I'm not telling you Worcester is exactly the same as central Boston but I am telling you its a lot closer to being Lowell than it is Holyoke and that has everything to do with Boston. Everything within 50 miles, from Providence to Worcester to Manchester, NH is really still the Boston area.

If argue from a socio-economic standpoint Central Mass doesn't really exist. Worcester and Fitchburg are the outskirts of the Boston area and all the development that's happened in those cities plus the increasing suburban development in surrounding towns is due to proximity to Boston.

Once you get West of Worcester the circumstances change dramatically and you have Holyoke and North Adams etc that have an entirely different set of circumstances.

This is such a bad take. Market Basket is miles ahead of Hannaford and has much better produce and a wider selection at lower prices. I drive right past the Brattleboro Hannaford on my way to Market Basket in Keene once a week.

Those are all massively larger markets than Burlington though.

Just FYI there isn't Uber or Lyft anywhere in Vermont except Burlington.

Yeah the Housatonic/Hoosick Valley is actually pretty urbanized by the standards of a lot of the country.

Its absolutely gorgeous out there though. The valley between the Berkshires/ Green Mountains and the Taconics is easily my vote for the most beautiful place in New England.