Worcester was a textile and manufacturing center of the region until the 1950s. It went into a steep decline after that and took 50+ years to get a recovery started. A series of fortunate and unfortunate circumstances kept Worcester tantalizing close to full-scale recovery but just a bit out of reach.

Worcester missed some of the earlier booms in New England in part due to its location just a bit too far from Boston. The fact the Mass Turnpike avoids Worcester meant the city never had the late 20th-century economic boom other cities with direct exits received.

It also meant the commute into Boston was just long enough to prevent locals from feeling like the city was a reasonable option. That idea of being just a bit too far out of reach also extended to Worcester’s reputation. Always known as a working-class city it was never treated as a first-class option for those living in the suburbs and cities west of Boston.

Despite its history, Worcester prides itself as a community that has combined the best parts of both large and smaller cities. The growth in biotech in the area, the continued health of the dozen or so colleges and universities, and how smaller “second-tier” cities across the country are growing due to an explosion in costs for major cities, are attracting businesses and people to Worcester.

It’s a city on the rise and within easy reach of the other northeastern hubs but without their costs.

Worcester is a mix of blue-collar families and rising professional and middle and upper-class families. The dozen colleges in the area give it youthful energy, plenty of bars, and cheap eats for nights out.

The downtown area, particularly the Canal District, has been completely rebuilt after decades of failed efforts to do so and it now has a good selection of excellent restaurants, upscale gastropubs, and tons of bars and live music. There are other bigger music and event venues including The Palladium and the DCU Arena. Worcester is also the Gateway to western Massachusetts and is surrounded by stunning state parks and freshwater recreation opportunities.

If you want to see what locals do for fun and culture in Worcester check out the calendar of events.

Worcester has an interesting mix of biotech, health, tech, education and entrepreneurial businesses all in growth mode. The U Mass Medical School drives excellent health industry jobs and the dozen schools in the area mean there are always 35,000+ students here buying food, spirits, and tickets to shows.

Despite the collapse (what collapse?), the education backbone of the city always provided security to investments and businesses that took advantage of the in-school and graduating populations. While Boston is only 45 or so miles away, the economy here is more self-contained than you’d think and people tend to work in the area and not commute into the bigger city.

Worcester's entrepreneurial vibe is strong. The roots for this begin with the universities in the area with strong startup cultures. Clark University has an excellent Entrepreneur and Innovation Program. and WPI is an engineering and tech powerhouse with a history of hands-on education and importantly the first Robotics Engineering program. The city scene is supported with good infrastructure for startups via the Venture Forum Community, a 5 Minute Pitch Mentoring Program and solid coworking and incubator spaces in Venture X and WORCLab.