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Need your suggestions.. I currently live in Somerville, MA and work in Westborough, MA. My husband will be starting a new job in Groton, CT. We're deciding to move somewhere in between...the likely candidates being Providence, RI or Worcester, MA or some other smaller towns in central MA (such as Webster).
What are your suggestions? Would appreciate any help.
If you like country, there are some really, really nice areas near Pomfret and that NE corner of CT. The commute via Providence would be much more congested.
Thanks! We'll probably drive by and see how those areas are....How's Worcester vs Providence? Is one better than the other? I should mention that we have no kids and will be renting, so good schools are not important.
If you like country, there are some really, really nice areas near Pomfret and that NE corner of CT. The commute via Providence would be much more congested.
any area within a 5-10 mile drive of I-395 makes sense. Pomfret, Woodstock, Glocester are nice, but both of you are looking at an hour commute from this area. Living in Providence will give a 50 minute commute to Groton and probably 40 minutes to Westboro. I would choose Providence over Worcester, but I am a Rhode Islander. Providence offers better transportation possibilities; Amtrak, T. F. Green Airport, closer access to Cape and Newport, etc. Worcester offers quicker access to Northern New England. Try a Waterfire in Providence and get a feel for the city.
I would choose Providence over Worcester, but I am a Rhode Islander. .
Well I'm a Massachusetts resident and I'd choose Providence over Worcester too. In a heartbeat. Don't get me wrong, Worcester is NOT a bad place (neither city is nearly as bad as many like to claim). It's just not as good as Providence. Despite what you see on paper (cities with nearly identical populations), Providence is nearly double the size of Worcester. Worcester and Providence both have around 180,000 people but Providence squeezes those 180,000 into a 17.5 square mile chunk of land. Worcester, on the other hand, has a land area of 37 square miles. That means Providence's near-equal population is squeezed into half the land of Worcesters. Providence's urban area spills over the city limits into neighboring cities like Pawtucket (pop 73,000), Cranston (pop 80,000), East Providence (pop 50,000), and nearby Warwick (pop 85,000). Providence has around 1.6 Million people in its metropolitan area while Worcester has a mere 600,000 people. Again, at first glance on paper they look similar. The fact remains that Providence is really far larger than Worcester.
As a result of Providence's larger size (and more significance as a regional center), there's more to the city than Worcester. Providence has a beautiful, active downtown area (I'd suggest visiting the waterfires as well), and many very unique neighborhood centers. If you enjoy the charms of neighborhood centers in Somerville (love Davis Square, btw), you may enjoy an area like Wayland Square, College Hill (as the name implies, a bit more collegiate), or even Federal Hill (great Italian enclave). Providence offers more urban amenities than Worcester so if that's important to you, choose Providence.
Another poster pointed out that Providence has better public transit access (Boston on both local and Amtrak as well as the entire Amtrak Northeast Corridor down to D.C. with regional and Acela Express trains). TF Green Airport is far better than Worcester's. RIPTA is a better option than Worcester's local bus. Providence's coastal location is ideal too, though Worcester is closer to mountains. Crime is nearly identical in both cities. Some good neighborhoods, some bad.
For me, there's no question that Providence offers more of everything you'd want in a city. Not that Worcester has nothing (it's got some great pockets), but it doesn't have what Providence does.
The only other thing I would add to IRfox's analysis is that, while crime may be similar in both cities, Providence's crime is far easier to avoid. It's mostly "quarantined" to very specific areas that you wouldn't go wandering in too far.
Worcester's higher crime areas, on the other hand, are located in a much more choppy, sporadic fashion. I've seen drug deals and fights go down on Main St.
Oh yeah, also the drivers in Providence are actually much better. (Believe it or not!) And the weather too...
Thanks all for excellent advice! We did drive around this weekend and felt that the smaller towns of Massachusetts are not for us. We've finally decided on Providence (liked the College Hill area) or nearby. I'll next be asking about the best places to live
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