Living in Worcester? (Boston, Springfield, Cambridge: apartment, rent, low crime)

[pandas&presents]

I've lived in Mass for about a year - Quincy. However, the annual rent increase for my current unit makes remaining here impractical (over $1600/mo for under 400 sq ft - no utils inc - not even water). Unsure if I'm going to stay with my current employer but, if I do, thinking of moving out to Framingham or perhaps Worcester.

I viewed a nice apartment in Downtown Worcester. You get a lot more for your money there. However, the neighborhood seems very, very, very sketchy. The parking lot for the building is not secured by a fence or anything. Should I expect my car to be broken into?

Worcester in generally seemed rundown. Even the museum and other public buildings did not appear properly maintained.

Can anyone tell me what life in Worcester would be like? Amenities seem pretty lacking. I guess the nearest Whole Foods is in Framingham (so, 30 miles) and the nearest good mall is in Natick? This would be a change as there are plenty of WF locations near Quincy and, before living here, I lived in an area in NJ which was similar re: good access to amenities. Is Downtown Worcester dangerous, especially at night? I would need to walk my small dog around otherwise alone. How terrible is the commute into Boston? I would have to do it twice weekly. Is there anything to do? I find Boston and Quincy pretty lackluster and would expect much less to do in Worcester. I joke with my friends that the one thing I could look forward to re: Worcester is that it's an hour closer to NYC via the pike and 84.

Any info is greatly appreciated!

[BostonBornMassMade]

People are gonna cone on this thread panda. And theyre gonna tell you things. Things about Worcester. And theyre gonna tell you good things about Worcester...

Low crime rate given the circumstances! Numerous Colleges in the area! Inexpensive compared to Boston! Only an hour away from Boston! Way better than Hartford! Cool little Italian and Armenian spots!

None of this means anything panda. Worcester is boring ad all hell. There is nothing to do compared to a big city.

Its has a low crime rate for the circumstances of this cities loss of industry and how much more decayed it could be. Its still a medium-high crime rate that is pretty evenly spread throughout much of the city.

Its has a bunch of small liberal arts schools and dull state sponsored institutions that are tucked off around the edges and small pockets of the city. Its a functional city.

It is inexpensive..COMPARED TO BOSTON. WORCESTER IS STILL AN EXPENSIVE PLACE TO LIVE. Everyone forgets that of all the places you could live in America you end up paying anpremium for Worcester. If you think Worcester is worth the above average price given the life of hard work and no play your going to be living.

Its an hour away from Boston. But will prolly take u 90 minutes door to door as a weekday commute. 6 hours a week.

its better than Hartford.....which is most of the developed world and much of the BRICS nations. You can raise a nice working class to middle class family. There is not much if an upper class and there is a fair deal of lower class there. Poor public transit to say the least. Insufferable winters. There is virtually no metro area. Worcester and maybe auburn and that's It for urban areas. Much of it is rundown..not blighted like Hartford but rundown...no nightlife..Won't much of a distinct culture. Second largest city in new England but and after tthought.culurally and economically below providence and Hartford above Springfield and maybe tied with New Haven.

Cool little Italian and other ethnic spots in every single southern new England city. Every single one.....

Worcester is mediocre and a downgrade from Quincy. Id pay the more to live in Quincy and try to get a raise or work harder.

Pick Framingham. Not a whole lot to do but they is quality shopping at nearby natick mall, Boston is 20 minutes closer. Dont have to deal with the pick. Its still diverse. Its not a honogenous small town. Its basically a low density city with a good mix of people that shares a culture with boston as the traditional fringe of the metro. And its pretty safe you could walk your small dog around.

[KellyCrash]

There is a Trader Joe's in Shrewsbury. I'm not a WF or TJ shopper so I don't know if it's an alternative, just throwing it out there...

Worcester has nice areas and it has some not nice areas. Typically, the west side is good. Anything on or near Salisbury Street. North of Park Ave. Tatnuck area, Grove Street, No further west than Mill Street. I hope I got my directions right.

If you could tell us more about where you are looking I'm sure we could give you a better idea if the area is safe or not.

