Is Worcester part of the Boston area? (Springfield, Lowell: price, moving)

[Corey the Otter]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

If I were to make a DC analogy: DC is to Baltimore as Boston is to Providence. DC is to Annapolis as Boston is to Worcester.

I'd always thought of Providence as being like Baltimore to Boston and Worcester being like Frederick MD.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Corey the Otter

I'd always thought of Providence as being like Baltimore to Boston and Worcester being like Frederick MD.

Worcester and Providence are comparable in term of population. While the city of Worcester is a tiny bit bigger than Providence the metro area is 1/3 smaller but they are in a similar category (except the political role of course). Frederick and Baltimore are not in the same category at all.

[Corey the Otter]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Worcester and Providence are comparable in term of population. While the city of Worcester is a tiny bit bigger than Providence the metro area is 1/3 smaller but they are in a similar category (except the political role of course). Frederick and Baltimore are not in the same category at all.

I had made the Frederick comparison based on distance.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by Corey the Otter

I'd always thought of Providence as being like Baltimore to Boston and Worcester being like Frederick MD.

I had Fredericksburg, VA first, but nothing goes on there

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Corey the Otter

I had made the Frederick comparison based on distance.

That's an odd metric to prioritize.

Worcester is 3x the population size, has multiple universities, and a level I teaching hospital. It's not really comparable to Frederick, which is largely centered around a military base and has a much higher median income.

[Corey the Otter]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

That's an odd metric to prioritize.

Worcester is 3x the population size, has multiple universities, and a level I teaching hospital. It's not really comparable to Frederick, which is largely centered around a military base and has a much higher median income.

I've thought of it as being like Frederick but larger and Providence being like Baltimore but smaller

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by Corey the Otter

I've thought of it as being like Frederick but larger and Providence being like Baltimore but smaller

Annapolis is more like Portsmouth, imo.

Worcester is part of the Southeastern New England area, which generally revolves around Boston. However, the area is really a network of large cities that historically all competed and had their own suburbs and exurbs. 20 years ago, Nashua, Lawrence, and Brockton all had their own official MSAs.

Fitchburg and Portsmouth still have their own NECTAs, iirc.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Corey the Otter

I've thought of it as being like Frederick but larger and Providence being like Baltimore but smaller

Besides Providence being a state capital there is really not much difference between the 2 metros.

Worcester: pop 950k, median household income 70k, median property value 281k
Providence: pop 1.6m, median household income 65k, median property value 289k

They are either both smaller Baltimore or bigger Frederick

[Corey the Otter]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Besides Providence being a state capital there is really not much difference between the 2 metros.

Worcester: pop 950k, median household income 70k, median property value 281k
Providence: pop 1.6m, median household income 65k, median property value 289k

They are either both smaller Baltimore or bigger Frederick

More accurate is the NECTA (since towns are more important than counties in New England).

In reality, Worcester has a metro population of 666k and Providence has a metro population of 1.3m

Fitchburg/Leominster and New Bedford also have their own NECTAs

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

However, the area is really a network of large cities that historically all competed and had their own suburbs and exurbs. 20 years ago, Nashua, Lawrence, and Brockton all had their own official MSAs.

Southern New England probably has one of the largest concentrations of independent cities over 100k.
(independent not in political terms) I don't consider Cambridge independent from Boston in this case.