Posted: 9/18/2012 2:31:09 PM EDT
| I am going to Worcester Sept 30th through Oct. 4th for a business related trip. I have never been to that area, or MA in general. Is there anything in Worcester that I should check out while I am there? How's the nightlife? |
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Ah, Wormtown! That's the last place I lived before I was wise enough to flee the Bay State. Worcester is like the walking-dead city of New England, pretty much a burnt-out former industrial mecca that is way past its prime. I spent the last 12 years or so of my time in MA there, working on the busy PD of a town that borders Worcester.
There are some good restaurants, but they are rather spread out here and there. Shrewsbury Street is a relatively safe place to go bar-hopping or looking for decent food. The 111 Chop House (owned by the owners of Sole Proprietor) has a great, classy atmosphere, superb service, great food, and talented bartenders...but you get what you pay for, and it is on the expensive side, plus a little stuffy and uppity to really relax. Up on Highland Street you have the Sole Proprietor if you like seafood (especially sushi...and the excellent cocktails), across the street is The Boynton for more casual food and watching sports (incredible beer selection too)...or if you like rowdy young college girls, there is Tortilla Sam's, which is BYOB and open until around 0300. Park Ave has a wide variety of restaurants, but the traffic can be horrendous, and there are lots of unsavory characters about (and living on almost every side street). If you like beer and great food at decent prices, Peppercorns is one of the better Park Ave eateries. Brewery is on-site, they have some creative meals for good prices, and there is often college eye candy abound in the lounge area. If you are more of the rockabilly/punk type (which I am), seek out Ralph's Diner and Vincent's (both owned by Vincent). Not much in the way of food, but good live bands, beer, and friendly people. Might even catch a car show if you are lucky. Many areas of the city are plagued with crime, lots of MV breaks, etc. Stay away from Main Street and Lincoln Street! I would say those are the worst general areas. Grafton Hill is going downhill fast, but still has a few cozy bars left. |
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I'll add three other places to eat: Flying Rhino has great food and atmosphere. For lighter side you should visit George's Coney Island Lunch. They're highly rated by the Sterns in Roadfood and have a neat niche menu primarily hotdogs. There's a redone warehouse called "Northworks" which is great for low/med priced lunches and dinners.
Worchester is the 2nd biggest city in MA and it shows. As you drive through it on Rt 20, you'll see the heavily settled center of town. Colleges are everywhere there, however, probably 10 in all including College of the Holy Cross near the center of town, Clark College, and Worchester Polytech. The train station has been overhauled and is prominent. You'll enjoy visiting the Higgen's Museum of arms and armour. They have one of the best displays of antique armor anywhere. Check out the punt guns on display as well as the muzzle loader made for a child on display there. Absolutely cool. There are a couple of gun shops in town, too. One is on the eastern side of the city. Google gun shops in Worcester, MA and you'll find them. BTW, it's pronounced "Woos-ter" with the emphasis on the "Woos". I only know any of this because my daughter went to Assumption College (one of the 10 there) so I spent 4 years driving the 57 miles back and forth from Northern CT on a regular basis to see her compete in sports and excell in her matriculation through that first college. It's not a very comfortable city to be sure. Keep yourself aware of your surroundings at all times, even in your car. Know where you're going and just pay attention. Rome |
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Entire downtown area is a shithole and it's only getting worse, tons of drugs, druggies trolling for their next score, and gang members/criminals. For the most part, I honestly wouldn't recommend anything in Worcester unless you are looking to get yourself into trouble. There are a few good deli's in the Grafton Hill area, though.
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Entire downtown area is a shithole and it's only getting worse, tons of drugs, druggies trolling for their next score, and gang members/criminals. For the most part, I honestly wouldn't recommend anything in Worcester unless you are looking to get yourself into trouble. There are a few good deli's in the Grafton Hill area, though. 
