For what it’s worth, if this were my decision to make, I’d live somewhere in the city proper, and not the surrounding towns. You can’t beat the convenience of being close to all that Worcester has to offer. And it’s not a bad city. Sure, there are some trashy neighborhoods, but you’ll find that in any MA city. It’s very crowded, but it’s not like driving in Boston. My mom lived down by the bridge that goes over into Shrewsbury (not good with names.) it was a fine neighborhood, right across from UMass Memorial, and she paid like $1,300 for a 2-bedroom in a triple decker. Not the best, but far from the worst. Anyhow, with $3k as your budget I’m certain you’ll have no problem finding a great place.