I mentioned it up above but https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/

edit: Also, you might be reading the stats backwards, Brockton is the least safe of the median bunch at 1/156, Tampa the safest at 1/178, but I agree they're all pretty similar enough.

oh is that why it's called dead hooker pond? That was way more than 20 years ago, I moved here in 2003 and it was already an urban legend at that point.

Cool, cool, I was able to pull up violent crime statistics via neighborhood scout. Your chances of being victimized by a violent crime in:

Worcester - 1 in 170

Boston - 1 in 166

Brockton - 1 in 156

Fall river - 1 in 110!

New Bedford - 1 in 164

Lowell - 1 in 303 (good job, lowell)

Tampa, FL - 1 in 178

Daytona Beach - 1 in 98!!

So you can see clearly Worcester is safer than many of the places you've lived and worked.

yeah, as i was saying above, if you are bothered by the existence of and proximity to people struggling through these issues, maybe living in a city isn't for you.

Equating a few unpleasant interactions with less fortunate folks with a serious safety risk above and beyond normal city life is disingenuous, frustrating, and not helpful for OP.

Agree with /u/Climboy, I've had plenty of friends who have lived exactly on that street, it's fine and close to campus!

You'll hear a lot of stuff about Main South not being safe, but it's the same as any city. The neighborhood outside Clark is filled with PoC and immigrants, and there is a normal amount of poverty. Most "crime" is drug-related or won't affect you as a college student. You'll see a homeless person every now and then. Most people over-react to these optics because they've never lived in a city before. Worcester statistically has lower crime rates than other nearby cities. Take the same precautions you would in any city, and you will be fine. There's a lot of great food and activities in the area if you're willing to leave the campus bubble!

Mekong in main street is good for Vietnamese and Asian specialties, super cheap produce.

Seconding Bahnans, too

COVID slowed things down but they're still there!

Check out events at the Firehouse, many of the members are queer / trans.

I would recommend joining the go list, lower traffic these days but still a great way to find out about friendly events in town: https://groups.google.com/g/go-list