I would include these towns: Shrewsbury, West Boylston, Boylston, Holden, Rutland, Paxton, Sterling, Berlin, Grafton, Westborough, Southborough. There are others, but keep in mind that as you go east, toward Boston, prices go up. You should do well with 600k in these towns.

I second the motion on towns outside of Worcester but you have to be careful about the town you choose-they vary considerably. Worcester is often underrated by those who don’t know it. It’s an old industrial city that is undergoing a renaissance. It’s great to have access to this city because of all the new restaurants, live events theater, great art museum, a science museum for kids, and colleges-an excellent community college and a state university, as well as several private colleges. There are many state parks with swimming outside of Worcester and skiing at a local mountain in the town of Princeton. Also, Worcester is an hour from Boston on the Mass Pike and 2 to 2.5 hours from many ocean beaches including Cape Cod. These suburbs are worth checking out but be choosy.