Valley Hill Drive... in Worcester 01602 (Newton, Holden: apartments, crime, houses)

[DawnMTL]

Valley Hill Drive, off Salisbury St. on the West Side of Worcester.

If you know the street:

1. Anything good to say about it?
2. Anything bad to say about it?

[Greendale]

Easily one of the nicer sections of Worcester. Good residential area, with easy access to downtown or the highways.

[Gabe1972]

Really really nice part of town. Traditionally most of your city councilors are from this area, and they take care of their own first, so things like crime and any general unsightliness are a non issue.

I would disagree on the easy access to the highway. Yes highway entrances are less than a mile away, but during rush hour both Salisbury and Highland streets can be a nightmare with all the folks trying to get to 290 from the West Side. Chandler, Highland and Salisbury Streets get real crazy. Just know that you are not as close to the highway time wise as a map might suggest.

There isn't a whole lot of walkability but you are close Park Ave, The Greendale Mall, and the center of Holden, which has some pretty good restaurants. Overall a really good part of town. The West Side as a rule has more of a suburban feel than a city feel but those folks over there take their part of the city pretty serious and it will always stay nice.

[maxwg]

Don't know about that specific street, but I used to live on the "desirable West Side" of Worcester (two different apartments, two different streets)...I would check before moving to see how many single family vs. multi-family houses, how close it is to busy side streets, and visit the area at various times of the day if possible.

I had issues in my first West Side three-decker apartment with bad parking in winter and bad neighbors (in spite of it being owner-occupied)...the final straw was when drug dealers moved in the building...point being, even the "desirable West Side," like any neighborhood, can have undesirable elements.

My next apartment was in a generally quiet West Side neighborhood. My two problems there weren't as bad by far:I got a lot of traffic noise from Pleasant Street (I was near Newton Square) and I had some loud neighbors who the police finally visited after about 10 different calls on as many occasions (meaning, just because you are on that side of town, don't think the police will rush to you any faster...).

Aside from that, the West Side was a good location for me: close to downtown, but far enough away. Park Ave. to 290 can be very congested, and looks short on paper, but can take a while to navigate.