close to as trashy as Gardner, Winchendon or Athol. And I would rather live in any of those towns than visit Worcester anyday!
I noticed one of the pictures from Ware was Bellevue Ave. How does that Bellevue Ave compare to the one in Newport RI
OMFG! First of all, kudos on a thoroughly entertaining piece. Thank you for the enlightening and informative information. As a current resident of Arizona with my entire family living in Massachusetts (the good parts), and being recently widowed, I have been searching for my next stage in life in Massachusetts. Some of the places you listed and some on your honorable mention list are places I’ve considered and searched for property. Of course, I would never purchase anything without investigating the area completely, but you’ve certainly made the search easier. As a child, I frequently spent summers with my grandpa in Malden and 50 years ago it was a lovely town. I’m sad to see such decline in the state, which still holds so much natural beauty.
What do Massachusetts & the Clinton’s have in common something ugly named Chelsea!!!!! Sorry I had to.
@ the writer Boo! Go to iraq then complain. Entitled attitude; your right you definitely would not last five minutes in Springfield. I’m sorry but you think you know the streets and your hard ok. You are very entitled to your opinion but honestly common sense and knowing better will keep you alive. You can go to any city any state and find bad if you look for it. I have been to Worcester and honestly it’s nothing special and in fact I find it worst than Springfield. I also suggest going to check out the west coast I have been there from Huntington Beach to San Juan you can find bad in every state and city in this country. I don’t quite know what your point really is but at least you are not in Iraq or Yemen or Eastern Europe.
Ah, so basically you hate poor/brown people. Gotcha.
This, alas, is a compendium of Mass. Trumpstervilles – many of these towns once had factory jobs that paid to keep people off the streets, in school, and though these were never great homes, they were at least maintained (except in the worst of these places). Even Worcester once had a thriving Main Street before steel left town.
I thought your article was funny at times but I would like to point out 1 major issue. In the Town of Athol your photo quoted “And just like any gentrified area, Athol has plenty of old, run-down mills.” But yet it’s a photo of the world wide known L.S. Starrett Company they employ thousands of people and is far from a run down mill. Yes your 100% correct many towns in the area have run down mills but you should do your homework or at least pay a little closer attention to detail.
The person writing this article is an idiot! What did your mom get you a camera for Christmas, so you decided to drive around random cities giving inaccurate assessments.
Let me know next time you are in Lowell so I can smack you in the face with a brick!
Used to live in New Bedford. Sketchy as heck, but vibrant as hell and I honestly loved it. Never encountered the slightest bit of actual danger — it’s specifically related to the drug trade and they will never give a “civilian” a hard time. Something about NB is different than the other places you mentioned. A city like Holyoke is downright awful; New Bedford is bad but with a wink.
I think the worst places were Ware, Revere, Southbridge, Warren, Colrain, Charlemont, Webster, Adams, Lawrence, and Boston.
Great job including pictures from Lawrence within the Lynn segment. lol
This website is the biggest dump of all. Froze my computer like 3 times. Ever heard of a link bro?
Colrain is one of the most beautiful towns I’ve ever been to. LOL
While I agree 100 % about Athol, you can’t in the same sentence mention Templeton as being considered. Templeton is beautiful! No run down properties, extremely low crime, beautiful woods and lakes. We do have some embarrassing bars, but living in Templeton is amazing. You should drive through some time during the Fall. Gorgeous!
Orange thanks you for the honorable mention.
Boston is one of the dumpiest cities Ive seen.
Its so old and decrepit.
Dumpy? Ah, not at all. It’s historic, friend.
Sure Adams isn’t great but North Adams is far worse. I’d rather live in Adams rather than North Adams any day. North Adams is disgusting.
What an enjoyable read! I moved away from Mass. Some time ago for work, but havent forgotten my roots.
The nostalgia that this article evokes brings a tear to my eye. How can I forget locking my car doors as I crossed the town line into the village of Ware, or being confused as to how I ended up in Haiti when I accidentally got off of 495 at the Lowell connector.
Being a Worcester native myself, this article makes me pine for a triple decker with Christmas lights that have been up since 1984.
Thank you.