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Entire downtown area is a shithole and it's only getting worse, tons of drugs, druggies trolling for their next score, and gang members/criminals. For the most part, I honestly wouldn't recommend anything in Worcester unless you are looking to get yourself into trouble. There are a few good deli's in the Grafton Hill area, though. Yeah, born and raised there... still there, how about you? |
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Entire downtown area is a shithole and it's only getting worse, tons of drugs, druggies trolling for their next score, and gang members/criminals. For the most part, I honestly wouldn't recommend anything in Worcester unless you are looking to get yourself into trouble. There are a few good deli's in the Grafton Hill area, though. Yeah, born and raised there... still there, how about you? I go to Worcester every few weeks for work. Yes, there are some bad areas but you make it sound like Compton! I've been out there at night and have also gone to exhibits at Clark. No problem if you are aware of your surroundings. |
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So I have been in "Wooy-stah" for 3 and a half days now and love it so far! This is my first time up in the north east beyond Washington D.C.
So Monday I checked out a few of the bars...Brew City, Funky Murphys, and one on Water Street, but I don't remember the name of it. They were all just ok. Last night I took D6T's recommendation and checked out The Boynton...AMAZING! The girls were great, the beer good, and the food great as well! |
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Glad you are enjoying yourself! Reading back over what was said here...you seriously should consider Higgins Armory, there is no other museum like it in the world. Well worth whatever the price of admission may be. Thanks! I wished I had more time up there to go around and check more of the town out, as well as checking Boston out. The Higgins Armory sounds like it is a pretty awesome place! As far as Worcester goes, I LOVED it up there! The girls were gorgeous, people very nice, loved the accents, great beer, etc. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have found anything to dislike about the area. This past Tuesday I had gone to the Boyton and ran into one of the managers for Saint-Gobain (I was at a seminar hosted by them). We talked for a while and then we were talking about my educational background (BS degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a MS in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on Materials Science). The manager said that they could really use a guy like me and that I should consider applying if I was interested, although he said he was not recruiting by any means....just made emphasis that they could definitely use a guy like me. So to my next point, I REALLY like it up there and am strongly considering applying and if I can get something, perhaps moving up there. I got to see Northboro as well (other Saint Gobain facility) and really liked that facility also. So, I am from TN and have lived here since 96. I am honestly quite tired of it...the girls are fat and have kids and high maintenance, too many rednecks, and just looking for a change of scenery. I am still pretty young (25 yrs old) and I am at the point where I want to go to some place new and see new things and meet new people. So in terms of living in the Worcester and surrounding areas, can you tell me more about living there? Things like average cost of rent for a 1-2 br apartment, other things to do besides bars, etc. I am into motocross (both track and trails), shooting, mountain biking, snowboarding, and camping...is there any of that around there? I'm sure I will have more questions soon. |
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Get ready for the avalanch of replies. If shooting is an important part of your life you'll want to read them all. I live in CT, just 50 miles South of Worchester. MA has some of the most outrageous firearm laws in the country and their permit process (you must have a permit) is sketchy because it's managed by the local CLEO who may or may not like guns in the hands of his serfs. So, you'll want to seriously consider your plans on moving to the only state that's more true-blue than Connecticut and that, my friend, is saying something! Other than that we're glad you had a good time.
Rome |
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So in terms of living in the Worcester and surrounding areas, can you tell me more about living there? Things like average cost of rent for a 1-2 br apartment, other things to do besides bars, etc. I am into motocross (both track and trails), shooting, mountain biking, snowboarding, and camping...is there any of that around there?
Ahahahahahaha... yeah, NO! Most of the guns you own now have features that aren't MA compliant. We still have the old fed AWB here. You need a permit to own firearms/ammo here in MA. The last decent track near worcester was shutdown by the liberals years ago. No hiking, no mountain biking (the various little hills and shit ass trails don't count, Wachusett blows)... there is SHIT in this area, snowboarding, lulz, you need to travel at least 2-3 hours north to a free state for any of that. All the ranges around here BLOW as well. There are plenty of other states that have hot chicks, booze, and way more freedom. Why would you pick this shithole? Do yourself a favor and move to NH, tons of great places to shoot, climbing, riding, snowboarding, etc., and gun freedoms. Like I said before, only thing to do in this area is to get in trouble. I can't wait to move out of this cesspool. |
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So in terms of living in the Worcester and surrounding areas, can you tell me more about living there? Things like average cost of rent for a 1-2 br apartment, other things to do besides bars, etc. I am into motocross (both track and trails), shooting, mountain biking, snowboarding, and camping...is there any of that around there?
