fitchburg area (Leominster, Ipswich, Groton: real estate, crime, houses)

[freckles888]

we might be relocating to this area. thinking of buying in NH to be closer to mountains. anybody have info on this part of MA? i've lived in MA before so i know eastern MA pretty well and i have an idea of what central and western MA are about so i'm looking for specifics about the fitchburg area. looking for an eco friendly place with outdoors activities hiking/walking and maybe a little culture too.

thanks a bunch!

[brightdoglover]

Then forget about Fitchburg. Really.
It has a large welfare population, and a lot of drugs and people with substance abuse/psychiatric disability. It's a fairly crappy town without the manufacturing base that made it a better place in the past.
Of course, there are nicer areas and less-nice and very much less-nice, but I wouldn't live there on a bet.
There are certainly many other towns in that area that far better for living. And I don't know how close Fitchburg is to "the mountains." I guess it's all perspective.
Good luck. You can live in many lovely areas without ever going to Fitchburg.

[freckles888]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Then forget about Fitchburg. Really.
It has a large welfare population, and a lot of drugs and people with substance abuse/psychiatric disability. It's a fairly crappy town without the manufacturing base that made it a better place in the past.
Of course, there are nicer areas and less-nice and very much less-nice, but I wouldn't live there on a bet.
There are certainly many other towns in that area that far better for living. And I don't know how close Fitchburg is to "the mountains." I guess it's all perspective.
Good luck. You can live in many lovely areas without ever going to Fitchburg.

thanks, the job is in fitchburg, i'm looking to live elsewhere because i figured that about fitchburg. do you know of any nice towns around there? i was thinking somewhere on the NH border or even southern NH because it is closer to the mountains (for skiing, hiking, etc), i know fitchburg doesn't have any mountains (although, little mt tom is around there somewhere).

[LeavingMA]

Just north of Fitchburg are Ashburnham and Ashby, and they are both right on the New Hampshire border also. They are more rural towns, but overall both are pretty nice.

Fitchburg isn't as bad as most people make it out to be in you live outside of the downtown area. If you live near the Ashby and Ashburnham town line or the Leominster city line its not bad. Most of the crime and problems in Fitchburg are just in a few areas.

[brightdoglover]

A friend of mine married a guy who works in Fitchburg, and she works in southern New Hampshire. They bought a fine house with three acres in New Ipswich, NH, which is smack in between. Very pretty area, and very convenient to Fitchburg.
Ashburnham has some nice lake houses (my personal favorite thing).
I lived in Leominster for a while, near Fitchburg and on a major road to it. Low-riders and boom boxes speeding by quite often.

[rnc76]

In general, Fitchburg is not nice, but some of the areas off of highway 31 on the north side of town are very quiet and pleasant, almost rural feeling. If you are on a budget, Fitchburg real estate is very reasonable for MA. Lunenburg is nice and right next to Fitchburg, but more expensive. Townsend is a nice, middle class town right on the state line north of Lunenburg. Groton is a little further and very nice (and again more expensive) with loads of conservation land for day hikes and mountain biking. Groton probably has about as much "culture" as you'd get for that area.

[pondhopper]

Princeton, lovely small rural town with skiing in your back yard (Wachusett Mountain with decent small mountain skiing and best of all - night skiing), easy to Fitchburg and big mountain skiing in VT and NH. If too pricey try Rutland, I know people who commute from there to Fitchburg, still easy to get to Fitchburg and Princeton and much less expensive.

[neil0311]

Check this thread for some additional info, and do a quick search of this forum.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/massa...ster-info.html

[Rhaven]

Templeton, Princeton, Westminster, Ashby, all great places to live. Smaller town feel, very beautiful, close to New Hampshire. You also have Mt Wachusett there for a bit of hiking, and quite a few state parks in the area. Cost of living is a bit cheaper than it is in eastern Mass too. I just moved from Templeton, and I really loved the feel there. Quiet communities, but right off of Rt 2 and easy to get places.

[freckles888]

thanks a lot, these posts are all really helpful!