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Old 08-18-2009, 02:19 PM
 
13 posts, read 45,072 times
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Hello,
I will be relocating to the central Mass. area soon and was looking for any input about the areas of Auburn/Millbury and Oxford/Webster. I'm 30-something, married, no kids, looking to buy a nice but modest house. I've seen stuff in both of these areas in my price range but don't know much about the areas at all. Any input would be so appreciated! Thank you!
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Old 08-18-2009, 02:39 PM
 
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In short, if I were you I would concentrate my search in Auburn, Millbury, Oxford and Grafton, NOT Webster.

The four towns I mentioned all have nice suburban new england feels. If your planning on having kids, Grafton def. has the bst school system.
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Old 08-18-2009, 04:11 PM
 
Location: Quiet Corner Connecticut
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Webster I would say avoid for the most part. The only good part of town is east of 395, and then you're talking lakefront (higher home prices) or way off in the woods near Douglas and Sutton. With the problems west of the highway, you might just avoid town all together. If you're planning on having kids, the schools in Webster are an issue as well - I know people who fled to Dudley or even Thompson because of it being so poor.

Auburn is suburban, and to an extent Millbury is also. Auburn has a small older mall, and a lot of little strip malls and chain restaurants - along routes 20 and 12. A few big boxes also. But there's great highway access to everything in Auburn. And it's just south to Worcester.

Millbury has "Blackstone", a large new shopping center which opened up off Route 146. Outside of that bit I don't know much about the place.

Oxford is a nice town. Not as obviously suburban, has a nice little town center, has more of a rural feel to it.
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Old 08-18-2009, 07:19 PM
 
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Thank you both for your input! I have not checked out Grafton, but I just did on your recommendation and found some houses within my price range. Thanks for the info on Webster - kids will hopefully be in the future, so that is great information for me. I appreciate your help!
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Old 08-19-2009, 01:36 AM
 
Location: Quiet Corner Connecticut
1,335 posts, read 3,290,760 times
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If you was looking at Webster, perhaps Dudley might be of more interest. For the sake of argument, Dudley is the west side of Webster (but its own town) and is far nicer. The schools are much better. It's a bit more rural than Auburn, Millbury, Oxford - and it's not on 395 directly either. But could be worth looking into.

If you really wanted to go rural and quiet, there's Thompson and Woodstock just across the state line into Connecticut. Douglas in Mass. too. None are terribly far from Worcester, and should be a little cheaper than closer to Worcester. Woodstock is nice, and the schools are best in northeast CT. Douglas like Woodstock is out in the woods. They just built a new high school out there too. Thompson is on the highway just south of Webster, and quite a number of people commute northward. There's some parts of town which are real nice, some average, a couple areas that scream blue collar. The schools are average at best now but are improving, and they invested heavily into them in recent years with building expansions.

I don't know much about Sutton or Charlton to comment there.
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Old 08-19-2009, 08:15 AM
 
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Right now I live in upstate New York outside of Binghamton. I live in a neighborhood that is quiet but not a far drive from stores, things to do, etc. I guess i'm looking for that type of atmosphere - not completely rural but not city living either. I would choose something more on the quiet side of things but I don't want to live super out in the country.
I keep hearing that some towns in MA are "snooty" or "cliquey" and not fond of newcomers - does anyone have insight on this? I asked my friend from Texas if she thought upstate NY was unfriendly and she said YES! So I'm thinking it's just a northeast thing that I'm used to already and won't be that much different than NY?
Also, it looks like the snowfall/cold temps is a little bit better in MA and where I am now, though it sounds hard to believe from some of the posts on here...
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Old 08-19-2009, 12:10 PM
 
Location: Quiet Corner Connecticut
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There wouldn't be so much of a snooty or clique problem in central Mass., especially in the towns you are looking at.

And yes, because we're closer to the ocean the temperatures are more moderated than well further inland. We get cold and we get snow, but not as bad as out in Binghamton way.

Alright, I'd suggest back to the towns you was originally looking at: Auburn, Oxford, Millbury, Grafton, and maybe Sutton or Dudley.
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Old 08-21-2009, 10:33 PM
 
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Auburn doesn't have a downtown, Millbury is quiet but its downtown is need of repair. Lots of neighborhoods with small houses, not really any distinguished or classic neighborhoods. Shrewsbury or Grafton would be my recommendation.
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Old 08-23-2009, 01:42 AM
 
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Cool Try Southborough, Shrewsbury, or Grafton on for size !!!

I'd say Shrewsbury, Southborough, Grafton, Northborough, Westborough, Sutton, Millbury,

Def. Look into Southborough, (Has a nice downtown), Grafton, and Shrewsbury first.

Hopkinton or Upton could be choices as well.

You might also check out the Milford, Hopedale, Bellingham and Franklin areas.

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Old 08-23-2009, 09:33 AM
 
13 posts, read 45,072 times
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Thank you everyone for your help and recommendations! I was pretty anxious about the whole thing but these responses have really helped me to focus my search and make it more manageable. Thanks!!
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