Relocating to Worcester from Atlanta - Suggestions Please! (Shrewsbury, Webster: 2013, lease)

[NE_OHIO_GUYS]

Hello. We are two working professionals relocating from the Atlanta metro area to Worcester for a corporate relocation. We are a gay married couple and wanting to know what areas to consider in the community. What areas are safe and what areas should we avoid? Gay friendly is ideal. We love the arts, theatre, and symphony and would like to be connected to these communities. We love fine dining, craft beer and cocktails. We've already signed up to be season ticket holders of the Broadway Series at the Hanover and looking forward to the experience.

Primarily looking to either rent or purchase a small condo/townhouse with 2 beds, 2 bath and parking for 2 cars. We can be flexible, but really wanting to downsize. Single family homes are also a consideration. We've seen a few places that have caught our attention such as University Park Lofts and Fremont Lofts.

Would appreciate some direction on best places to consider. We would also consider areas outside of Worcester, but would like to keep the commute easy. One of us has a daily commute and the other working 100% remote.

By the way, if anyone is connected and knows of any Single Family Homes, Townhomes or Condos coming available for rent or buy, it would be appreciated! We always seem to be a day late on making an offer on either a lease or purchase.

Many Thanks!

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by NE_OHIO_GUYS

University Park Lofts and Fremont Lofts.

Both bad areas. I would stay clear.



Try to focus on the West Side, from Worcester Polytech (WPI) heading out Highland St., etc.. Or maybe the area around UMASS Medical.

[magicshark]

I wouldn't call those areas bad but they are not the best.

I live on the west side and would highly recommend it. I live in the Tatnuck area. I have restaurants, a bakery, butcher shop, bookstore (that sells vegan food!), artisan ice cream, pet and plant stores, etc. in walking distance. Unfortunately prices have skyrocketed and houses go extremely quickly. Good news is even with high prices it is still cheaper then the suburbs.
Depending how urban you prefer I would look downtown, The Canal District or parts of Burncoat. If you are ok with gritty then parts of Webster Square are nice. The places you are looking at I would live in but that's me.

[scorpio516]

I live close to UMass on the east side. Near quinsig is an easy commute downtown, if that's where you're working. If you are working biotech near UMass, even better!
The north west side, between Pleasant and Park/190, has some of the best parts of town, but commute is a little harder (not hard though).
The north side of town, Greendale, is mostly nice and very suburban/residential. Nothing small though, but quite a few duplexes and smaller (<1200sf) SFH.

Originally Posted by magicshark

I wouldn't call those areas bad but they are not the best.

Yeah. Some nice looking new lofts surrounded by the worst part of the city. But the whole Loomworks/Tabletop factory area is a LOT nicer than it was 5 years ago.

[Lampert]

It depends a bit on where in Worcester you work because traffic is quite annoying in the city.
There are fairly new buildings in Shrewsbury (Quinn35) that could fit your needs, those are extremely close to Umass in Worcester.
Any town around Worcester is at a minimum quite safe.

I think being gay in Worcester is not an issue.

[ben young]

Buy a snow shovel . Worcester hills get 70 -90 " a season.

[MMS02760]

Originally Posted by ben young

Buy a snow shovel . Worcester hills get 70 -90 " a season.

That snow range pales in comparison to the city's winter of 1992-93. Worcester got 120.1 inches that season.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by MMS02760

That snow range pales in comparison to the city's winter of 1992-93. Worcester got 120.1 inches that season.

Over the last 10 years, between 39" and 120". 2013-14 was 119.7". Average 72", median 77"

[mdovell]

I've never lived in Worcester but I'd say if there's any real negative about the place is that it is very hilly. If you drive I'd highly recommend 4 wheel drive not for the snow but for the hills. If you want to live by a hill make sure your calf muscles are good enough

[GeoffD]

You don’t need 4wd in Worcester. Snow tires on a fwd car is more than adequate. If you don’t have the storage space, then all weather tires which are winter rated. They have the mountain with snowflake icon on the sidewall. Learn how to turn traction control off on your car. The car won’t move when it detects wheel spin and kills the throttle.

I’d think near UMass Medical would be loaded with young professionals and a gay couple would be pretty normal. As others are saying, it depends on your commute.