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BigDiggy OP t1_irlhlqy wrote

Reply to comment by CatumEntanglement in Best places to see the leaves change color? by BigDiggy

Wow, definitely saving these for future reference. I bought a car just for my move to MA, would hate to see it rust.

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CatumEntanglement t1_irlimqo wrote

I am super particular about my car and kinda OCD about keeping it clean. So I got you.

My favorite is probably the Clean & Green on rt20.

Bonus for this location, it's near the almost-ready-to-open Market Basket. MB is a NE specific grocery chain known for their great product and deals (there is a serious amount of customer loyalty too with the store). We're all excited for it to open. Clean&Green is also super close to my oft go-to grocery store, Wegman's. If you haven't been yet, I describe it as bougie-but-with-deals. Like if Wholefoods wasn't "whole paycheck". Extensive and very good quality produce. Excellent seafood and meat department. They have "Wegmans brands" which is a bit like Costco Kirkland branding. Has a liquor store extension with a huge variety of craft beer and ciders (both which we're known for in NE). It's, uhhh, also really close to a couple cannabis retailers like The Botanist.

I've lived on the west coast, midwest, and east...and by far MA is my favorite. Which is why I've lived here the longest and consider myself a fully adopted masshole. All of the NE mannerisms will seem grumpy or curt to you at first (like no one's going to be smiling at you or saying hello)...but it's because we don't deal with fake friendliness. We figure you are doing shit out and about and we're not going to get in your way because we have shit to do too. But new englanders are super genuine. If someone is friendly you can trust they're being real about it...and not doing it to blow wind up your skirt. Like if someone says they'll help you clear some snow off your driveway with their snowblower, they'll absolutely show up. If after a nor'easter storm, a tree falls down in your yard, someone will come over with a chainsaw asking if you need help clearing the mess. I think the cranky grumbling is part of the charm around here. Especially around Worcester, where cranky is an art form (but it wouldn't be Worcester without it).

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BigDiggy OP t1_irlkb8j wrote

Hah! I have seen the market basket satire videos. I need to try both market basket and Wegman’s though.

I heard someone say that the difference between New England and CA is that NE is kind but not nice while CA is nice but not kind.

I have nothing but positive experiences with all the locals I have encountered. I bought furniture on Facebook market and I couldn’t fit a couch in the back of my SUV. I offered to rent a moving truck but the guy would have none of it. He put it in his truck along with a shelf I thought was cool and delivered to my place in the snow for free. Couldn’t believe it.

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CatumEntanglement t1_irllzlr wrote

Yeah, absolutely go to Wegman's if you haven't been there. Probably the best local Indian restaurant is also in that shopping plaza down by the Ulta.

>I heard someone say that the difference between New England and CA is that NE is kind but not nice while CA is nice but not kind.

As once living in CA when I was a kid, this hits the truth so hard.

It's like the difference between a friend who is nice to everyone's face and is super sociable but will talk gossip behind everyone's back to stir the drama...vs...the friend who is aloof and hard to read but ends up being a loyal friend for life and is the one who will get your drunk ass home safe.

>I offered to rent a moving truck but the guy would have none of it. He put it in his truck along with a shelf I thought was cool and delivered to my place in the snow for free. Couldn’t believe it.

Hahaha....yeah litterally the least surprising thing to hear honestly. Like...my neighbor randomly called me last February at like 10pm because he made a chance purchase on a large screen TV at Best Buy for a ridiculously good open box deal....but has a sedan and couldn't fit it in his car. So he was in a precarious position on a cold night and definitely needed help to get it home. I was like, yeah that's fine. Like I didn't get an suv to NOT load random shit in it. It was random but kinda fun.

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BigDiggy OP t1_irln7c0 wrote

What’s the name of the Indian restaurant? I just got Bollywood grill a few days ago. It was pretty good, I was surprised how negative the reviews were.

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CatumEntanglement t1_irlnonn wrote

Kumars, but the Northborough location not Boston.

This was a tip originally given to me by a high school student who was doing an internship in my lab (and who was Indian and said when her family just wants something easy and takeaway that they go there).

Negative reviews are the norm because we are cranky and locals will always know of "that one other place that is a little bit better". Negative reviews sometimes are just a reflection of NE crankiness. Wait until to see someone post here on the local page asking for "the best local steak place in central MA" and it will look like a hilarious shit show.

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