Forget Oakland Or Hoboken. Worcester, Mass., Is The New 'It' Town (Boston: hotels, home)

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

If you changed "work in Boston" to "live in Metro West", I'd agree with you. It's commutable for maybe 1/4 of the Boston MSA. That's still a substantial talent pool compared to most places in the country.

If you were moving from another part of the country to work in Worcester, then yes, I wouldn't suggest living in, say, Marblehead. But, if you were established in the Boston area and something happened to your job and you needed to find a new one, Worcester would at least be an option, even if the commute were less than desirable.

I've known of plenty of people who moved somewhere for the proximity to a job location. Then something happened with the job, and they had to find a new one in order to live. Sometimes, they have ended up taking jobs that were quite far away -- but they were able to do it and not move, which often becomes an issue if you have a spouse and children, and even for yourself if you have really established yourself in a community and moving would be the very last resort to avoid complete disaster. I've known quite a few people who live/d in Southern NJ or Pennsylvania and took jobs in New York City. Or lived outside of Washington, D.C. and worked in Delaware. Or worked in Wisconsin and lived in Chicago. The list could go on and on.

My point was more that if there are more potential jobs, even if not an ideal commuting distance, that is a benefit to the region.

[htfdcolt]

For what it's worth, Worcester seems to have a disproportionately high number of vegetarian / vegan restaurants for its size, not to mention that it hosts its own VegFest every May. A sure sign of a growing "enlightened" population, for sure...

[MMS02760]

I guess people don't like public art in Worcester. A display on the common, the area which supposedly kicked off the city's renewal, was damaged this past week:


Police Seek Who Smashed Stained Glass On Worcester Common
https://patch.com/massachusetts/worc...rcester-common

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by MMS02760

I guess people don't like public art in Worcester. A display on the common, the area which supposedly kicked off the city's renewal, was damaged this past week:


Police Seek Who Smashed Stained Glass On Worcester Common
https://patch.com/massachusetts/worc...rcester-common

An unfortunate, but not Worcester specific issue. I went to MassArt (and Design) in Boston and art would be vandalized on campus frequently, despite security and an overwhelmingly pro-art audience. All it takes is one anarchist.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

I was in Hoboken and Weehawken NJ this weekend visiting my wife’s friends. The cleanliness urbanity and diversity was SHOCKING. It is so many EONS ahead of Worcester (decent normal city) but Worcester honestly comes off as a trash heap compared to Hoboken. The architecture, density, and views of NYC Skyline along the waterfront park are impeccable. The late night eats, walkability, and public transit was beyond abundant. Never would I compare Worcester to Hoboken or Oakland. They left an apartment I. manhattan to live in Hoboken -by choice/not economic pressure.

The demand is such that rents in Hoboken for 4K a month, Newark-Hoboken-Jersey City would rival Boston if it were in MA. Oakland is far better than Worcester minus the crime.

Hoboken (53K) is tiny population-wise compared to Worcester (185K). Sure, Hoboken is great, however you pay for all that greatness (Worcester is 99.2% cheaper). Oakland is definitely larger, has greater diversity than Worcester, however Oak-town is 84.6% more expensive than Worcester.

I know you didn't come up with the comparisons, however my point here is that these towns that have "come up" are a lot more expensive.

I see a lot of potential in the Woo. It's a mini Boston with many colleges/universities, medical/bio-pharma presence, with a good amount of public-private investments. Cost of living is decent, real estate is relatively cheap, and access to Boston and other points in NE (Springfield, Hartford, Providence) is relatively easy.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by missionhill

Some headline writer came up with the “forget Hoboken and Oakland” line. It’s not part of the story and really just a throwaway line to attract readers/listeners. If you consider Worcester in the context of the larger New England cities it’s a hopeful story and seems accurate. Now there are at least two cities about 40 miles from Boston with a lot to offer, three including Lowell.

Hoboken (and JC) and Oakland CA are much more analogous to Somerville, Malden, Chelsea than to Worcester.

I’ve lived in Hoboken. It has its charms but the finance bro invasion there is tough to take.

A college buddy of mine who worked in advertising on Madison Ave at the time was living in Hoboken about 30 years ago, and it already seemed like it was experiencing gentrification then - I recall an upscale bar we were in and the view of Manhattan from his place - really pretty nice, so I think Hoboken has a big head start on this revitalization thing.

[Taffee72]

Over a year ago when I was trying to escape my greedy, narcissistic landlady in Cambridge, someone on here told me to move to Worcester (amongst the various choices I was contemplating). I bought a house here, and so far, I love Worcester. Part of it is due to my being a home owner, which is amazing, but I also like the people here and I have almost everything I had in Cambridge. It's just so much more affordable, I should've done this 10 years ago.

[bostonguy1960]

The Boston Globe had a cover story on Worcester maybe five years ago. Didn't read it but I recall a photo of a few college students on a hill overlooking the area. I think it may have touted its potential, with so many colleges concentrated there but how until then (or even now?) Worcester hadn't really taken advantage of promoting its college presence.

After all, nobody elsewhere in the country who's ever heard of Worcester equates Worcester with its many colleges, but maybe they should.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by timberline742

Hoboken to Manhattan is what? 30-45 min?

10 to 15 minutes.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

A college buddy of mine who worked in advertising on Madison Ave at the time was living in Hoboken about 30 years ago, and it already seemed like it was experiencing gentrification then - I recall an upscale bar we were in and the view of Manhattan from his place - really pretty nice, so I think Hoboken has a big head start on this revitalization thing.

Same here. Knew a guy from around that same time who worked on Wall St. and was living in Hoboken. Costs were dramatically less and the area was already gentrifying. I also recall another parent my kid played sports with about 10 years ago remarking how the "cold water flat" his grandparents had in Hoboken was now renting for some amount he couldn't fathom.