Is Worcester really that bad? (Boston, Springfield: appointed, loft, low crime)

[annamarie]

Originally Posted by mariolatry

I've mentioned before that DH is interviewing for jobs there. Everyone keeps telling us that Worcester isn't even worth checking out...totally ghetto, bad schools.

Is it really that bad? Are there any decent school districts? I have trouble telling from the statistics.

yes worcester is full of drugs and hookers very bad area

[kdm28]

I agree with most of the previous posters - if you are looking for a house check out the west side. There are a few condos downtown and I highly recommend looking at options there if your lifestyle allows. If you have kids it is in their best interests to avoid public schools. Unfortunately there is no shopping in Worcester so you will have to travel for that regardless. As for crime, my experience is that Union Hill, Burncoat, Pleasant St and south Main are the areas to be careful. I have not found an area where I was afraid to walk down the street. The city of worcester publishes crime data on its website if you want to infer crime rates from the incidence of calls. I looked extensively before settling on a neighbourhood between downtown and Elm park. In nearby towns you can get what seems like a lot for your money however they lack much character and expose you to a lot of road travel which is much likelier to put life and limb at risk than the violent crime that deters many from Worcester. Good luck in your search, hopefully my comments are useful.

[ecovillager]

Originally Posted by mariolatry

I've mentioned before that DH is interviewing for jobs there. Everyone keeps telling us that Worcester isn't even worth checking out...totally ghetto, bad schools.

Is it really that bad? Are there any decent school districts? I have trouble telling from the statistics.

If you're interesting in commuting into Worcester, and would like to explore living in an ecovillage (or as the mom of a friend described it, "the amenities of a retirement community, but for people of all ages"), take a look at Sawyer Hill Ecovillage in Berlin MA, about a 20 min drive to Worcester. Schools in Berlin are good, it's a picturesque New England town with shopping nearby, and some of the most gorgeous hills and horse farms I've ever seen on the short drive from I-495. It's under construction now, and I'm planning to live there when it's completed in 2008. www.sawyerhill.org

[Susan542]

We've lived in Worcester for 7 years and have 2 kids ages 5 and 9, so we know the school situation here pretty well. There ARE some good public elementary schools in Worcester -- Worcester Arts Magnet School (which is a magnet so kids can go there from anywhere in the city, as long as they get picked in the lottery), Flagg Street School, Clark Street School. There's also a fairly new charter school, Abby Kelley Foster, which has a good reputation. However, the public middle schools and high schools in the city are in pretty dire shape -- knife fights, drugs, nasty stuff.

The big problem here for the schools is FUNDING -- the state of Massachusetts has been cutting and cutting funding to the local schools every year since 2001, and every year it's the same thing -- we parents protest, we write letters, we go to the city council meetings, but each year more and more teachers lose their jobs and more programs bite the dust. The system has many dedicated and wonderful teachers but they're struggling with large class sizes and inadequate classroom supplies (the budget now provides only about $30 per student per YEAR to buy all supplies, textbooks, etc.) -- plus having to wait and see at the end of every school year whether funding will still exist at the end of the summer for them to have jobs to go back to in the fall.

Plus, Massachusetts is one of the worst states in the U.S. for providing services for gifted kids -- there are no programs AT ALL, the word "gifted" is never even used.

We may be moving soon (for my husband's job), and although I'll miss good friends I've made in Worcester, I certainly won't miss the situation with the schools.

[Jeremy01506]

I second the recommendation to check out the Brookfields for an affordable, nice place to live outside of Worcester with an easy-going commute (20 minutes from E. Brookfield to Worcester/Webster Sq). Plus it's only 10-15 minutes to Sturbridge for decent shopping, restaurants, etc. Worcester has some nice sections but to me the price that decent houses go for versus their re-sale value just doesn't add up (I lived in Worcester for 7+ years in the 90s).

Me, I like Worcester...to visit! :-)

[iamhere]

What's Webster like?

[brightdoglover]

Anecdotally, friends who were looking for a house near Worcester told me that Webster was pretty downscale. I thought it might be a good place to find a modest house because I think there's a nice lake there.
Just a data point.

[KellyCrash]

Originally Posted by iamhere

What's Webster like?

My husband was a life long resident of central MA & whenever Webster came up in any of our home searches he always said, "absolutely not!

As for Worcester...

We lived there for awhile, but we always knew we were going to move out to the suburbs when we decided to have children. I loved living in Worcester. We lived in a very nice neighborhood off of Park Ave. near Salisbury St. Now that I have kids I'd never consider living in Worcester again.

If yr dh is going to work in Worcester I would consider:
Holden, Paxton, Auburn, Shrewsbury, Northboro, Charlton

[nicoles]

[SIZE=3]We have lived in Worcester for a number of years and we couldn't be happier. We live in the Burncoat area which is a lovely tree lined neighborhood with beautiful older homes. When we were initially searching for a home, we found that it was such a better value then towns further East (100k-200k less for a comparable homes) that we could send our kids to private school if we were unhappy with the public school system and Worcester has a number of private schools available. Worcester is a city and like any city there are good and bad parts. In my opinion, Tatnuck, the West Side and Burncaot offer beautiful neighborhoods full of character and classic architecture and have many more amenities available then any town other town in central MA, we shopped them all! It is a buyers market but you will still find that Worcester is a better value overall.[/SIZE]

[smiledoc1]

Originally Posted by Susan542

We've lived in Worcester for 7 years and have 2 kids ages 5 and 9, so we know the school situation here pretty well. There ARE some good public elementary schools in Worcester -- Worcester Arts Magnet School (which is a magnet so kids can go there from anywhere in the city, as long as they get picked in the lottery), Flagg Street School, Clark Street School. There's also a fairly new charter school, Abby Kelley Foster, which has a good reputation. However, the public middle schools and high schools in the city are in pretty dire shape -- knife fights, drugs, nasty stuff.

The big problem here for the schools is FUNDING -- the state of Massachusetts has been cutting and cutting funding to the local schools every year since 2001, and every year it's the same thing -- we parents protest, we write letters, we go to the city council meetings, but each year more and more teachers lose their jobs and more programs bite the dust. The system has many dedicated and wonderful teachers but they're struggling with large class sizes and inadequate classroom supplies (the budget now provides only about $30 per student per YEAR to buy all supplies, textbooks, etc.) -- plus having to wait and see at the end of every school year whether funding will still exist at the end of the summer for them to have jobs to go back to in the fall.

Plus, Massachusetts is one of the worst states in the U.S. for providing services for gifted kids -- there are no programs AT ALL, the word "gifted" is never even used.

We may be moving soon (for my husband's job), and although I'll miss good friends I've made in Worcester, I certainly won't miss the situation with the schools.

Susan,
While I agree with many of your comments, I would call you attention to the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science in Worcester. It is administered by WPI and is a public program with no tuition. It is a jewel.