I moved out of Lowell – and yes it is a shit hole. I now live in one of the suburbs around Worcester that is not on this list.
The only thing I can say about the Lowell piece is that your pictures of “abandoned old mill buildings” are actually high end lofts that have a very long wait list to get into (Appleton Mills for reference). Behind that is another old mill building that is lofts run by PMC property group out of Philly. Almost every “abandoned old mill” in Lowell has been renovated to be high end living for young, upwardly mobile, commuters – and the entire downtown is covered in them.
I am not fully defending Lowell, since there is obviously a reason I moved out of there…but it does put perspective on how accurate some of the portrayals might be.
I live in Adams and I gotta say you managed to find the very few areas in town that one could declare “dumpy.” For example, the condominiums you photographed have recently been completely renovated in the last few years and look amazing inside. Considering how the rest of the town does not look as such, I’d say your photographer did a poor job “researching.”
I really enjoy reading the comments from people that get offended by stuff like this (and the people that refuse to use punctuation other than multiple periods…….). First of all, abandoned buildings and vacant lots DO make a place a dump, I really don’t know what could be higher on the criteria list. If all of the commercial space is empty and the homes are not kept up, a dump is what you get. As a lifelong Worcester resident I admit that Worcester is a dump and is getting worse, but the difference is that none of the places on this list have any redeeming qualities like Worcester does (except Boston for obvious reasons). Worcester has some nice neighborhoods, good restaurants, some well kept up public parks and almost a dozen colleges.
Instead of getting riled up about a blog that insulted your town, maybe you could just read this for what it is, entertainment. And when you’re done, go outside and pick up all the rusted car parts strewn across your lawn.
I lived in Worcester for a year. I bitched the time I was there, especially about that death trap traffic obstacles called a “Square”.
However, I about a year ago I left the area to work in the greater Brockton area. I owe Worcester a big apology. Brockton beats Worcester hands down.
But there is a bigger shinning star on this list. it is the combined forces of several identical towns mention or given honorable mentions that are really one big dump. I discovered this when up into recently I was with a woman from that vortex of EBT corner stores and drug use above Boston – Everett, Sagus, Revere, Lynn, Chelsea, Malden and Melrose should lumped into on bit pit that makes Worcester look pretty classy – And yes Melrose, Freaking MELROSE – Melrose thinks they are a little yuppy enclave and so better than the neighbors a mile or so away each direction when in fact they are just the freaking customers for all the dealers in Malden and many of the people spending their SSI and EBT money along Revere beach in the warmers months while the rest of us work . If you don’t believe me about the denizens of these towns just visit the nearest Market Basket any given Saturday and see what flocks there from these towns for cheap crap groceries after driving past Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
Worcester also has the best diners! Ralph’s is fun. The Worcester Art Museum and Worcester Center for Craft bring art to the town. There a a FEW really good restaurant. Plus, in the summer there are some nice free concert series in the parks. Worcester isn’t so bad. Plus in Worcester you drive past city limits and you are in pretty classy towns.with rural areas or in some nice shopping areas. On the north shore you drive out of one dump and you are in another dump.
Colrain is on this list? Really? That’s just stupid. Colrain may be small, but it’s awesome. And beautiful. Get a life, dude.
It could be worse, Worcester could have been like Baltimore
At last, a website that mixes snippets from the sports world with “witty” news commentary… like Barstool Sports squeezed out a turd and slapped a .com at the end.
You know where you live sucks when you have to list places that suck more. I attended college in Worcester 30 years ago and recently drove there for work only to discover that almost everything is either the same or worse… how the fuck is that possible? Like your website, Worcester lacks style, ambition and imagination. It’s the shitty, post-industrial gateway to more post-industrial shit-holes in W.Mass.
Yea sure, Boston, the vacation choice of millions from all over the globe, world leader in medical technology and the greatest sports city in the US sucks worse than kick- ass Worcester… how’s the inferiority complex working out?
Proud alumni of which school?
