Okay, here we go. I grew up in Leominster and I now live in Fitchburg. I’ve lived in other places, but I’m very, very intimate with this area.

The most important and pressing factor for you is housing. It’s virtually impossible to find a 2-bedroom for $1,200. If you did happen to stumble across something on Craigslist or whatever, it’s extremely likely that it’s a shit hole the landlord gave up on maintaining. Do not cut corners on housing. A lot of buildings in Fitchburg aren’t taken care of; they’re left to ruin and infestations. You could feasibly find a rare 1-bedroom or studio, however. Some of the complexes in Fitchburg and Leominster are all right. But just know that the rent is high everywhere now. Fitchburg used to be Leominster’s more affordable cousin; not so much anymore. Rents are nearly identical. I’m talking $1,800-$2,000 for a 3-bedroom. 2-beds would be $1,400+

I’m sure everyone will be telling you how expensive Unitil is for utilities. That’s true, but our city just created a new aggregate program which will save us money.

Anyway, you’ll have to either settle for a smaller apartment or look around in Gardner/Athol. They’re still a bit cheaper out there, but then you’re basically in the sticks.

For nightlife, like you said, you have Worcester. Leominster has a lot of new restaurants downtown and around the city. Fitchburg still has virtually nothing aside from a couple joints downtown (Boulder, Tryst, that Jamaican food place…). I guess Singapore has a new owner as well. But yeah, don’t kid yourself, there really aren’t many fun times in the Burg. It’s a bedroom town, just a place to sleep and watch TV. You got Dunkin and a few fast food places, Carol’s, Dutch Kitchen, and a movie theater that sucks. Leominster has a better one and WAY more food and shopping options. Basically everything you need is in Leominster and down toward Worcester. No true nightlife outside of Worcester/Boston.

If you’re into Cannabis, we have 6 or 7 dispensaries. That’s the best thing going for us right now. Cheap groceries as well with 2 Market Baskets.

In terms of crime, eh. The crime rate in Fitchburg is nearly identical to that of Leominster. You’ll hear of shootings often, but they’re never random or directed at random civilians. It’s always gang/drug/prostitution related. The thing about the Burg is that it’s still very trashy. Almost every neighborhood that’s downtown adjacent is trashy. Smelly, dirty, abandoned homes and buildings, prostitutes, people asking you for money… just your normal city stuff. But it seems more prominent because that’s all you get there. It’s not like a big city where you get a good mix of trashy and gentrified, or homeless people mixed in with people in suits and golfing shorts. It’s a fairly deserted downtown. The people hanging out on the streets are into drugs, homeless, etc. but understand that you’re not moving to Gary, Indiana or south side L.A. Fitchburg is a small city and the bad areas are very small. All you have to do is drive up the street a mile or two and you’re back into regular middle class suburbia. It’s not that bad. I’ve never had an issue here. It’s very quiet with lots of single family homes, triple deckers… it’s one of the original working class towns of MA. And you know how they all end up, high and dry, once all the factories close down. But some of the old mills are now luxury apartments. Fitchburg is certainly better than it was, and it will either stagnate or get better. It definitely won’t get worse. The new luxury apartments will only attract people with money.

There’s also a lot of history, if you’re into that. This is MA after all. There’s history everywhere.

There’s a lot of hiking. Fitchburg is surrounded by rural farmlands and hills. Actually, most of Fitchburg is completely rural. The “city” part is not huge. You’re in, then you’re out.

In conclusion, if being very close to an exciting area isn’t important to you, then Fitchburg is just fine. 41,000 people call it home, and we get up and go to work and come home to make dinner. It’s a humdrum life.

Oh, and you should also know that the Burg is extremely hilly and the roads are absolutely horrendous.

In conclusion, the biggest problem for you is rent. You could find something by word of mouth. But just looking online you’ll never find what you’re looking for. Unless you lower your standards or go further out west. Anything Worcester-central and east is too expensive. But you could find something south of Worcester or west down the route 2 corridor. Then you’d have a lot of driving in your future. There’s a complex in Westminster that has 2-beds for $1,200 unless they raised the rents. But yeah, your best bet would be checking out all the complexes in the area. Most landlords who own a triple decker or two-family house just follow the trend of asking for the highest price possible, because they can.