Living in Worcester? (Boston, Shrewsbury, Auburn: cabin, property, metro)

[Dave120]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

If that's a concern, a nice compromise is Holden just north of the city. Quality school system, vigilant police force, and still quite affordable ... at least when compared to pricier Worcester metro towns like Shrewsbury.

All of that might be true, but, correct me if I'm wrong (just looking at street views on Google maps since I've never been), it looks like there wouldn't be a similar semi-urban feel in a town like Holden or even Shrewsbury.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Dave120

All of that might be true, but, correct me if I'm wrong (just looking at street views on Google maps since I've never been), it looks like there wouldn't be a similar semi-urban feel in a town like Holden or even Shrewsbury.

Considering the better Worcester neighborhoods are suburban in feel, I don't believe an older Holden neighborhood (1920-1965) located off Salisbury street would feel much different. I find Worcester is best navigated by car and not foot, so being another mile or two up Salisbury is a small price to pay for exponentially better schools and other tangibles (e.g., cheaper auto insurance).

The nicer neighborhoods of Shrewsbury tend to border Northborough/Boylston and feel neither urban nor exurban ... purely suburbia. The neighborhoods bordering Worcester, while feeling a bit more exurban, have all of a urban pitfalls (lesser elementary schools, commercial sprawl) and none of the positives (strong independent vendors, diverse culture).

Personally, if interested in living in Worcester I would focus on the following:

- Salisbury/Flag street area excepting that you will likely want to send you hypothetical kids to a private middle and high school.

- Holden, with a focus on the nicer border neighborhoods such as Birchwood.

- Paxton, which has some beautiful high end mid-century homes at bargain prices but provides commuting access to Worcester and not much else. If leveraging Worcester's healthcare job market, Paxton is a great market to explore.

[Leenme]

What seems to be missing here is the geography. Wormtown is hilly, which sort of creates it's own boundaries. Shrewsbury and east of the Lake is flat.... no sense of "hey what's over that hill?". You haven't lived until you've barreled down Bell-Hill is a Blizzard, or jumped on the Buffalo's back at Green Hill Park...well...at least there was one back in the 60's.
Heading West to Leicester is still hilly, just South of Paxton and more hills. A bit west is Spencer, (12 miles from downtown Wormtown) a full service community, detached from the Metro-Worcester area, but still close enough to use their playground. Good school system.

I suspect different ages will have different appetites, so if the Canal Zone trips your trigger, then OK. It's a very old, cold, dirty industrial center of days gone by, with a layer of shinny hip bars. Nice place to visit, but the congestion and noise doesn't interest me.

I've lived in many areas around the city, and when I was young Highland Street was the place to be. The Sole Proprietor served great meals, Pizza across the street, Friendly's Ice Cream, Elm Park, just over the hill to Ralph's Diner/nightclub.
The Boulevard Diner was 5 minutes away. The Holden Experiment, and the Blue Plate were short drives, and there were concerts at University park next to WPI. The collages provided a large assortment of new people to date from around the world. It was a great place to grow up and plenty of places to suit whatever appetite you may have.
It was a good location to learn how to ski, Mt Wachusett until you got your snow legs, up to Mt Monadnock to stretch your new snow legs, and then Killington and beyond.

Maybe the town has changed, maybe some had a bad experience there, but for me, I wouldn't trade it for some crowded zone like Boston. Seriously. Back when it meant something I got two tickets to Sir Morgans Cove to see the Stones, the Cove was the goto place for good the unusual tunes, getting back closer to Highland street, there was a Club called the Comic Strip at Lincoln Sq. which was an interesting venue.
If your looking for scars and scabs you'll find them anywhere, I'm sure Worcester has earned hers. But there is no denying the energy in that town, there's a lot of moving parts if you know where to look.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Leenme

A bit west is Spencer, (12 miles from downtown Wormtown) a full service community, detached from the Metro-Worcester area, but still close enough to use their playground. Good school system.

Are you talking about Spencer, "MA"???

[Leenme]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Are you talking about Spencer, "MA"???

Yes Spencer Ma, west of Leicester, south of Paxton.
All the surrounding bedroom towns serve the city well. I just prefer the hills to the flatland. My last Mass residence was in Paxton, which didn't have a school, they depended on Holden's school system.
Spencer has a very highly regarded school system, new by New England standards.

Route 9 takes you from Spencer to Webster Sq. Worcester in what....20 minutes @ 45 mph. Small meat & potato kind of town, plenty of room, reasonably priced homes on acre lots or more.

My world wasn't dependent on Boston or the billion dollar mile, there's no reason to live in the flatlands, with all it's traffic and congestion. Worcester Airport is 20 minutes away, so you can be as cosmopolitan as you want and still wake in the morning with clean water, fresh air, and deer in your yard. You won't find that 20 minutes from Springfield, Providence, or Hartford.

[western mass and love it]

You will find all of that within 15 minutes of Springfield or Hartford.

[MMS02760]

Originally Posted by Leenme

there were concerts at University park next to WPI.

Institute Park is across Salisbury Street from WPI. It has a bandstand (near Boynton St intersection) for summer concerts. University Park is across Main Street opposite Clark.

[Leenme]

Originally Posted by MMS02760

Institute Park is across Salisbury Street from WPI. It has a bandstand (near Boynton St intersection) for summer concerts. University Park is across Main Street opposite Clark.

Thanks, I've confused my park names. I've not lived there since the 1970's But yes, over the Hill north from Highland street. I had a house near there behind the ski shop, just east of indian lake.

[Leenme]

Originally Posted by western mass and love it

You will find all of that within 15 minutes of Springfield or Hartford.

My experience with those cities and the area is that they follow the river valley, low lands.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Leenme

Yes Spencer Ma, west of Leicester, south of Paxton.
All the surrounding bedroom towns serve the city well. I just prefer the hills to the flatland. My last Mass residence was in Paxton, which didn't have a school, they depended on Holden's school system.
Spencer has a very highly regarded school system, new by New England standards.

Route 9 takes you from Spencer to Webster Sq. Worcester in what....20 minutes @ 45 mph. Small meat & potato kind of town, plenty of room, reasonably priced homes on acre lots or more.

My world wasn't dependent on Boston or the billion dollar mile, there's no reason to live in the flatlands, with all it's traffic and congestion. Worcester Airport is 20 minutes away, so you can be as cosmopolitan as you want and still wake in the morning with clean water, fresh air, and deer in your yard. You won't find that 20 minutes from Springfield, Providence, or Hartford.

You mean this Spencer?

Spencer-East Brookfield teachers vote no confidence in school superintendent - News - telegram.com - Worcester, MA

Also, weren't they facing state takeover a few years ago or something?


Places east of Worcester like Shrewsbury, Grafton and Boylston are NOT flat; I don't know where you are getting that from. Worcester Airport offers 2 flights a day to FL, not exactly a connection to the world.

Many good points in your post otherwise, but you got some facts incorrect.