Worcester is okay. It has nice people like me living there
I was a cop for 30 years in Springfield. Obviously you spent little time there. Its mch worse than you portrayed here. South Main St. where the casino is slated to go, should not have been missed, or just up the hill in the lovely Pine and Central area. Looks like you were in Liberty Heights. Give it a year or two and it’ll have that Southbridge look to it, but South Main is already there. Si’ se puede TB!
This is the WORST article I’ve ever read. So much of it was spelled wrong, pictures taken from only certain parts of towns, and the most infantile picture captioning I’ve ever seen. It’s something I’d expect from a couple of high school dropouts sitting on the couch smoking meth. Thanks for strengthening my opinion of (some of) the people who live in Worcester.
and what thriving, charming city do you live in, asshole?
Me? I live in Worcester and go to school in Fitchburg? I feel like I can say that aside from FSU ,the City of Fitchburg is horrendous. Worcester has its faults too, but it is at least nicer than Fitchburg.
No one is defending Fitchburg?
Why would anyone defend Fitchburg? Fitchburg is a toilet that needs to be flushed.
Worcester is a shithole. And I’m seven.
-Alexis
I’ve been following this article for days the fact of the matter is every town, city, state has its rough areas do people really care ? From what I’ve seen over years and years of dealing with public one thing I’ve noticed and don’t get me wrong the comment that out government has contributed I have to say its 50/50 cause people just don’t give a shit anymore about anything anymore it is sad but true I’m talking everything shity parks shity roads shity houses shity towns no one cares anymore about anyone or anything worcester was listed as one of the worst places to drive don’t think so check out Forbes article on worst cities to drive in not because of looks or economy because people don’t care no common courtesy Boston also ranks in the top 10 actually all the cities are in the northeast ask yourself turtleboy and all the followers including myself when the last time you stopped to let someone out or said hey you can have this spot you have children or stopped and picked up that cardboard box on the side of the street and threw it out or helped your elderly neighbor clean up his yard or threw out that plastic bottle you found in the park while on your walk not to get to deep cause again this is just a turtleboy article but maybe we should take a look inside cause government didn’t really cause this you did I did we all did
Pointing out some of the blighted areas in these cities doesn’t negate the craphole that is Worcester…… The fact that Winchendon and Orange are only honorable mentions kills any credibility of this “study”
Sorry guys, as much as you would like to change the fact that Worcester isn’t a shit-hole place, you can’t. None of these places are any worse than the other. A shit-hole is a shit-hole. Trying to point out how one sucks more than the other is kind of pointless when you come to the realization that they all suck. Your title should be the 22 Biggest Dumps in MA and be proud to include yourselves, because you’re right there with the rest of them.
Before Obama ruined this country, these parts of Massachusetts you call dumps, prided themselves on textile production and manufacturing. Water transportation, canals, all made making a buck feasible. When industry died and the Ricans moved in, it all went to hell.
Sorry GeorgeP. Those textile mills were closed long before President Obama could spell the word “President”. I have lived in Western MA my entire life, even IN some of the towns listed here. I am 50yrs old and many of these factories have been closed 30 years or more. The again, there are some industries that have been here for over 100 yrs and are still strong viable companies. Are you aware that all the ‘paper’ our money is printed on is manufactured in Western MA? Or that some of AAAs top rated tourist attractions are in the Western part of MA? I currently reside in Ware, not ‘on the lake’ but less than a 1/4 mile from some of the streets you portrayed. I dont know how your photographers managed to find the 3-4 streets with the worst reputations in town, but they had to drive thru several much nicer streets to get there. Yes Ware has problems, but I grew up in Longmeadow, and there have been ODs and rashes of B&Es, and even boarded up abandoned houses. I find it disgusting that you used a photo of a home that experienced a house fire this past winter as a ‘meet the neighbors’ joke.
Nice clickb8 m8 …. Also love the meme ads that show up right in the middle of the article.
The house in Ware on the corner of Bellevue ave. is owned be one the few businesses left in the town CUETS APLIENSES. Now how can we keep our neighborhood looking good if someone like that leaves his building go like that no matter what any of use ( neighbors )say he dose nothing to improve his property ! If you had seen the rest of the homes you would have seen they are all well kept and a good neighborhood .
