"Make complaints in a more polite way"

You're grasping at straws big dawg.

That’s pretty much what I figured. I’ve worked at a few in my life and it’s always money. Most of these places need massive capital investments to operate correctly but they are always last on the list for towns

It’s the compost operations. There’s absolutely zero odor control in the mostly open compost building. I worked there for a year, and I’m very close with the 2 guys that run the place. They get very little funding from the town for improvement projects, and when they do they’re kind of whimsical projects at best.

Ok, let me put it this way.

I personally think it's a fine place for a starter home if you don't have children. The city itself isn't great, as I'm sure you've obviously noticed, but it's really not as terrible as people make it out to be. The more rural areas can actually be really nice. Overall, it's not great for socializing and whatnot, but Sturbridge has plenty to do and that's like 10 minutes away. And anywhere else in Worcester County within your price range is probably going to have far less access to ... well, pretty much everything.

If you do have a children, I would look into the Quabbin and Tantasqua districts. You may be able to find something within your price range in the small towns around those areas, although you will be in a cow town with fuckall to do. And probably have worse access to Worcester than Southbridge. The upside is that they're all quintessential little New English towns that all have pooled resources into better school districts.

Choose again. The highway access blows and the natives are poor and trashy

Yes yes yes a thousand times yes. Anything near the hospital is very nice. I want to repeat your first sentence a thousand times.

I'm a recovering addict in Southbridge. There isn't anything remotely like an open air drug market. It's a safe town.

Northbridge is way better than Southbridge and closer to Worcester without having to live in Worcester.

You are very correct. There is a lot of theft in the area. Goes all the way up 169 to charlton. It’s fucking weird because you wouldn’t think it would be a trash town.

No

Yeah most towns west of Worcester, but still in Worcester county, aren’t great.

Will happily recommend our realtor too, she was absolutely fantastic

Place is fucking awful. I’ve worked in sewer treatment plants before and Southbridge’s takes the (shit) cake for lack of odor control. I don’t understand how people that live around there aren’t rioting

We just bought in Worcester. Got a really nice house at 350. We found plenty between 300 and 350, just a lot of smaller than I'd like for the price.

Granted we moved from Boston so our perspective is 100% skewed

Lilac also has great meat.

Honestly I live in Sturbridge, wife works in Southbridge, it gets a really bad rap but it’s honestly fine. There are some really nice areas, up by the airport, down by westville dam, really far south of the city center, there’s a lot to the town geographically.

Southbridge also has a lot to offer for amenities, they have a big Y, aubuchons hardware, consumer auto parts, a bunch of cheap gas stations, decent food (shout out to dynasty, fins and tails, metro bistro) and depending on what side of town you live on you could be on the pike or 20 in like 10 minutes.

Yeah downtown might not be the nicest place on the planet but Massachusetts has way worse towns.

Just do not buy a house within 1/2 mile of the sewer treatment plant. Idk what they got going on there but depending on the weather it is nauseating to be near it

It’s just run down and kind of shitty

True!

Not by much

I don't necessarily want to move there, specifically, but I'm house hunting in the areas within commuting distance of Worcester, and I saw a house for sale there.

In case you haven't noticed, the housing market is a bit ... competitive, these days. Hard to find much below 350K within 45 of the city.

When I've asked people who live around Worcester which towns I should consider living in, several mentioned that Southbridge has a bad reputation, so I was curious and I thought I'd ask about it.

By shitty I mean more run down than anything. You'd know it if you were looking at it. If you're really that concerned, then I guess stay away from downtown.

i bet if you google maps street view cross st you will see a drug transaction

hamilton st, cross st, mechanic st, around the police station, main st, henry st, charlton st, that whole side of town is a shit pile

not racist i grew up there and am a Colon lmao depends what side of main st you pick honestly if you can live in the rural area and shop in sturbridge it’s fine but downtown and the other side of town is a dump. It sucks.

yo the water treatment plant lmao