Worcester versus Santa Cruz, CA (Boston, Shrewsbury: real estate, low crime, house)

[MagicTouch]

Interesting comments sav - but I don't agree with you at all. To each his own, I just moved from CA. I was born in CA, raised in CA, lived there for 47 years, raised 3 sons there, so I know CA. Oh and by just moving I mean less than a year and I still have all of my family that lives in CA. I have seen the changes and I personally think CA has taken a nose dive over the years, again personal perspective. Everyone has there own opinions and preferences, and definition of quality of life.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by MagicTouch

Interesting comments sav - but I don't agree with you at all. To each his own, I just moved from CA. I was born in CA, raised in CA, lived there for 47 years, raised 3 sons there, so I know CA. Oh and by just moving I mean less than a year and I still have all of my family that lives in CA. I have seen the changes and I personally think CA has taken a nose dive over the years, again personal perspective. Everyone has there own opinions and preferences, and definition of quality of life.

well you moved across the country so obviously CA wasn't for you. I don't really expect people who have left CA for reasons besides a job or family obligations to have positive opinions of the state or else they wouldn't have left for the most part.

I was basically saying it's stupid to try to compare and on top of that generalize the two b/c they just differ in size and scale so much. You're comparing apples to oranges here. CA would cover an area from MA to North Carolina if it were on the east coast. MA is much smaller, less diverse, and more homogeneous than CA. It's like comparing NYC to Austin, TX or some other small city instead of LA or Chicago. You just can't FAIRLY compare the two.

[FinkieMcGee]

Originally Posted by sav858

I was basically saying it's stupid to try to compare and on top of that generalize the two b/c they just differ in size and scale so much. You're comparing apples to oranges here. CA would cover an area from MA to North Carolina if it were on the east coast. MA is much smaller, less diverse, and more homogeneous than CA. It's like comparing NYC to Austin, TX or some other small city instead of LA or Chicago. You just can't FAIRLY compare the two.

As a former MA resident, I'd agree. I mean, you can look at the 3 major Metro areas in CA and they're all drastically different from eachother, so I don't really know how you can nail the whole state down and just straight up compare it to one metropolitan area. It comes off as fairly ignorant.

CA and MA are different, I would just leave it at that and state that it really depends on what you're looking for. I would also never move to Worcester given other options.

[MagicTouch]

sav - I left for a Job opportunity, my heart is still in CA since that is were I was raised, but it has changed drastically. I was raised just 20 miles out of downtown LA, yes but back then it was all dairy farms. So I was raised basically on a dairy farm and went to a school that had K-8 in 3 rooms. So I know what is was and what it is. I live in Bedford MA, kind of reminds me of Crestline, Big Bear... just the feel of the area. But I'm also leaving MA and heading to NY in 3 months for another job opportunity. I am exploring all new job opportunities in different areas since my sons are all grown and gone. I will land back in CA in a 3-5 years. Not because it's a great place to live but because that is where my heart and family are. I think every state has it's positives and it's negatives, you can make more of either depending on how you look at things. Everywhere offers something different and it's finding what best suits you and what you want. Ultimately for me I want to be back with my family and back to my roots. Even both of my parents were born in CA, CA is in my blood like it or not. But it's nice to experience different places to live in this country and I'm taking the opportunity to live in different places and see the history and great things this country has to offer. Every place has something special.

I just like to stir the pot a little to see what people think and how they perceive things. It's always interesting to see other individuals perspective on things.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by MagicTouch

sav - I left for a Job opportunity, my heart is still in CA since that is were I was raised, but it has changed drastically. I was raised just 20 miles out of downtown LA, yes but back then it was all dairy farms. So I was raised basically on a dairy farm and went to a school that had K-8 in 3 rooms. So I know what is was and what it is. I live in Bedford MA, kind of reminds me of Crestline, Big Bear... just the feel of the area. But I'm also leaving MA and heading to NY in 3 months for another job opportunity. I am exploring all new job opportunities in different areas since my sons are all grown and gone. I will land back in CA in a 3-5 years. Not because it's a great place to live but because that is where my heart and family are. I think every state has it's positives and it's negatives, you can make more of either depending on how you look at things. Everywhere offers something different and it's finding what best suits you and what you want. Ultimately for me I want to be back with my family and back to my roots. Even both of my parents were born in CA, CA is in my blood like it or not. But it's nice to experience different places to live in this country and I'm taking the opportunity to live in different places and see the history and great things this country has to offer. Every place has something special.

