Worchester & Lawrence (Worcester, Lowell, Framingham: lower-class, fit in, crime rate)

[kjabernathy]

My partner and I are relocating this coming summer because of her job. Worchester & Lawrence are two of the places she has interviews this winter. What can you tell me about them? Economy? Crime? Gay friendly (though I'm not much worried about that in MA).

[scarletfire]

Main employers in the Worcester (pronounced Wister) area are Fallon Clinic, UMASS Hospital, Tufts Medical, and Mass College of Pharmacy. There's also a fairly new biotech center in the area: Worcester, MA - Biotech. I would think living east of Worcester would give you far more employment opportunities because you could also work at the many large employers in the metrowest if your partner gets a job in Worcester. (Large metrowest employers include Bose, Staples, TJX, the MathWorks, etc, but there are lots of tech companies in Westboro, Marlboro, and Framingham as well). Worcester itself is a mix of some rough areas and some beautiful old neighborhoods and homes. Home prices are quite low compared with surrounding areas. You could also choose nearby metrowest towns (Westboro, Grafton, Northboro, Southboro, etc). Crime is much lower in the metrowest and schools are better. In general MA is very friendly to same-gender couples but I have heard there is some about of bigotry further west out in the boonies.

My impression of Lawrence itself is that it has a lot of crime. I work a few days a week in Andover which is next to Lawrence (but very different and much nicer ) but I've driven into Lawrence from time to time and it looks very run down.

Pls feel free to PM me if you'd like more info on Worcester/metrowest areas.

[lrfox]

Lowell is another option if she takes the Lawrence job. It's still urban, but it's a bit nicer than Lawrence, particularly in the Downtown area which has lots of shops and restaurants.

I personally like Worcester a lot. It has some higher crime, but the crime rate isn't all that much higher than what you'd be used to in Norfolk, VA (nice area, btw). There is some beautiful architecture, and while many proposals to further improve the downtown area are on hold due to the current economic climate, they will likely come through when the economy improves. Worcester has larger than average gay population, but since this IS Massachusetts, there are other areas that would have larger communities. There are some fantastic neighborhoods, and the city itself is pretty (nice rolling hills... unlike Norfolk) and there is a large number of colleges in the area (Worcester Poly, Holy Cross, Assumtion, Becker, UMass Med, etc, etc, etc).

Good luck!

[blehman]

Originally Posted by scarletfire

Worcester (pronounced Wister)

Nein,nein


Pronounced: Wuss-tah

Tourists, I swear!

always remember, no H. You want your rear end handed to you by the locals that's a good start.

As for Lawrence, two stolen cars of mine ended up there. You do the math!

[gamecock43]

Lawrence is run down...depressed economy,not so gay friendly...if you work in Lawrence I suggest you live in Lowell or Methuen or Haverhill. Andover & N. Andover are great places to live right there too- but pricey!

Worchester is kind of far from Lawrence and I'm not to familiar with it other than to say its a big mid sized city with lots of income levels living within it.

[renault]

Lawrence is no good. It's a crime ridden lower-class immigrant town, not exactly a beacon of gay culture. Worcester is a small city but it has more culture than Lawrence, I think you'd fit in better there.