Pleasant St Barber

Direct city to city train that takes an hour or less I would 100% utilize. Anything more I'll opt for a car.

So we need a Triple-A street car too?

Worcester is a very good option and checks all your boxes. City is currently growing very fast and has 12 universities plus commute access to others. Direct flights to/from FLL if you're looking to make a short visit.

I'd love free busing for all but understand that's a financial challenge. My ride behavior: Buses running once an hour I will almost never use. Buses running every ~20 minutes I will use heavily.

I this is good for downtown. A lot of remote people asking about local spaces and this is the first I've heard of one.

Gala.......but they have more Dominican and Puerto Rica selections.

Probably a couple hundred a month accounting for transport and food costs.

Too much of the state pop is centered around Boston. Lots of affordable housing in MA but everything requires driving. Build the infrastructure to make Boston-Worcester-Springfield a connected corridor and it will open up options for people besides leaving the state.

Hookers are listed as an amenity of the apartment.

Check out Worcester.....things are changing/growing fast.

Cascades is pretty solid for trail.

Check out Worcester

Buy some duck boots and a good jacket before all else. If you can, rent an Airbnb for a month and use that time to explore neighborhoods and window shop apartments. There is a little bit of everything from city to suburban to rural. It's a city where you can get access to just about anything in under a 20 minute drive.

WRTA

Don't feel bad if you feel you're missing out. This is the city's plan for the next Kelley Square upgrade.

Food scene in Worcester is legit. Vietnamese, East African, Dominican, there's lots to try and new things popping up regularly.

Culture is super vibrant and many universities as well bringing in young people all the time.

Public transport is not that great. Basically bus and commuter rail heading outside Worcester.

Overall city is very friendly and a good variety of different types of housing. I'd visit a couple times to see what areas resonate with you the most.

Same

Actually not. You can use a thermal heat detector and just point it at the wall.....it will be pretty obvious if the wall is empty. There are hand held versions and hardware that connect to your phone.

Overall the utility hikes are absolutely brutal. We will struggle to pay ours this season due to the price hike and that's even after doing the MassSave insulation and converting to heat pumps. We're on the City's aggregation which is better than National Grid but still very high.

Already thinking about what I can due to improve the house before next winter......

Please share how the windows did/did not help with utilities once you get a bill.

Other than heating, appliances like dryer or refrigerator are big power users.

I fly a lot and use BDL, PVD, ORH, and BOS. ORH is super easy/convenient but quite limited on flights. PVD and BDL are easy to get in and out of and have cheaper parking. BOS tons of flights so almost never get stranded, better food options, terminal C security is always super fast.

Boston