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Old 11-20-2009, 03:09 PM
 
18,622 posts, read 33,192,920 times
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Hard to say about Worcester. It's sort of self-fulfilling- if no one perceives a scene, no one goes there to create one.
The housing costs, both rental and purchase, in eastern Mass. and in a widening circle around Boston/Cambridge have absolutely put a crimp on any scenes. I guess there's some decent alt-rock type things around Allston/Brighton, the student ghettos, but it's very much a very young/college age thing.
Other areas are likely to be older artists, etc., and not particularly trendy. Older because likely they had to have nailed down a place to live or work a long time ago.
I think anyone opening a business of they type you describe in Worcester would have an uphill climb. People *should* be moving there because it's more affordable and creating a scene/community, but I think the overall sense is like yours- depressing and depressed.
Same with Lowell, although it has somewhat better foundations. Revived downtown, beautiful relatively affordable lofts (converted mills). I do think Worcester has more drug addicts, halfway houses, social service things, and other non-creative establishments. Worcester (and somewhat less, Lowell) is also home to a *lot* of poor immigrants, very poor, and it's not vibrant, it's poor and dysfunctional. (Anecdote- once, for some reason, I was renewing my registration at a location in Worcester. Standing in line, some guy raced through the area with a cop chasing him. People barely looked up).
People who work in those cities largely do not live there, which had been the hope, especially in Lowell. There are beautiful places to live in-town Lowell (lofts) and I think some lofts are starting in Worcester, but haven't taken off. The white-collars head out to the suburbs at the end of the day.
I believe there has been some effort to make a alterative (meaning affordable!) art scene in Holyoke and in North Adams, where the contemporary art museum is. Of course, the issue is always how to make a living.
Sorry I can't be more informative/positive. I've watched rental and housing costs skew almost every aspect of life here.
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Old 11-22-2009, 12:03 AM
 
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There's a lot of cultural activity near the universities and in the downtown area of Worcester. As far as entrepreneurial opportunities go, the key is to hook the college students, because there's a lot of us in Worcester. I know some people who rented out a small space on Park Ave in Worcester and started a hookah bar as part of a management program for school...they now have a thriving business in Man South. Property isn't too expensive, and the area is on the rise as people move further away from Boston and the schools increase in prestige. I would think there's a lot of potential, especially for someone who is looking for a long-term investment.
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Old 11-22-2009, 11:54 AM
 
24 posts, read 76,065 times
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Also, I just realized that you were asking about music venues. There's this place in downtown Worcester called the Palladium, it has a lot of metal and rock bands performing there. So your husband would probably like that. There's also the DCU center, but that has a lot more mainstream artists.
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Old 11-23-2009, 02:32 PM
 
Location: Farmington Valley, CT
502 posts, read 1,386,026 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ThinkingThinking View Post
I guess I've been stuck south of the Mason/Dixon too long, but I sure do miss weirdos.

Not the creepy kind of weirdos, or the ones that scream on street corners... but the arty kind of weirdos. The musicians and painters, philosophers and for lack of a better word, "bohemian" types.
LOL!

Are you talking about folks who organic compost, make mobiles, and have an outhouse and drink goats milk? I think I might qualify as a "quasi-wierdo", but I like my upscale shopping, computer geekness and buzzwords too much. BUT if I end up moving to MA, perhaps we can be friends and trade perennial seeds
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Old 11-23-2009, 06:40 PM
 
Location: Houston TX
227 posts, read 605,721 times
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yes! The type who wouldn't think twice if they overheard me conversing with my chickens as I gathered eggs, who don't mind my excitement over finding a cheap source for rainbarrels (a soy sauce company!) People who dont mind if i go pick up my children while wearing clothes covered in oil paintsm or if they come visit my home, dont notice the disarray or excited dogs, but instead comment positively on the temple rubbings, electric guitars, or extensive Star Wars collectibles.


Thats the kind of people I want to live by.
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