I just like to stir the pot a little to see what people think and how they perceive things. It's always interesting to see other individuals perspective on things.

I agree for the most part. I don't think CA is close to being perfect or the best at all and I never claimed it was. I never even claimed it was a better state than MA but just said it has more to offer, mainly b/c of its size and diversity.

I was born and raised here as were both of my parents. I'm young (25) so I have not witnessed such dramatic changes as you but have noticed the place where I grew up, the Bay Area, change a lot over the last 10 years. Even though I like where I live and where I grew up I need to live outside of CA and hope do so in the next few years just to see if it's as overrated as I think it is, as bad as others think it is, or better than I actually thought it was.

Also I find your posts contradictory. You said you didn't agree with me at all then say " I think every state has it's positives and it's negatives, you can make more of either depending on how you look at things." My firsts two posts talk about how CA has its good and bad parts, climate is not the only good thing going for it, and the quality of life can be just as good as MA or worse than MA depending on where you are. So you don't agree with me yet say similar things, which I find contradicting.

[MagicTouch]

LOL... yes and if you notice the last sentence in my post .....

I just like to stir the pot a little to see what people think and how they perceive things. It's always interesting to see other individuals perspective on things.

I have three sons in your age group. Best Wishes to you in all that you do ...

[endo]

To paraphrase LBJ, Santa Cruz is like chicken salad; Worcester is like chicken ****(crap).

I remember Santa Cruz before the earthquake. There is a reason one place is expensive and another is not. If you want a lot for your money, give Kentucky a try.

[horseluvr]

I've lived in Massachusetts, all my life...my boyfriend has, aswell. And the moment, we found out we were having a child, we moved out of state to New Hampshire. I'm from Leominster and he's from Lunenburg, both pretty nice city's/town's. We both lived in nice neighborhoods and homes, but the people we didn't like. Growing up, it was great. But, a lot of careless people started moving to Leominster/Fitchburg. And I was moved to a private school, by 3r grade. Worcester, is much worse. My boyfriend works there, now, he commutes from NH, and he's always complaining how bad it's getting in Worcester. There are some really nice apartments, there, (we looked at some) but the feling of Worcester, just is run down. It doesn't make me happy, when I go there, and see all the buidings, it's dreary. I'm also a horsebackrider/trainer. Country girl, and I want to live somewhere, I can picture horses in my back yard, someday. Worcester, is just an unhappy place. Good for fast paced, business people. But, not for me and my family. The art culture is lacking, there, too. But, you could commute, from Douglas, or Holden, which is right outside of Worcester.Well, that's what I would do. But you are single....This is my opinion....good luck.

[Greendale]

Originally Posted by horseluvr

The art culture is lacking, there, too.

This blows my mind. Just last weekend over the course of 2 days my wife & I and a few neighbors went to an Ale Festvial at the Higgins Armory Museum, an amazing museum, went to see 3 of the more preemenint Jazz acts at a state of the art Theatre & went to an Irish Music Festival that spanned 2 days. All of these events were no more than 4 miles from my house. We didn't even use a gallon of gas. I know people are trying to be helpful but please do not write of things you do not know about

[RLCMA]

Originally Posted by seahorse216

I'm thinking of taking a job that's in Worcester. I'm a native New Yorker, moved to Santa Cruz in 1984 and been here ever since. Debating about taking the job because the cost of living here is insane. $400K+ for an 850 sqft attached home!

But I love the weather (perfect, Mediterranean climate--dry, never too hot, never too cold) and the vibrant arts community that's here. I'm only an hour from San Francisco, 40 minutes from Carmel, 30 minutes from Silicon Valley. The scenery is gorgeous and I'm in love with the ocean. Very liberal community (a little out there—Santa Cruz was the first city to declare itself a nuclear-free zone), snobby about their "liberalness." But it's laid back, funky, casual beach lifestyle and I love it.

Any advice on what to expect in Worcester? I'm scheduled to fly back there at the end of the month for the first round of interviews. Your thoughts would be most welcome. I'm single, my kids have grown, married and on their own.

I actually just moved to Worcester from San Luis Obispo, CA. I've never been to Santa Cruz but I have been to Monterey which isn't far at all and it's not comparable at all. You really can't compare a beach community in CA to a town in Central MA. Yes, house prices here don't compare to CA, but if it's a higher salary postion I would say go for it. Worcester isn't all that great but Boston is only an hour away and there is a ton to do there. I will say that Worcester does have some good restaurants but the humidity will be what really gets to you in the summer here.