You dear sir are an obvious idiot. Maybe next time you come up this way maybe bring a positive attitude and you might just see all the beauty you obviously missed. My name is Teresa and im proud to live in adams
Good job removing my comment. I just informed my neighbor he’s being featured on your page. Let’s just say he’s less than happy. Remove the picture of the apartments on East St or I will have it removed. Thanks much!
Ms. Blair, maybe you or your neighbor would like to enlighten us how you’re going to have Turtleboy remove the picture of East St. (in whatever town). Newsflash: people have a right to snap pictures all day long especially from a public street or sidewalk and there is nothing wrong with it and not a damn thing you can do about it.
See, there is even a cool new website called “Google” with maps and pictures of the earth. Yeah, they drive around with in a truck with cameras on top taking pictures all around and have bazillion dollar satellites in space, with pictures of everything. The picture of your neighbors house on “East St.” in whatever dump has been on the Internet long before this, you know.
I grew up in Ware. That is exactly how it looks, and exactly what I grew up around. Not to mention the fact that the house in which I was raped is featured as one of the examples of its destitution. That town needs to just fall into a pit in the ground.
With a name like turtleboy, you are a young child who still lives a home. Do your research, go to these places you insult FIRST before you give an opinion of places you have NEVER been. tsk tsk…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyoke,_Massachusetts
FYI…. where do you think that paper came from to invent the first Valentine’s Day card came from???? You’re WELCOME…
Holyoke is a SHIT HOLE.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cKXGyDpaoI
Nevermind the content of this (ABSOLUTELY EMBARASSING) video — just look at the comments. “YEAH NI$$A DATS MY TOWN RITE THERE! HOLYOKE REPRESENT!” SHAMEFUL.
Holyoke is a SHlT HOLE.
youtube.com/watch?v=_cKXGyDpaoI
Nevermind the content of this (ABSOLUTELY EMBARASSING) video — just look at the comments. “YEAH NI$$A DATS MY TOWN RITE THERE! HOLYOKE REPRESENT!” SHAMEFUL.
I work doing service all over western Massachusetts for one of the largest companies in America. Every town has its bruises some bigger than others. Springfield, Holyoke even Northampton has it’s share of needles in the streets. I find it scary that nobody saw the bigger problem in this blog. I can’t drive 20 minutes in any direction in this state and not see this type of festering rash spreading across Massachusetts. Look at the Indian motocycle factory in Springfield. The icon of the American industrial age. It now is a section 8 project building that was proudly resurrected by the narrow minded town officials. This is how our government is failing us speading income inequality and proudly boasting it. The large majority of us are mindlessly fallowing along as cunsuming American idiots buying more imported chines gadgets than we have places to keep. Look every action has a reaction. Until we as society learn to reach for the ones behind us as well as the ones ahead, we will continue to see this rash spread. We are all responsible for this bigger picture. It’s sad to see the finger pointing and jokes. So think about your next chines ipad, xbox, smart watch, whatever it is you don’t need and think about any one of these impoverished towns and picture Apple with a facility employing 60,000 people in any of these towns and how that would change the big picture. Problem is we need at least a hundred of these “Apple” facilities to even dent this issue. So take and make more responsible decisions every day. Until we do we are all equally contributing to the spread of this rash.
A couple of things:
1) This is classic turtleboy. If you don’t know the site, this is what they do. They never claim to have any journalistic integrity or do actual reporting. It is all an opinion, satirical based site. So stop getting all cranky that he did or didn’t take into account this or that. It’s not the point of the article. The pointment of this article is to get clicks and page views which sells advertising which makes money. If you want a real news article, go somewhere else, but sadly I can’t even tell you where you can find that these days.
2) I am only 31 years old. I have lived in MA for now 15 years. The other 16 years of my life were spent in eastern CT. I know us massholes are a proud people, but, real talk for a second: MASSACHUSETTS SUCKS. At least compared to CT. The article and all of your comments are accurate, there are shitty, decrepit, drug riddled spots in almost every town of MA. MA is ugly. Exhibit A) One of the “worst” towns in eastern MA is Willimantic. I went back there there other day for the first time in about 3 years. It was beautiful compared to almost any town in MA. It was like friggen Concord or Sudbury. I couldn’t believe that Willimantic is still considered a terrible city and yet was nicer than 90% of MA. Every time I drive in CT I can’t help but feel it is somehow cleaner, the roads are smoother, things are better kept, the standard of living is just higher.
