Help, moving to Hudson Mass for work! (Boston, Worcester: house, college)

[neywherk]

Hello,

I recently accepted a job offer in Hudson, and I'm trying to find a nice place to live in the surrounding area.

I'm 22, so I'd like the place to have decent nightlife. I grew up in a college town of ~40,000 (a lot of house parties and 1 street for bars) so it doesn't need to be too wild but I'd still like to have fun during my free time on the weekends.

Commuting isn't really a huge issue and I have a budget of $1000 including utilities per month.

I've looked at Worcester which is relatively cheap but I've also heard not very nice things about it regarding the state of the city and safety. I've also looked at Framingham which is pushing my budget to its limits but then there really isn't much to do from what I've read.

Is there any place that's ~40 minute commute that better fulfills my criteria or am I just going to have to settle for less?

Any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks!

[scratchie]

You're going to have to settle. Is someone in Hudson hiring? There was a nearly identical thread within the last couple of months. tl;dr: Worcester is probably your best bet to have any kind of nightlife. Otherwise you'd have to live within Rt. 128, which is probably not in your budget. Other alternative is to live as close to work as possible and drive into Boston or Worcester on weekends, but that could be a lot of driving.

[timberline742]

Worcester is totally fine.

[wheelz]

Traveling to Hudson from Worcester in the winter can stink. You have somewhat of a snow belt with the Worcester Hills and 290 in my opinion isn't the greatest commute. It is doable, but at times it isn't too great. Hudson has no nightlife at all, Marlborough's nightlife is bad too, but not as bad as Hudson's. I really don't think Worcester's nightlife is worth much either. As far as basing your choice on where to live with nightlife being your top priority, I think you are working/moving entirely to the wrong area. I suggested this in another thread, but some people objected to my choice, but I would aim more toward Allston/Brighton and put up with the distance. The reverse commute isn't all that bad and you would be close enough to Boston to go there and Brighton/Allston is better designed for what you are hoping for.

[Ninotchka P]

Are you looking for a roommates situation? If so, I would try Waltham. You'll be commuting against traffic, and Waltham has lots of college students, post college students, decent nightlife, and is a reasonable distance to Boston/Cambridge.

[flowbe202]

With the smaller budget, OP is better off cultivating Central Mass friends and activities until his budget can handle Boston prices.

Worcester (including Shrewsbury) to Hudson on 290 is a direct commute. House - highway - work and reverse. Simple.

Framingham to Hudson is all back roads and Rt 9 -- no benefit to the OP.

Waltham to Hudson on 20 -- longer commute. Worcester has more students than Waltham.
It looks close on a map; I don't see any benefit to a longer backroads commute.

[rethcir]

I'd give Worcester a fair shake. It's becoming a pretty interesting place for drinking and dining (craft beer scene is growing as well as tons of fun lower end places), rents are very affordable and you can take the train to Boston. Ultimately you will need to give it the smell test to see if it suits you or not.

[Ninotchka P]

OP has said he doesn't mind commuting and his budget is plenty for Waltham with roommates. I wouldn't rule it out.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by scratchie

You're going to have to settle. Is someone in Hudson hiring? There was a nearly identical thread within the last couple of months. tl;dr: Worcester is probably your best bet to have any kind of nightlife. Otherwise you'd have to live within Rt. 128, which is probably not in your budget. Other alternative is to live as close to work as possible and drive into Boston or Worcester on weekends, but that could be a lot of driving.

Good read for the OP:
//www.city-data.com/forum/massa...son-where.html

[wheelz]

Originally Posted by Ninotchka P

OP has said he doesn't mind commuting and his budget is plenty for Waltham with roommates. I wouldn't rule it out.

The commute for Hudson/Waltham is horrible. You either go 117 which stinks or rt 20 which is awful.