Frankly I'm shocked at what people seemed to forced to do in terms of comfort in their homes. Your home is your refuge and the one place you should be absolutely comfortable in. Not long ago the default winter comfort zone in American states with cold temps was 68 - 70. Every household customized their settings according to what they could afford. You might have experienced a cold house when you got up in the morning or when you came home from work but not every waking hour. It seems odd to me that this has become the norm. Incrementally our economy is being destroyed and it seems like young people are like the frog in the pot. Today's "middle class" is inching it's way downward toward poverty and the distinctions are beginning to blur. Given current wages and the struggle to live on them doesn't it occur to anyone that the cost of living will eventually outpace income? How many people are already having to make tough choices? I can assure you no one in Washington DC is. This isn't a Democrat or a Republican thing it's something truly sinister. D&R are two sides of the same coin and don't give a rat's ass about America. I'm nearing the finish line and not really affected by any of this but I care deeply about the America I leave behind. America's youth deserve better and can only fix this by rejecting everything coming out of Washington. Tear it down and start over. The average age of both houses is 61 but many are in their 70s and 80s and frankly, dead wood. They are the problem.

The layout does suck lmao

Agree! Either way wins.

Golumpkis on Tuesdays.

I asked this same question in the fall, the universal answer was basically no, which sucks because it's incredibly hard to get friends out to play basketball in the summer/warmer months when it's free.

Getting people to get a membership to a Y or another place with a court is impossible.

If you want to play ball, Greendale Y has 50$ a month memberships and they have open runs often, I haven't played there, but that's the go-to.

Some discussion of day/night temp settings here - some are extreme, this thread at least got me switching to 60 at night. Totally reasonable, especially if you can set the thermostat to increase to 65-68 an hour or so before getting up: https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/yy6al6/alright_its_cold_now_what_temperature_is_your/

68°? Set it to 60° and put a sweater on.

In my experience, $400 for electric heat is lower than average via current rates

Doesn't solve the high cost, but at least spreads it out more evenly throughout the year: https://www.nationalgridus.com/MA-Home/Bill-Help/Budget-Billing

Also recommend an efficient space heater (look into ones with an infrared option), then keep the main heat low and only heat the room she is currently using with the space heater.

Lol, mine's on 61 all the time (60 just seemed to drastic)

Mekong?

I wanted to say thank you SO MUCH for this recommendation. This place is lovely and I finally got to explore the Worcester Public Market. The food vendors there are amazing! This was a great tip

Don't laugh, but Compare Foods, the Spanish store downtown.

Baked in house. Half the price of a stand-alone bakery.

[deleted]

The recommended efficiency cycle for when you're asleep or away is 8-10 degrees lower than your normal comfort level. For my house, I have the waking temperature set to 68 degrees, but I have it programmed to be at 60 when we're asleep or at work. There's no point heating the house fully if we're not there, or not noticing it because we're asleep.

If she has it set to a static 68 degrees, then that electric bill seems normal.

Crust is great!! I can never decide if I want their bread or a loaf from birchtree. Typically comes down to whichever is less out of the way

Sausages and pickles

I typically go to India Market as it's just a little bit closer to me, but I kinda hate the store layout.

Second this. Sabrosa Venezuela in the public market as well

Patel Brothers in Shrewsbury for Indian

Asian Supermarket is good but the quality of produce has gone down since pre-covid. They also tend to be out of stock on many staples (e.g. Kimchi which is fine because I can make my own but I'm lazy).

Miranda Bread is an excellent Brazilian bakery on Shrewsbury St.

Gerardo's is my favorite Italian bakery. One in Shrewsbury by Trader Joe's / Total Wine and one on Boylston.

Patel is great. And if you can't find it there, there's that India market down by Christmas Tree shops.

I could only dream of keeping my house at 68. Everything is set for 58, and I turn it up to 62 when I know I'm going to be home for a while. But for the most hours of the day 58 is the normal temp.

Sol of Mexico.

Try keeping it at 67

How would you prefer it to be resolved? Have her pay the bill and move on. $400 for a month of heat at 68° is about right if not super cheap. Try keeping it at 60° if she wants to keep it around $200. This post was incredibly unnecessary and pointless, nothing sketchy is going on chill out