Worcester County Towns??? (Boston, Lowell, Framingham: new house, high school, college)

[DarlingCat]

So I am moving back to MA (lived there for 5 years while going to WPI) from CA. My family is joining me and my mom has a job waiting for her in Marlborough. So we are looking for a home in a nice, clean, safe, cute little town around Marlborough to settle down. Does anyone have any recommendations?

We are looking at Holden, Marlborough, Framingham, Clinton, Charlton, Sterling, West Boylston, Milford, Lowell, Westborough, Sturbridge and others. I know the area a little bit, but mostly I just stuck to the Worcester city area during my college days. And I know for sure that I do not want to be in Worcester! LOL

Any insight would be great. There are no kids moving with us, so school locations are not an issue.

I am also going to be looking for a job in MA. I work in HR and would love to find a company that has every other Friday off. Does anyone know of any companies that do that?

[scarletfire]

Welcome. We did the east coast to west coast to east coast move as well.

My first thought based on your note is Holliston. It's a lovely small town and easy drive to Marlboro. If you don't mind a long commute, Holden could work. Sturbridge is pretty, and far less expensive, but kind of a hassle of a drive. It just depends on what you're looking at for tradeoffs. I have a dim view of Marlboro, Clinton, and Charlton as somewhat trashy, even though there are ok areas of some. There are some lovely areas of Framingham but it's certainly not small town. Same with Westboro, it's gotten filled with chain restaurants and stores.

I'm not sure about the every other Fridays off but I think that Boston Magazine has a list of the best companies in the area to work for and that would likely show you a list of benefits for each.

[CaseyB]

I agree with scarletfire about Marlborough and Clinton, I'm not familiar with Charlton. Also, cross Milford and Lowell off the list.

Holden would be fine, also consider Hopkinton, Northborough, Southborough and Bolton.

[blehman]

L

We are looking at Holden, Marlborough, Framingham, Clinton, Charlton, Sterling, West Boylston, Milford, Lowell, Westborough, Sturbridge and others. I know the area a little bit, but mostly I just stuck to the Worcester city area during my college days. And I know for sure that I do not want to be in Worcester! LOL

[/quote]

Charlton and Sturbridge will get you on the pike quickly. My preference is Sturbridge as it simply has more amenity than Charlton. Sterling has reasonable highway access as does Milford, but beware in places Milford has some rough edges. If you are working in Marlboro I would rule out Holden. Although lovely, it would be a major pain in the a$$ to get to Marlboro. Consider also Oxford and Millbury. I agree with your observation about Worcester as it is and will always be a town that just can't seem to get out of it's own way.

[CoastalMaine]

Sterling is a really quaint and pleasant town. My daughter and her family live there and coincidentally, over the last 2 years, I've randomly met three other friends from Sterling. Quite scenic and only a short commute to the highways.

I grew up in Westboro and while it was once a beautiful town, it's now totally changed. Not for the better.

[VlyRoadKid]

I had to chuckle about your comment on Worcester! I taught high school there for 4 years and all my Dad's relatives live there---ugh! It was fun visiting them in my teens, when you could walk down the street safely, but now it's awful.

As for towns around there, Princeton is really beautiful and not as remote as Sterling. Also, Paxton (one of my favorite towns!) and Rutland (but that's a haul from Marlborough) are quite nice. I'd say Holden, but it's pretty expensive. Leicester is also pretty, in parts, but closer to Worcester. (also on Rte 9)

The Brookfields (Esp. W. and N. Brookfield), right off Rte 9, are only about 25 mins. from Worcester and also fairly pretty & undeveloped (I saw some deer and coyotes there, last year!) I'd AVOID STURBRIDGE!!! Of course, since I spent my high school years there, it might have something to do with my dislike for it. But, when I worked in Worcester, we lived there and it was horrible! If you weren't a soccer mom with expensive clothes, driving a giant SUV, you were nothing! Also, the rampant tourism makes housing expensive and the traffic is a nightmare.

Charlton isn't so bad, as long as you stay away from the Rte. 20 congestion and "Strip-mall" feel. There's some beautiful countryside.

The Marlborough and Framingham areas have gotten extremely congested, so unless you want to deal with more traffic, I'd go further west.

[DarlingCat]

Thank you so much to all...this has been extremely helpful. It is still a little bit uncertain as to where I will be working, which will effect our decision on location. Marlborough is where my mother's company is, but she will be working from home most of the time. So just depending on where I end up working, I might be able to handle the commute to the cities you have all shared with me. Thanks and have a great week!

[Dougdog]

A previous post mentioned a strip mall feel to Charlton. That's an odd observation whereas Charlton has very few retail stores and no strip malls. Charlton is a beautiful, quiet town.

[MassachusettsReloExpert]

I currently live in Holden which is a great town but you can get so much more for your money in Winchendon. We paid $300,00 for a 3/1.5 with .25 acres - in Winchendon (comparable city) you can get 4/2.5 new house,4.5 acres for 275,000. Good Luck

[Ryan1984]

A lof of good towns mentioned here. Then again, a lot of not so good ones. Why anyone would say Sturbridge when you want to stay near Marlborough is beyond me. Talk about a commute! You said you didn't have kids, so if I were you, I'd stay in Marlboro. It has some very nice areas. While the surrounding towns are all good, you could do much better price wise (and tax wise; about half) by staying in Marlboro. 5 minutes from the center of town and it gets pretty rural.

If you're adamant about not living in Marlboro, then I would suggest Bellingham. Lowest tax rate around, affordable housing, low/no crime, right on 495 and about 12 minutes from Marlboro.