Bluntly stated, it’s generally a horrible area. I don’t even stop at the D’Angelo sandwich place near the mall anymore, and they have the best steak and cheese on the planet.
I was a cop in a nearby town, I have two friends who are supervisors on Fitchburg PD, and many friends in nearby towns. None of them live, or would live, in the immediate area.
Ashburnham, Lunenburg, Ayer, etc. are nearby towns that are much “better” in all ways.
Shockingly, even Clinton is becoming a shithole— though I saw that was inevitable starting 20-25 years ago.