Tell me about Worcester MA!

[MsLeFever]

I have an interview in Worcester next week and I've got an evening free. Can anyone tell me what is within walking distance of the Crowne Plaza? Particularly if there is some interesting restaurant!

If I get the job I'll be back begging for relocation info! Keep your collective fingers crossed for me.

 

[MsLeFever]

wow - the board is running quick tonight - only 30 minutes and already at the bottom of the 2nd page....

 

[LadyBears]

It's been a while since I've been out that way......

I found some links for you to check out:

http://www.cpworcester.com/
http://www.worcester.ma.us/
http://www.worcester.org/
http://www.massvacation.com/jsp/home.jsp

 

[chrissyk]

My thrift is in Worcester, MA!! You must go if you have free time. I'm PM'ing you the info. We live in FL now, and I can't go there anymore obviously. Really rich people must donate their clothing there, because I got all of my Talbots, Ann Taylor, etc. there for under $4 apiece!!

As for restaurants...are you going to be alone, or will you have company? DH and I love the "111 Chophouse". It's on Shrewsbury St. The area is a little skeevy, but the restaurant is fantastic!! Also, my sister loves Nancy Chang...it's upscale Chinese food, off Park Ave, past Tatnuck Bookseller, on the left. I can't remember the street name.

As for relocating to Worcester...well, would you live in Worcester, or do you want to live in the 'burbs? I see that you have children, so I'm going to assume that you don't want to live in a city with bad schools. Make sure that the job pays VERY VERY well. Our house was in the 'burbs of Worcester, and we just sold it for a mint last year. Our town had crummy schools too. I can honestly say that our quality of live has gone up very much since we moved to FL. Other than my thrift, there wasn't much to like about living in that area. Sorry

 

[DisneyFreak43]

Gee- you would be in my neck of the woods! DH grew up in Worcester, but unfortunately he is sleeping right now, so I don't have him here to refresh my memory about that area of the city. I do know there has been alot of construction going on, even with the roadways in that area, so there isn't alot to walk to that I can think of. There has been a mall nearby for years, but it is in the process of closing. I would suggest calling the hotel. My son just recommended taking a cab to "Sakura Tokyo". It is on Park Ave, I'm guessing about 2 miles away. The chef prepares the food right in front of you, he had a blast there with co-workers. It's a little pricey, but still a casual place (no need to dress up). Feel free to pm me with future questions- we live about 20 minutes south of Worcester and just love our little town! Oh, and good luck with your interview!

Cheryl

 

[PatriciaH]

DH grew up in Haverhill, MA and we just moved in October to Fl. His sister went to college (Clark) in Worcester. I did not like it at all (sorry.) It was a nice old city at one time but now I think it is a bit scary! We have friends that live there and they visited Celebration last month. Their kids were begging their parents to move to Celebration! They kept saying how clean it was. It made me sad.

Go to Cafe Dolce (sp?) for dessert-very good!

 

[chrissyk]

PatriciaH, the area where Clark is IS scary I think that a lot of Worcester is skeevy, but Main South (Clark) is the worst IMHO.

The Sakura Tokyo is good, but that's getting to the skeevy end of Park Ave.

The Worcester Common Fashion Outlets is either in the process of closing or has closed. Why on earth did the locate an upscale outlet mall in Worcester It had about NO chance of succeeding in that area IMHO.

OP, if you're staying at Crowne Plaza, you can't really walk anywhere and you wouldn't want to. That's practically at the on-ramp to 290, and it's adjacent to a disgusting part of Route 9. Definitely don't walk around there...not a good idea. ETA: If you really must walk to a restaurant, point yourself up the hill on 9, go by the courthouse, and go to the "Sole Proprietor". It's a little more than a half-mile walk, and the area is OK. I wouldn't walk it in the dark, though. Also, Boomers pizza is around there, a bit closer than the the Sole Proprietor. They have good pizza.

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

The"Irish Times" Resturant and Pub is right down the street on Main St.Some nights there is live music there, but I wouldn't recommend walking down Main St. alone at night.What kind of job are you interviewing for in Worcester?The cost of living is high up here in Mass. and like a previous post said homes are ridiculously high.The homes are a bit less in Worcester than in the "burbs" and Worcester does have some very nice schools...I work in the school dept and can say they do a pretty good job.The teachers and kids in the school I work at are great!Worcester is not a bad place to raise your family,don't let other posts discourage you and your family!!!

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

There are bad parts of every large city,but there are many wonderful family neighborhoods in Worcester!!!Lets not BASH Worcester,you're making the city sound so bad that she won't even want to come up for the inerview.We have about 9 or 10 colleges in the area and a teaching Hospital "UMASS Medical Center and Medical School" and many new Biotech Companies in the area. Lets try to be POSITIVE about our city and surrounding towns !!!!Plus we are less than an hour from BOSTON,and what could be much better than that !!!

 

[kasar]

Last year we went to a concert in Worcester and just assumed that we'd be able to find a restaurant within walking distance for dinner so we didn't bother stopping on the way. Big mistake. It's not really a very walkable city, especially at night - at least the area I was in. There are a lot of restaurants in the surrounding areas but you'll need to drive - hopefully you'll have a rental?

