Relocating to the City of Seven Hills (Leominster, Fitchburg: restaurants, shops)

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by blues&rhythm

I am currently looking at a rental in Boxboro, with close access to 495. Google Maps clocks it at a 29 minute drive on the dot from there to Downtown Worcester. Does that sound about right in normal traffic? Posters above are saying 495 S is problematic, along with 290, the exact routes I would need. Can that commute easily push longer to 45 min to 1 hour, if things get dicey?

I would not want to do 495S->290 every day. Personally I would try to stay much closer to Worcester, Boxborough is not in the Worcester area. I would assume someone that lives in Boxborough never goes to Worcester unless it's for work, so you will always have some driving to do. If you were in Boylston, for instance, some days you could have a 5 min commute.

Leominster is easily doable as a commute, though most people I know consider Leominster a dump.

[blues&rhythm]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Yeah but he said he is an arborist going on site so I assume he isn't going into Worcester very much but may have to go south of it, he mentioned Auburn, so he will have to take 290 all the way those days.

I suppose that's my fault for giving the thread a misleading title. I'm not typically going to work in Downtown Worcester day-to-day, nor am I actually trying to relocate to the city center itself.

Originally Posted by Lampert

I would not want to do 495S->290 every day. Personally I would try to stay much closer to Worcester, Boxborough is not in the Worcester area. I would assume someone that lives in Boxborough never goes to Worcester unless it's for work, so you will always have some driving to do. If you were in Boylston, for instance, some days you could have a 5 min commute.

Leominster is easily doable as a commute, though most people I know consider Leominster a dump.

I'm rethinking the Boxborough rental. Checked it out today, then took 495 S to 290 W towards Worcester to explore the area further. Even with moderate traffic for a quiet Sunday afternoon, the drive was too long. It would probably become maddening during rush hour traffic.


I'm having trouble finding enough pet friendly options in my price range north of Worcester, towards Holden and West Boylston, so I've starting considering Shrewsbury and Westborough. Still seems like a quick enough commute to access all of the Worcester area, plus they are on the quieter side (and safer???) side.



What are reputations of Shrewsbury and Westborough, plus Grafton?

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by blues&rhythm

What are reputations of Shrewsbury and Westborough, plus Grafton?

Good, however, I'd be surprised if you're able to find rentals more readily within. COL in MA strongly correlates to job access and school district quality ... and on both fronts Shrewsbury and Westborough are more desirable than the towns north of Worcester. I consider Grafton a tier below, but it's proximity to i90 props values and the schools have improved significantly as younger educated families moved in.

Also, most of the rentals in Shrewsbury will be along rt. 9, which is very developed and seemingly not aligned with your ideal setting though, as you're aware, renting with a dog tends to limit the 'wants' column rather quickly. The north side of town is quite nice, but largely SFHs and rather expensive. Same for Boylston.

I'd short list Hudson and Marlborough as they are going to be closer to your area of orbit and should have plenty of rental options.

Might as well throw Northborough in the mix too, but I'm not sure there are any rentals within your COL range which provide good access to 290. The lower COL units tend to be near the town center, which forces highway access through highly trafficked one lane access roads ... not great during peak hours. Berlin too if rentals are available, though the options within are going to be limited as it's a small town and town leadership/ownership prefers it that way ::banjo music::

IMO, commute locations and timing is something to consider in all of the towns east of Worcester as it's dense and the primary access roads can be totally jammed if your commute times fall within peak demand. Review Google's traffic data as a poor location within certain towns can easily add 10-15 minutes of additional driving time to the overall commute (e.g., 122 south Grafton, 117 Bolton/Stow, 122 Paxton/Worcester).

[massnative71]

Parts of Leominster might work for you, if you can't find anything in those other places. Pets are always a challenge.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by blues&rhythm

What are reputations of Shrewsbury and Westborough, plus Grafton?

Shrewsbury and Westborough are great towns with a great school district, which means you are going to pay for something you don't care about.

Grafton would be top tier for me if I were in your shoes due to great road connectivity...there is even a commuter rail stop , but I don't know of any rental that is ok with dogs.

[blues&rhythm]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Parts of Leominster might work for you, if you can't find anything in those other places. Pets are always a challenge.

Absolutely. I understand the reluctance of rental companies to be accommodating to pet owners, but it's still quite frustrating, especially when you actually do have a housebroken, friendly dog that won't cause problems. I actually am going with a pet friendly apt complex in Leominster. It will be just a couple of blocks off of main street, just to the north side of the city center.


I wasn't necessarily blown away with the offerings of the town itself (just my initial impression after driving and walking around a bit), but the proximity to seemingly very good outdoor recreation is a huge upside for me, and makes up for what Leominster may (?) lack.


