What happens if the Sagamore is still down to one lane come memorial day 🤔

Downtown Salem...depending on your aesthetic 😅

Azucar in downtown Maynard was surprisingly solid for cocktails tbh

Get rekt disabled wife

Tf is a "Savoy"?

OP tries to return soup at a deli

Anyone else suddenly wondering if Mac is from Ohio?

Monadnock is the answer

I love how I remember this day too 😂

I found the North Shore a bit devoid of solid chinese if I was being honest. Some people seem to really love Fantasy Island in Salem, I found it a bit hit or miss. One thing I will give them credit for, the best duck sauce I've ever had 😅. Personally China River in Beverly took the crown for me, but that's mostly because of lack of solid competition

I had one pop it's stupid head out a few feet away from me when paddling in the Salem Sound; scared me right to the beach 😅

😂, what show is this?

There is a Walgreens on the Peabody border away from downtown. Check out the memorial that exists behind it (I mean this unironically). Food-wise, Mercy Tavern is a must. If you just want takeaway, you gotta check out Chez Casa, both relatively walkable from downtown, just a bit further out.

Iirc, people on this sub were insiting Holyoke is totally safe, especially the mall 🤔

Anecdotally, I would say MetroWest. Just considering towns like Weston and Dover are among the wealthiest in the country. Then you still have Wellesley, Concord, Wayland, Carlisle, Natick, Newton, Sudbury; I could keep going. There are example of extreme wealth in both the south and north shore too (I'd argue north shore is prob #2), but MA as a whole is just one of the wealthiest states in the country.

I have actually! I visited a friend in a neighborhood nearby about a month ago. Took the train to Alewife and walked from there, and geez has that entire neighborhood changed. Brand new luxury apartments and trendy retail spots (this was at night too!).

If Dorchester is what we have to compare to the high crime neighborhoods in cities like Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Maryland, DC, ect, then Boston is in pretty good shape.

Tourists aren't going to randomly end up in Roxbury or Mattapan 🙄. Even if they do, the most dangerous parts of Boston are incredibly tame relative to dangerous neighborhoods in other major cities.

It is easy enough getting back and forth between Salem and Boston via the commuter rail. Boston obviously has exponentially more to do, but based off your description, it sounds like Salem would be very much up your alley.

I was gonna say! Anything under like $2k for a 2br in Dorchester must be subsidized low-income housing or something. That would be way too good of a price.

Oh, you found a bedroom in Dorchester for $900, that makes much more sense.

You found a $1,200 2br in Dorchester?!

Leominster is a bit better than Fitchburg. I think of Leominster as a firmly blue-collar town (with that one random neighborhood up in the hills with giant homes), and Fitchburg as being run down.

That being said, I lived in downtown Fitchburg for a year and it wasn't that bad. Definitely a seedy town, but seedy by Massachusetts standards. Not uncommon to get asked for money at night, but I never really felt in physical danger. Northen Fitchburg gets much more suburban if not downright rural and has some nice quiet neighborhoods (especially around the high school).

Tons of towns are Fitchburg would be a fine choice, think Lunenburg or Townsend maybe. Rent should be cheap, but as some advice from me to you? As a 20 something, unless you're deeply introverted, you will be in agony living in those sticks out there.

I actually remember doing some digging on this awhile back and learning that they're actually pretty suitable pets? They're not endangered and are pretty social.

Newton does sound like a great option as well though, so best of luck and welcome to MA!

Second this, if you can afford Newton, all of MA is probably an option for you as well. Other walkable yet suburban towns around Boston: Watertown, Arlington, Lexington, Waltham. I think parts of Brookline may fit the bill as well, but that city is generally pretty urban.

Avoid Weston, Dover, Wellesley for the most part. Absolutely beautiful towns and extremely wealthy, but they're mostly residential and you wouldn't have much to walk to.