Massachusetts: the real estate dead zone

[hyphenate]

Now that I'm going to be able to put a down payment on a house of my own, I'm finding that living in Massachusetts is nearly impossible. Here in central Mass, trying to find something affordable is rather dubious at best, and anything east of Worcester is impossible at best. Some houses in the far western part of the state, but nothing that someone raised in the city could work with--hell, I don't have the strength to do much of what might be needed to run a house in "frontier" territory west of Springfield!

So....any ideas? My criteria: home for me and the cats. Needs to be a one family house, preferably with at the very least of 1000 sq.feet. Want a basement and a fireplace, primarily, and at least two bedrooms and an office area, or three bedrooms. For the cats, a 3 season porch would be nice, but not mandatory. Would prefer to steer away from manufactured houses, though that's part of the solution in some cases. I would rather live closer to Boston, though that's highly unlikely. Grew up in Brookline and Jamaica Plain, so areas like that would be wonderful, though I doubt if the prices are affordable.

Hud housing would be okay, as I'd have a little to work on the house, but nothing that's going to be drastic in terms of removation. I would want something that I could move into fairly quickly and work on it while I'm living there, so nothing like mold, bugs, rats, etc.

Maximum right now is tentative, and will depend on how much a bank is willing to loan me. I'm figuring $100,000 right now, as I can put a sizable dent in that right off. (Well, not quite yet--another month, at the very least.)

Any ideas for a first time homebuyer? I am going to a development company that works with first timers and advises them on different elements, and think that there are some resources available to me that might help. But if anyone sees anything out there, feel free to PM me and let me know! Thanks!