So, final question, what's the consensus on Leominster? Good? Safe? General attitude of the townsfolk? Do they live up to the reputation of its best known native son...Johnny Appleseed...I'm told


And one last thing to everyone on here, thanks for the input. I'm always pleasantly surprised by how the internet can actually contain positivity and helpful outreach these days.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by blues&rhythm

So, final question, what's the consensus on Leominster?

Well...it's better than Fitchburg.

Has a higher crime rate than the rest of the state, it's poorer than the rest of the state and it doesn't really offer anything special, it's a bit colder than Worcester.

But as a single person I wouldn't say it's anything to be afraid of, I just wouldn't necesserily want to hang out that much because there is really not that much to do..still, more to do than the rural town around it...there are plenty of cheap gas stations

[blues&rhythm]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Well...it's better than Fitchburg.

I checked out one apartment that was on the Fitchburg line, and definitely got a very strip mall, giant parking lot, the only place to eat here is an Applebee's kind of vibe. Was a big turnoff. Not to say that Leominster doesn't have that same exact thing going on, but maybe to a lesser extent from what I've read.



I do wish downtown Leominster had more to offer. There appears to be a small handful of decent restaurants; no breweries though, which is a bit surprising. Plus there seems to be a lack of ethnic cuisine, minus a few Hispanic joints. Anyone know the top pizza spot (for thin NYish-style, none of that doughy crust stuff) and best Italian???

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by blues&rhythm

Absolutely. I understand the reluctance of rental companies to be accommodating to pet owners, but it's still quite frustrating, especially when you actually do have a housebroken, friendly dog that won't cause problems. I actually am going with a pet friendly apt complex in Leominster. It will be just a couple of blocks off of main street, just to the north side of the city center.


I wasn't necessarily blown away with the offerings of the town itself (just my initial impression after driving and walking around a bit), but the proximity to seemingly very good outdoor recreation is a huge upside for me, and makes up for what Leominster may (?) lack.


So, final question, what's the consensus on Leominster? Good? Safe? General attitude of the townsfolk? Do they live up to the reputation of its best known native son...Johnny Appleseed...I'm told


And one last thing to everyone on here, thanks for the input. I'm always pleasantly surprised by how the internet can actually contain positivity and helpful outreach these days.

Leominster is just kind of...bleh. As you have figured out, it's a good starting off point for one into outdoor activities. Reasonably safe, people are cool enough (it's typical New England), yet not much actually appealing about the city itself (other than it's "not Fitchburg"). We have a resident Leominster hater on this forum, who may show up at some point. Don't let him scare you. I don't know that area street by street just that there are certain riff raffy blocks off of downtown, but as long as the place looks OK I think you should be fine.

Originally Posted by blues&rhythm

I checked out one apartment that was on the Fitchburg line, and definitely got a very strip mall, giant parking lot, the only place to eat here is an Applebee's kind of vibe. Was a big turnoff. Not to say that Leominster doesn't have that same exact thing going on, but maybe to a lesser extent from what I've read.



I do wish downtown Leominster had more to offer. There appears to be a small handful of decent restaurants; no breweries though, which is a bit surprising. Plus there seems to be a lack of ethnic cuisine, minus a few Hispanic joints. Anyone know the top pizza spot (for thin NYish-style, none of that doughy crust stuff) and best Italian???

Il Camino is good for Italian, not sure what their status is right now. The Mezcal was a huge disappointment, not a place I'd go back to. Don't know of any good pizza, Sysco Greek style rules in the area as it does in much of flyover Massachusetts. Head 15/20 minutes over to Clinton if you are looking for a good Thai place ("Thai Time" I think). Best steak around is at Texas Roadhouse. All in all, I suggest learning how to cook if you aren't there yet. Good luck.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by blues&rhythm

Anyone know the top pizza spot (for thin NYish-style, none of that doughy crust stuff) and best Italian???

I don't really know restaurants in Leominster, but I personally like Volturno pizza in Worcester (pricey though!), via is also not bad as an Italian restaurant (again in Worcester). Worcester has a great food scene, so if you like good food you might find yourself eating in Worcester more often than Leominster.
Oh, sometimes I get lobster rolls at S.S. lobster in Fitchburg

Originally Posted by blues&rhythm

Not to say that Leominster doesn't have that same exact thing going on, but maybe to a lesser extent from what I've read.

Both cities have the same problems of many "rust belt" cities, but in most metrics Leominster is a bit better than Fitchburg. In my opinion that's what makes Leominster a better choice, not by a mile but still, better.
Also the location is better.