So in summation, MA as a whole is a shit hole. We need to get our act together. Can’t have no-name, no-identity, no-accent states like CT be better than us. We invented America for crying out loud! We need to do better. The fact that these conditions exist should be motivation to clean it up. Not justify it by saying that other towns have them too or there are nice parts of town too. We have to collectively raise the bar and not accept to live amongst this crap. Not motivated? Go take a drive to Willimantic, one of the “worst” towns in CT, Jewett City (tiny town) where there is literally a death once per week from Heroin (Impressive when you consider the town has a population of about 3,500) and tell me you wouldn’t live there in a second compared to the squaller we call MA. End Rant.
I agree that Mass is ugly in a lot of parts and that the state is a whole is quite unpleasant. Lots of rude people. As for eastern CT, Willimantic is my least favorite CT city ever next to Hartford and Bridgeport.
Lifelong Chelsea resident. Hate the planes, yup- packed in like sardines, yup- I know my neighbors. We watched our city burn and rise from the ashes. The TSA and FBI don’t think it’s such a bad place. They have headquarters here. We are a city of Acceptance. We accept the bad with the good. We are proud of our two square mile city. There is more beyond the cover of the book. Turn a page and find out.
There are government offices over by the highway because it was the cheapest real estate anywhere in the Boston area. The GSA takes over a couple of scrap yards, builds offices and tells agencies that is their new office. FBI and TSA don’t want to be there any more than everyone else.
I know several towns on this list. Judging by the way you treated Adams and Charlemont, I have to take all you said with a grain of salt. Just going to the worst part of any town, taking a few photos, and writing semi comical comments does not constitute research.
This had potential and you got lazy with it. How many lot and fence jokes can you make? The pictures, like the ads in between them, got old fast. And the kid on the bike was wearing a white tank top undershirt – you’re the one who called it a wifebeater. Like I said, this had potential, you hit some high points, but this was mostly mailed-in.
I don’t know if it’s insecurity, crankiness from the Woostah weather or what that drove the creation of this article and obvious biased photo sets to support your list. But I love that like a true Woostahite oah whatevah ya call it, you actually used “wicked” in a sentence. Thank you for being all you can be. Woostah Editah be proud!
As for Athol #8 on the list. It shows “run down mills” but that is actually The LS Starrett Company which is one of the biggest tool manufacturers in the USA. Look it up. The “mill” in that picture is one company and is currently a running tool company.
It’s easy to take crappy pictures in any town and claim that is how the town should be defined. A lot of the towns you mentioned definitely have some problems, but let’s go back to Worcester and ask people in the Valley about waste and crime.
This article is 10/+ humor. The butthurt in the comments push it over 11/++
This needs to be a multi-part series.
Agreed. I took it as lighthearted goofball trashtalk. Wrestling fans might compare it to a Rick Rude promo… if Rick Rude were grossly out of shape while delivering it.
With all due respect, the only reason nobody’s pulled off the highway in Worcester and snapped a few shots within a half mile said highway is that nobody’s really comfortable doing that. You’re still Worcester. Nobody even knows why you’re there, let alone how you got that bad. Get well soon.
I live in southbridge and work in worcester. I would much rather it stay that way than the opposite. Your pictures of were off of three streets with the exception of Big Bunny and one house were I have no idea where it’s located. But that is maybe an sixteenth of the town. If you actually took the time to drive around southbridge you would have seen that there is a lot of really nice areas. Which makes me question a few of the other towns on your list that I haven’t seen for myself. Plus, to top all of your list of garbage off, I work with plenty of people that live in Worcester and they agreed with me that they should just change the name of the city to landfill seeing as how most of the center of the city is loaded with trash. Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the saying was “those that live in glass houses should not throw stones”. If you want to complain to your beautiful city about something how about cleaning all of the bus stops of snow in the winter so that you are not endangering the lives of people who contribute to the local transportation, or maybe cracking down on the murders and drug dealing that happens on a frequent basis in the “lovely” city of Worcester. Come to think of it I know for a fact that southbridge does not have a gang unit on thier police force, and they broadcast thier unit in Worcester in big bold letters on thier shirts. And to end this rant let me say that I feel much safer walking the streets of southbridge than i have ever felt driving in Worcester. Trust me, I could keep going with the comparisons but I don’t have the time. Trust me people make your own judgements for yourself and don’t be a party to the social herd.