Worcester, while not exactly the nicest of cities, has some really nice suburbs. It's not terrible there.

 

[DisneyFreak43]

I couldn't have said it better, MEG&MINNIE! DH actually grew up in S. Worc., and although it has changed a lot since then, there are worse cities in the US! How about it if we all think of something unique or possitive about the city to share with MsLeFever, I'll start - "three deckers"! I'm proud to say I lived on the 3rd floor of one for 5 years!

 

[Crankyshank]

The Worcester area is very up and coming now and there are a lot of great quintessential small New England towns surrounding that area.

The only issue is that some of the towns have a bit of a budget issue in that the schools aren't the greatest and neither are the roads, and the housing prices are becoming ridiculous although not as bad as other parts of the state. You just need to take a look at the towns in the area. A lot of it is because of "growing pains".

DH used to work out of Charlton and is now based out of Worcester so we originally were looking at houses in the area before we decided on moving to RI (I'm 40min south of Worcester) as a compromise for both our commutes.
The great thing about Worcester is the location - you're not far from Boston, Springfield, Providence, or CT. I wouldn't personally live in the city proper - traffic is horrible, roads are bad (the area has been under construction for forever) and there are some pretty scary intersections, and it's not a city that you can walk around in. It's becoming revitalized but it's not there yet.

 

[DisneyFreak43]

Hi there Crankyshank- we just hit 20 years living in Charlton! It's been a great place to raise kids, the school system is awesome! There is so much history here, I just love listening to some of the "old timers" at our old Home Day in Sept. Could I be nosy and ask where your DH worked here?

Cheryl

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Thinking of another resturant you might enjoy,"O'Connor's Resturant"...lots of Irish Theming and you might get a chance to meet the owner "tis himself",right from Ireland...Brendan O'Connor.You'll defineitely need a rental car in Worcester...are you flying into Boston or Providence?

 

[LadyBears]

How about it if we all think of something unique or possitive about the city to share with MsLeFever, I'll start - "three deckers"! I'm proud to say I lived on the 3rd floor of one for 5 years!

I agree we should think of positive things about the city, but don't take this the wrong way. What is so unique or positive about 3 deckers??? Almost every city between Boston & Providence (& beyond..) have lots of them. I have rented several different apartments in 3 decker homes over the years (including the 3rd floor) - NEVER again!!! It is one thing if you or a family member owns the building & it is ONLY your family in the entire building, otherwise, you could be in for some "fun"! I didn't have problems with the actual apartments - just the neighbors. The first place I couldn't trust actually getting my own mail without it being stolen from one of the other tenants so I had to get a PO Box! Thankfully I kept that PO Box, cuz over the years, the other tenants in the other places weren't any better.

 

[DisneyFreak43]

I saw a show once- think it was Chronicle- and they made a big deal about Worcester's 3-deckers. I can't remember if they said they originated there or not, maybe someone could do a search (I'm about ready to call it a night!). Sorry to hear about your bad experience in them LadyBears, I guess we got lucky with the nice neighbors we had. We also paid cheap rent and were able to save for a house, but I definitely don't miss walking up 2 flights of stairs with the groceries!

 

[LadyBears]

I know not all are bad - just the ones that happened to be in my price range at the time. LOL!! Too me they were great stepping stones while saving for a house. Going to a PO box didn't bother me as much as trying to find parking semi close to the apartments on laundry day & food shopping day then having to bring everything up all those flights of stairs (& that never took one trip either!)

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Worcester is no better or worse than any other blue collar city in Mass however, I do not think it is bashing when you let an outsider know they are not coming to a Manchester by the Sea or Weston. If you are new to a city it is important that you are aware of the potential danger and there is a quite a bit of it in Worcester just as there is in at least 30 or 40 other cities in Mass. It is the same all over the country and certainly I would want to know if I was going somewhere unknown. I do not say do not come only be aware especially if you come from one of those towns where everyone knows everyone else, you leave your doors unlocked and you would stop to give a stranger a ride.

 

[JennSaint]

There is a pretty good restaurant right in the Crowne Plaza. I think it is called C.P Whitneys and I have eaten there before. I wouldn't go out walking alone at night. I grew up in Worcester and I don't miss it. We live in a nice town about 15 minutes from Worcester.

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, I do have to agree that Worcester isn't the most wonderful place in the entire state. But, it does have some very nice sections. Yes, there are some decent schools too. You just have to be careful. I also lived right down the street from Clark for awhile. Gunshots at night...nothing quite like Main South on a late spring night.

But, there is no reason you can't work in Worc. and live outside of the city. You could live in Northbridge...nice little area towards RI and not a bad commute to Worc. You could go NW towards Rutland or west towards the Brookfields. Going east could get pricey. I live several towns over to the east and it is expensive. And we are struggling with budget issues at the moment.

Central Mass is a terrific place to live...great schools, medical facilities, restaurants. You are very close to Boston, Cape Cod, NH, the Berkshires. Come on up but don't judge the entire area by what you may see at your hotel!!!