help! South to North

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by georgiacowgirl

I'm possibly moving from South Georgia, to Worcester Massachusetts. If you're from the surrounding area, please help me out so that I kind of know what to expect. Thanks

I lived in MA for 9 years, about 20 minutes from Worcester. Here are some pros/cons/what have you, from my experiences:

1. Worcester itself is a pretty decent size city. The surrounding suburbs are pretty nice. To your west you have Springfield, another city, whose suburbs are more artsy, further west are the Berkshire Mountains, and to your east is Boston, which is a cleaner, smaller version of NYC, and in my opinion, the perfect city. You aren’t too far from NH/MA/VT either.

2. UMass Hospital is a great hospital. I have a serious medical condition and spent a lot of time there.

3. Worcester is on the MBTA commuter rail (train), which brings you right into Boston.

4. MA is a heavily taxed state. However, they do take care of their roads.

5. Some people refer to MA residents as MASS-holes. This is usually bc of the impulsive driving habits. However, they are known to sit at intersections letting hordes of cars turn in front of you, to the chagrin of those cars behind you.

6. You will get quite a bit of snow, which will be on the ground and your roof most of winter. You will be in a kind of snowbelt, where you get “Nor’easters”, which are like winter hurricanes.

* Set aside money for a snow plow service or a snow thrower. And get a Roof Rake to rake the snow off the roof.

7. It can get hot and humid in the summer, but you are about two hours from Cape Cod and the islands (depending on traffic).

8. Clothing wise, try to go for layers of multi-seasonal fabrics. Get a long winter coat, a snow coat, a pair of snow boots, and waterproof shoes for the rainy/slushy days of spring. There has been a tornado, an earthquake and a few hurricanes in its history. Winters are usually in the 20-40s and summers are usually in the 70s-low 80s, with bouts of extremes (as in below 0 or above 100).

9. You will have new allergies to get used to, if you happen to be the allergic sort.

10. According to my husband from the south, the sun seems to set earlier in the day, even in the summer; and during the winter, you may get Seasonal Affective Disorder - "SAD" - a condition in which you get depressed due to lack of sunlight/vitamin d. You can combat this with a special light box, or learn to love winter sports - shoveling, skiing, ice skating, etc.

11. You can get sunburned even in the colder months. Wear sunscreen and lip balm daily. Moisturize deeply in the winter months. Your skin will get scaly.

12. You are close enough to NY and Boston to get good pizza. A huge plus.

13. You can easily get a train to NYC as well.

14. People do and will commute to work – as far east as Boston and as south as in CT.

15. “Worcester” is pronounced “woo-stah” or “wuhh-stu”. Haverhill = “hay-ver-ull”.

16. There are I think 9 colleges in the Worcester area.

17. Dunkin Donuts has the best drive-through coffee.

18. MA is highly Democratic, and has a lot of public resources.

19. There is a lot to do nature-wise.


If you want feedback on specific towns, let me know. Worcester proper (the city itself, the urban areas) have the same issues as any urban area, but I have had to go to many areas of the city and felt decently safe. I can try to offer advice if you cared to provide any other types of info, as detailed below.

Do you know where you will be working (city, industry)?
What towns are you looking for?
Do you have kids?
What town amenities are you looking for?

Best of luck!