I agree! I went to Worcester for a doctors visit and on a busy street, a car stopped short in front of me to pick up a friend who was walking. I tried to go around him but he then cut me off. When the traffic was gone, the young “man” (17-18yrs old) blocked the road, got out if his car and proceeded to approach my car. I was under the impression he was going to ask for directions or something innocent. He began calling me profanities and spit in my face. Then ran in his car and drove off. I got his license plate and called the police. This “child” lived in a nice section BUT was already on probation for possession of drugs and assault and battery that occurred 6 months prior. His father was a lawyer…..so “trash” doesn’t discriminate
There is a 175.6% chance you made this story up. So elaborate that it’s too elaborate. Do better the next time you try to bullshit a bullshitter.
Let me guess, that could not by any chance have been the kid of a lawyer with the initials H.P. could it?
Southbridge is fine and as a matter of fact Russell Harrington you took a photo of is still employing many residents of Southbridge and making the finest knives you can buy. As for the other buildings how about you post your blog to the absentee landlords? I love my town. I notice you didn’t picture any of truly beautiful areas of my town. You may want to try getting your head out of your ass.
What they forget to ad is that 95% of the rundown boarded up buildings are owned by slumlords from worcester who have been told that can not own anymore properties in worcester until that start doing repairs so they come west and run down property out this way and sit back and rake in $$$$
I’m not from Southbridge, so don’t know much about it, but driving through it a couple of years ago it looked like the tornado was devastating… Hard to recover sometimes I think, just to give it the benefit of the doubt
Both winchendon and Gardner are nicer cities than wocester in practically every way. I dont see people from winch or Gvegas posting pictures on fb of a shit ton of needles on the side of the street. Between the crime, drugs and people screwing the governments assitance programs, i think it’s safe to say that worcester is as shitty as everyone perceives it to be. Just because you find boarded up buildings and vacant, fenced in parking lots doesnt mean that your list of cities is individually crappy. I’d like to see some real proof to your “list of shit”.
Clinton is a toilet ! how does Colrain and Charlemont make the list but not Clinton??????
Hi. Webster guy checking in. One of the pics was taken from right in front of my house. I Don’t mind. G’head, show what I have to deal with. The drug joke didn’t sit well with me, but that’s much more ‘cuz people die from that , than anything you’re doing on a humor site. Webster is rallying. We will improve.
Lol the”old rundown mills” in Athol that you pictured is the 260 million dollar LS Starrett Company. They’ve been in those buildings providing hundreds of jobs to Athol since 1880. What a pathetic excuse for “reporting” this article is. Did you even do any research or did you just take pictures?
And the few pictures of the 2 houses posted from Athol are right next to eachother. Nice “reporting” champ. You drive down Main St and see 2 shitty houses, one from some ass who has clearly gone off the deep end after spray painting his house and signs on his front lawn..and you call it a day? Did you bother going down any of the sidestreets off of Main St? You weren’t compelled to take picture of the common uptown on even downtown Athol? NOOOOOO…..Cuz that would show Athol as a decent town…you were out ONLY looking for scum. There’s good and bad in every city/town. And no, I don’t live in any of the towns or cities on this list, but I’m SURE you could go through my town and take pictures of a few run down houses, not so beautiful scenario and lower income sections to enhance the negativity. But who is that for?
Really?? Charlemont MA? Home of Berkshire East, the Deerfield River and Mohawk State Park dumpier than Worcester.?Because people reside in manafuctured housing? Or was it the campground on Rt. 2 that your buddies rode by.
What an ignorant blog. You people probably have never been to most of these places until you took a drive to take pictures of peoples trash on trash day.
