I'm in northern Worcester County near Route 2--which is more rural (or at least clearly ex-urban). One of the reasons I'm there is that, even at the time I bought my house, property was more expensive near where I worked. I ended up looking progressively northwest until I found something I liked at a price I could afford. I'd say what it cost but I'm afraid it would cause some on this site to burst into tears:-) It was admittedly a fixer-upper and this was about 20 years ago.