I lived in Worcester for several years. I lived off Park Ave. and we had our car broken into once & had an aftermarket car stereo stolen. I think Worcester is a decent area to live if you're not interested in the schools. We moved out to the 'burbs because we wanted to have kids and didn't want them to go to school in Worcester. There are some areas that are safer than others. I have honestly, never felt intimidated or scared in Worcester, but I have never done much hanging out on Main South either. Anything near Clark University, Piedmont Street, etc. should be avoided. Also avoid any areas around Green Hill Park. I usually go to that park with the kids a few times every summer. The park is okay, it's just the housing around that is sketchy.

Forgot about the mall.
There is a decent mall in Northborough/Marlborough - Solmon Pond Mall. The Auburn Mall is mediocre, but it may have some stores you need as well.

[Humphrey]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Second largest city in new England but and after tthought.culurally and economically below providence and Hartford above Springfield and maybe tied with New Haven.

Worcester isn't the second largest city in New England - it only looks like it is because the city boundary covers 40 square miles. Providence and Hartford are way bigger and New Haven is slightly bigger if you go by metro area.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by Humphrey

Worcester isn't the second largest city in New England - it only looks like it is because the city boundary covers 40 square miles. Providence and Hartford are way bigger and New Haven is slightly bigger if you go by metro area.

Sorry, Worcester IS the 2nd largest city, followed closely by Providence. Hartford isn't even close.

OP - Worcester has some nice areas, just not where you are looking. I wouldn't give up trying to find something there. Framingham would be more expensive.

[Humphrey]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Sorry, Worcester IS the 2nd largest city, followed closely by Providence. Hartford isn't even close.

OK it's second largest by population living in the city boundaries but that is quite a narrow and arbitrary measure. Hence NECTA is used to measure urban areas in New England.

New England city and town area - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The largest cities are:

1 Boston–Cambridge–Quincy - 4,703,187
2 Providence–Fall River–Warwick - 1,301,595
3 Hartford–West Hartford–East Hartford - 1,121,463
4 Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk CT - 926,465
5 Springfield MA-CT - 683,800
6 New Haven CT - 597,172
7 Worcester MA-CT - 577,537
8 Portland–South Portland–Biddeford ME - 357,412

I think making Worcester seem larger than it actually is hurts the city's reputation a bit because it gives people unrealistic expectations. It's improving all the time and actually a decent place given it's size and the fact it's overshadowed by Boston.

[scratchie]

Originally Posted by Humphrey

OK it's second largest by population living in the city boundaries but that is quite a narrow and arbitrary measure.

No, that's the exact measure that people use 99% of the time when they say how "large" a city is. The population who live IN THAT CITY.

[KellyCrash]

I just Googled 2nd largest city in New England and it comes back Worcester, MA.

What do those numbers beside your cities mean?

[Humphrey]

Originally Posted by scratchie

No, that's the exact measure that people use 99% of the time when they say how "large" a city is. The population who live IN THAT CITY.

True a lot of the time. However the post I was replying to was saying that Worcester - despite being the 2nd largest city - is 'economically below providence and Hartford above Springfield and maybe tied with New Haven'. Well that's not actually surprising because when you factor in the urban and suburban areas (which NECTA does) then Worcester is really about 7th largest. It just has a larger city boundary (40 miles) than somewhere like Hartford (17 square miles) and encompasses more of the population of the overall urban area.

Originally Posted by KellyCrash

I just Googled 2nd largest city in New England and it comes back Worcester, MA.

What do those numbers beside your cities mean?

Population of the city and town area (urban and suburban area). New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs) are made of multiple whole towns that coincide with urban areas in a fashion similar to MSAs and counties in other states.

[massnative71]

Do not move to downtown Worcester. There are plenty of nice affordable areas (by Boston area standards) in Worcester and the surrounding towns, that offer everything one could need (besides a Whole Foods). But it really depends on what you are looking for. I'm really talking the average person. If you are a shopaholic (ie. need a Nordstroms as Macy's just won't do), or are young and into the clubbing scene (or have a some other particular interest that can't be satisfied in "fly-over Massachusetts") then you would better off closer to Boston. 90% of the population wouldn't miss any of those things (even though some think they "have to be near it just in case..."). And oh yeah, being over an hour from the ocean is sort of a drawback as well. Framingham won't feel that much closer, however.