Fun fact, a building in disrepair doesn’t make for a dumpy town.
Yeah, he was cherry picking the trailer park in Claremont clearly. Left everything else off.
Yeah, some of this list was a HUGE stretch, like Charlemont and maybe Adams (though I once saw an 11 year old child walking down Route 8 in broad daylight smoking a cigarette, along with more 16 year olds with children than I care to remember).
Any time you try to make Worcester sound good you’re stretching.
Yes, this was written by those uppity Eastern Mass folks who like to look down their noses just because of all the people living in tents along Rte 2.
Says ,”Dopey” Chill, dwarf
this is good shit this was worth the career change
I’m glad you took pictures in the shitty and shady areas of all these towns. All of these towns have nice areas you just chose to illustrate the bad areas for a stupid webpage. Shame on you
“All of these towns have nice areas”
I’ll tell you what – pick a “nice” area of Springfield, Lawrence, or Holyoke, and then go for a walk there at 11 PM. I’ll let you pick which area.
I was so glad to see that Holyoke was not merged into the Springfieldarea. It is an entity in itself that deserves and earns a spot on the list. Hardly as upscale as, let’s say, CHICOPEE !
Holy Shit….Chicopee
I will NEVER forget that day I went to visit inlaws. OMG. One of the comments by their aunt about why their baby was crying…LITERAL: “Her guardian angel does not want to play with her…”
No word of lie. There is nothing redeeming about this trip to The Twilight Zone.
Stopped there for gas a few years ago…very strange vibes.
Chicopee would be my first choice for totally bizarre/strange town/city…whatever it is.
This list is so spot on that it hurts. Glad you made the reference to the movie The Fighter. Everyone I have ever encountered from Lowell is portrayed perfectly in that film. Bad tattoos, teen/wedlock pregnancies, bad teeth, everything galore! “That Fahkin Chahhhrlene!” And how could I neglect to mention the people all look as though they smoke rocks.
If those are the only people you know in Lowell I can kind of guess why you’re coming up here. Try not to OD.
Because I’d be criticizing crack cocaine users if I were one right? I bet you’re chomping at the bit for some warm weather so you can take your daily swim in the Merrimack River. Lowell sucks.
Lowell’s a shithole. If you choose to live in a shithole like Lowell then fine, but don’t criticize other people for pointing out what a dump it is.
How did Clinton or not make that list. It has been a shit hole for 50 years.
HAHAHAHAHA!! So true!! Been a Clinton resident for a while. I didn’t mind it being a crap hole until the future afluenza moms rallied to raise the taxes ” for the children”. Now its a crap hole with high taxes. They keep building new luxury condos that no one wants to live in. Who wants to pay 500k for a condo to have some toothless guy, tattooed head to toe and no shirt ask you for a butt as you head out to work in the am.?
Ware has to be #1.
It has all the disenchantment and slime of a bigger city while being in the middle of the country. Some tiny towns are dumps because there is zero supporting economy. Ware shouldn’t be this bad, but somehow it excels.
My Rte 9 drive is always pleasant but for the vomit tasting induced hiccup that is Ware.
One thing still remains you hardly hear about a lot of the towns listed as much as you hear about the kid who brought a gun to school or the kid shot over stealing a bike or the prostitution ring busted or the rise of overdoses or the 50 car pile-up or the police officer who was arrested for domestic or drunk driving than in worcester right?……..exactly abandoned property or beat up streets and trash that might not have been picked up doesn’t define a town or city its the crime rate drug rate jobs or no jobs so to compare Worcester to Webster or ware is not even close try comparing to Everett Chelsea fall river etc… Is spot on and yes worc ranks pretty low try facts not a bunch of nobody’s driving thru and taking pictures
Trying to compare places like Warren and Springfield to Lynn or Revere is a total stretch. Just because there are some bad properties in a town doesn’t mean that the entire place is beat. We live on a lake in Ware, and it’s a beautiful place. Downtown Warren in the evening is a quiet and very much a snap-shot reflection of a New England town. The fact is that poverty and people trying to survive in these places has lead to some properties becoming run down.