Ahahahahahaha... yeah, NO! Most of the guns you own now have features that aren't MA compliant. We still have the old fed AWB here. You need a permit to own firearms/ammo here in MA. The last decent track near worcester was shutdown by the liberals years ago. No hiking, no mountain biking (the various little hills and shit ass trails don't count, Wachusett blows)... there is SHIT in this area, snowboarding, lulz, you need to travel at least 2-3 hours north to a free state for any of that. All the ranges around here BLOW as well. There are plenty of other states that have hot chicks, booze, and way more freedom. Why would you pick this shithole? Do yourself a favor and move to NH, tons of great places to shoot, climbing, riding, snowboarding, etc., and gun freedoms. Like I said before, only thing to do in this area is to get in trouble. I can't wait to move out of this cesspool. Serious question; Who pissed in your Cheerios? OP, There is a lot of good mountain biking very close to Worcester. Check out NEMBA's web site. Worcester is only an hour to the ocean, within 2 hours of good skiing, camping, hunting, etc. if it were me I would look to move right over the border in NH, somewhere around Rindge maybe. |
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So in terms of living in the Worcester and surrounding areas, can you tell me more about living there? Things like average cost of rent for a 1-2 br apartment, other things to do besides bars, etc. I am into motocross (both track and trails), shooting, mountain biking, snowboarding, and camping...is there any of that around there?
Ahahahahahaha... yeah, NO! Most of the guns you own now have features that aren't MA compliant. We still have the old fed AWB here. You need a permit to own firearms/ammo here in MA. The last decent track near worcester was shutdown by the liberals years ago. No hiking, no mountain biking (the various little hills and shit ass trails don't count, Wachusett blows)... there is SHIT in this area, snowboarding, lulz, you need to travel at least 2-3 hours north to a free state for any of that. All the ranges around here BLOW as well. There are plenty of other states that have hot chicks, booze, and way more freedom. Why would you pick this shithole? Do yourself a favor and move to NH, tons of great places to shoot, climbing, riding, snowboarding, etc., and gun freedoms. Like I said before, only thing to do in this area is to get in trouble. I can't wait to move out of this cesspool. Serious question; Who pissed in your Cheerios? OP, There is a lot of good mountain biking very close to Worcester. Check out NEMBA's web site. Worcester is only an hour to the ocean, within 2 hours of good skiing, camping, hunting, etc. if it were me I would look to move right over the border in NH, somewhere around Rindge maybe. Yeah he definitely seems to have a lot of hostility towards the town, which is ok. everyone has their opinions. Thank you for the link on the mountain biking stuff. I will check it out. As you mentioned, one of the things I like about that area is the proximity to all of the different things you can do such as going to the ocean, skiing, camping, etc. I also like that there quite a few cities within a few hours up there such as Boston, Providence, etc. As for NH....I do not now much about the area. Going to Worcester was my first time up in the Northeast aside from going to Washington D.C. back when I was in HS. So sure, there could be better places. I just wonder what the availability of engineering jobs are? With the company i mention a few posts up, I kind of already have my foot in the door so that makes the Worcester/Northboro area a little more viable. Of course, I am just testing the waters so to speak to see what things are like up there from a resident standpoint. |
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MXandSXracer21:
I have contemplated "writing a book," as they say, as a reply to this thread, however instead I will just invite you to IM or email me with your specific questions. I know the area like the back of my hand, and still have many friends in law enforcement all around central MA, who could provide any insight that I can not, regarding what may go on behind the scenes. Best of luck! |