Gainzo

Just thought I would throw this out there for all the doom and gloom people who think the Country is screwed.

I live in Lowell, MA. Some of you may think it is full of crackheads, gang-bangers and hookers. Others may think it is the City with canals and Mills and an urban National Park.

I left Lowell in 2001 and moved to Southern New Hampshire. Lowell was trying to re-invent itself, yet again, after the dot.com crash. I stayed in Southern New Hampshire until 2003 then moved to Stoneham, MA. After bouncing around from Stoneham to Burlington, MA I moved back to Lowell in April of this year.

There is a building boom going on in this City of 100,000. Most of the old Mills have been converted to commercial, residential, or even artists lofts. UMass-Lowell is building dorms, a research center, and a student center.

Bridges are being replaced, crime has dropped, and people (with jobs!) are flocking to the City for affordable rent and real estate prices. There are new shops and restaurants opening downtown on a weekly basis.

Lowell is also a melting pot of cultures; something that can't be said about a lot of mid-sized cities in this Country.

Question for the doom and gloom crowd: Why is Lowell booming?

One more question for the doom and gloom crowd: Why is the mall freakin' packed every time I have the misfortune of going to the mall?

PatsFanInVa

I'm not even going to get political (not yet anyway.) I'm just going to do this

This is the kind of thing I love to read, politics aside.

I'm happy Lowell's thriving. I love a good comeback.

PFnV

IcyPatriot

Good thread and good for Lowell ...

As i have said in other threads unfortunately many New England cities thought it prudent to assist their factories. The more successful they were at helping them the longer the delay in recovery has been.

It's not anyone's fault ... who knew. They tried to keep people working and communities thriving. The help people have obtained to turn those factories to new uses has been money well spent. These cities will never again be what they once were ... but watching them come back to life is a nice sight and the local economies are benefiting from these projects. it will be nice to see Fall River and New Bedford catch up - they are still a ways behind. The cities closer to Boston are still more attractive and have advantages.

DarrylS

I personally favor the cities of New England, whether it be Providence, Springfield, Boston, Portsmouth, Portland or any of the others.. they tend to be very alive.

Always tell the story of Providence, about 10 years ago all a person would go downtown for was drag racing, buying dope or stupid stuff.. now we have a huge mall(I thought that would have been a bust), many very nice hotels, great restaurants.. and Waterfire. They light the river on fire, and it attracts thousands of people of all ages.. very impressive, very crowded.

All of this is good for the economy, and credit to the people who had a very good vision..

__________________
"Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.

Gainzo

You can get political Scott Brown was here many times before the election but people could see through his BS. Warren won 65% of the vote on election day.

Our mayor is an independent and endorsed Scott Brown as did a couple of the Democrat City Councilors.



That would be my backyard.

PatriotsReign

Stories of cities that come back are great to read....good for Lowell, MA!!

However, they are not indicative of where the overall national economy is heading. Let's just get that point out into the open.

Historically, there's always been a "ying & yang" between towns, suburbia and metropolitan areas throughout our history.

If we looked at all small cities in MA (Worceter, Springfield, Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford, Lowell, etc.), we'd prolly see some are going down and some are improving. But it's the net/net overall condition that really matters.

Again...Reality, Not Doom & Gloom.

scott c

GREAT story!!My parents moved us out of Lowell and into Maine in 1972.The place was a gang haven and being outside at night was dangerous....I'll never forget the Lowell Sun sign, in neon blue, I could see at night from my bedroom window, a few blocks away down town....Fishing for carp in the Merrimack river from the bridge.I would KILL for a pizza and a meat pie from Expresso's!!