Kelly’s and the Squire should keep Revere off the list. But without those it should be top 5
I’m curious – what part of Springfield do you think isn’t as bad as (or worse than) Lynn or Revere? The one-quarter-square-mile area that constitutes Atwater Park? On top of the half-million-dollars you need to buy a home in that section, I hope you have enough money for a rugged fence, a security system, and private schooling for your children. Oh, and stay away from Van Horn Park and Armory Street, lest you get mugged, hit by a stray bullet, or AIDS from stepping on an illegally discarded hypodermic needle.
Actually, after re-reading your post, I’m having trouble telling which of these awful dumps you’re trying to defend. There’s Springfield — which is pretty much its own level of Hell — and then there’s the other three. Living in the area, I’m assuming you already realized that though. Sorry if I misconstrued your post.
I know people who state that they live on Beaver Lake. They don’t NOT say “I live in Ware.” Once I visited and I could see their reasoning. You can sit on your porch and gaze upon the water with that “Ware” place to your back.
Don’t wanna live in a place where the highway ends at a light? Ummmm, kinda like 146.
No, 146 ends at the strip clubs
WinchenKentucky definitely deserves a higher ranking, but its tough to argue. Maybe swap it with Webster.
Sooooo…is this all you do? Just, put things down and be negative all the time? Man, you’re in more dire need of a blowjob than any white man in history.
Seriously, quite a bit of ignorance in this “opinion piece”…
In regards to the “trash park” in Lowell, that picture was obviously taken after the snow melted. They were dumping the excess snow there, you gotta give sum time for clean up…
The person whom is responsible for this editorial is obviously a spoon fed rich b#tch, snob,raised in a town off one of these cities.
That’s just one of the many obvious, blatant, ignorant statements I could bash withoutgoing “internet tough guy” on this retarded …what would you even call this…?
Spot on. This imbecile has got ‘Hamilton Nolan’s’ disease.
While I disagree with your assessment, I’m still giving you a like for that fine Good Morning, Vietnam reference.
What makes your so certain that Turtelboy is white? Or even a boy? Perhaps Turtleboy is a female Asian, being anonymous, the possibilities are endless. Come up with some original material, anyone can quote lines from movies. SMH
That’s my joke, dooshnozzle.
I heard mixed reviews of Sutton.
Rumors are that the town is OK, but the residents, especially one couple, are complete race baiting tools. I guess it proves the point, ‘One bad apple……..’
That’s Manchaug
I take offense to that. I’m from manchaug.it’s not all that bad.
Was their last name ‘Dion’?
Yikes. They could be my brother-in-law and his wife. They attend a strange church in our town, which is a 35 or 40-minute drive for them (why they quit their old church? To get near us…). Narcissists. Liars. Just plain screwed up.
They want everything we have. Read up on narcissism and that is them. Feel bad for their kids.
Sutton is not a good place to live. Passable for some…but you would not want to stay there long.
On the plus side for Charlemont, you can get away to Mohawk Trail State Park, which is beautiful and a great place to take that someone special camping by Cold River. You may be luck enough to be visited in the early morning by a bear who will rifle through your beer cooler looking for the bread hidden beneath the Bud heavies.
Great list!!!!
One blatant omission though…..the steaming hot pile of shit, where no one speaks English….Methuen.
Granted, you can lump Methuen in with Lawrence, but the home of Holy Family Hospital honestly feels like you are entering the bowels of hell……
A recent ride through Ware left me with my jaw dropped. Its so bad you wish the snow would never melt to avoid what’s underneath.
I drove through Ware last summer for the first time in about 20 years and it was exactly like I remembered and hasn’t changed much. And during the summer, the natives were out… yikes. Ware is like the place that time forgot, unfortunately not in any nostalgic way. The downtown area may have been modern in the 1950’s, but 60+ years later with no updates and run down buildings, not so much anymore.
We used to live in ware our next door neighbor was or maybe still is a prostitute we went to the police and they told us they can’t do anything lol I wrote to local newspapers but didn’t hear anything back. I could be wrong but I wouldn’t be shocked if ware police is visiting that prostitute for some lunch fun lol no wonder they can’t or want do anything