Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have received such great advice from the members here so I thought that I would ask another question about Holden & Sterling. We need excellent schools (we have 2 elementary age children), and obviously we want safe. Can you tell us more about each town....pros and cons? I have tried to find pictures and videos of both online, but haven't had a lot of success. Do you know of any websites where I can get a better picture of what it looks like there (probably a silly question). With living in another state and not being able to visit we are left to wonder and guess. I wish that we could visit MA, but we won't have the chance until my kiddos are out of school.
Both towns are in the Wachusett Regional School District which performs well. Sterling is slightly more rural than Holden with more farmland/orchards and stuff. Unlike Sterling, I believe Holden has a grocery store and a few more services. Both places will require trips out of town for major shopping. Holden is closer to Worcester if that matters. They are both nice towns, I guess it depends if you want more of a country feel (Sterling) or suburban feel (Holden). Sterling has much for the kids like apple picking, the Davis Farmland (big corn maze), ice cream stands, etc. Of course Holden won't be far from those either. You can always just take a look at Google Earth to get an idea of the area.
That's all I can think of now, keep the questions coming (until someone more familiar with that area responds).
Holden definitely has a lot more than Sterling does, if that matters to you. Holden has a grocery store, gas stations, quite a few restaurants, Howe's farm stand, and some smaller stores. Sterling is a cute town, just a little too rural for me.
If you want to "drive" around the areas from your computer, go to googlemaps.com, type in any address in the town, click on the little red mark on the map and select "street view." From there you can drive around and see what is in the area. It might but a little outdated, but it will give you a good idea. I moved out of MA over a year ago and used this to figure out the area where I wanted to live.
I like Holden much better. They also have a really nice zero entry outdoor town pool and it is so reasonable for Holden residents. Far less than joining a pool club. They provide swimming lessons there, birthday parties etc.
Thank you all so much for your advice! I love the sound of Sterling, but like the idea of Holden having more to the town. I am still a bit concerned over the size of the high school, though.
If the size of the high school is a factor, you could consider West Boylston next door. It's MUCH smaller, although there will be less opportunities than Wachusett. It's still a quality school, though. Where will you be working? Perhaps we can guide you in another direction. There are lots of quality districts with smaller high schools in central MA, but we don't want to give you an unreasonable commute.
holden is a great little town with basics, for Wal-Mart and choices on groceries you have to drive to Worcester, 15 minutes or so no big deal. Holden has its own electric so power outages are no problem they respond quick not like n star. Schools are great, Sterling like others said is a bit smaller and Holden is a small town so don't confuse it for something big. very quaint and quiet for the most part, fair traffic not horrible but Holden is the path to sterling and Rutland and Paxton which may also be choices for you to look at. All nice family areas.
I live in Westminster and love it, plus there's good schools, and at least for me there's a lot to do. Wachusett Mountain is right there, Leominster State Forest, Crow Hills, many lakes, the Wachusett Brewery, and good restaurants like the Old Mill and Gardner Ale House. Rt 2 is right there so it's a straight shot to the boston area. I'm 10 minutes to 3 grocery stores and a mall. In addition a new Commuter Rail station is being built on the Town line with Fitchburg, allowing you to take the train right to north station in boston, which I use for red sox games etc. There is also a free Town beach for residents.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
