Best towns to live in near Framingham (Boston, Worcester: apartment complex, rentals)

[Vikatory]

My husband is interviewing for a job in the Framingham area. We'd be moving from Western NY if he gets the job. Schools are not an issue as our kids are grown and on their own. We want to rent in a safe area that allows pets (we have a cat, dog and two birds). Looking to spend around $1500/mo for an apartment. We've owned homes for many years and don't want to buy now, if ever. Plus, a house in MA probably costs about triple what we'd pay in WNY.

Hubby thinks that driving from NH might be a good option due to no taxes there, but I'm thinking it would be an awful long haul every day, especially since we've both worked from home for the past few years, and with the price of gas, it would most likely be a wash anyway. My feeling is why spend the time driving to save a few bucks?

I'm not thrilled about renting, but am looking forward to the freedom it brings by not having to fix something every other week, mow the lawn, maintain the pool, etc. I've read some reviews of apartment complexes in the Framingham/Marlborough area and all I see are complaints. I take those with a grain of salt because I find that most people will take the time to write about a place to complain rather than praise. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[CaseyB]

You have to pay state income tax on any money earned in Massachusetts, so NH doesn't make sense, given the distance he'd be driving.

Is the position actually in Framingham, or a surrounding town? It makes a difference as far as recommendations.

[Vikatory]

It's in Framingham. Thanks.

[mmyk72]

A lot depends on if you want to live in a town close enough to Boston to enjoy the 'city life' or do you want to be in the suburbs? I live in Natick and I think it's a decent, safe town. Lots of apartment complex and townhouses near the W. Natick commuter rail station area if you're interested. It's a decent drive to Boston. Anything further west than Natick is a pain (IMO) if you want to get to Boston in <1 hr.

If you don't care about distance to Boston, then your choices open up as far as decent and affordable towns go. Some good towns have been mentioned before in this forum (ie, Hopkinton, Ashland, Holliston, Millis, etc.). However, I'm not familiar with rental situation in these areas.

You usually get a better living space if you can find a private rental (a single family house or in a multi-family building) vs. renting from a apt complex. Try the Boston Globe (boston.com) or Craigslist to find private rentals. Beware of scams.

[mmyk72]

BTW, Framingham also as a lot of rental places (complexes, houses, duplexes, etc.) . However, there are some sketchy blocks scattered around the twon where I wouldn't recommend living in. The other towns I mentioned (and discussed previously) are more uniformly decent.

So it depends on what you're looking for: do you want to live in an apt complex, a house with a yard, etc., close to shopping, restaurants, etc.?

[ogre]

It's possible that some of the complaints you've read about rentals in Framingham give an accurate picture. It's hard to be sure without being acquainted with the people posting the complaints, or knowing where they've rented, but I've had some experience renting from small-time local landlords in F'ham. I don't recommend doing that. This is just my experience, which certainly does not mean that I know about all the landlords in F'ham, but my experience was that the local landlords are pretty well connected into the town's political network of longtime residents, so they feel free to mistreat their tenants, knowing that the tenants won't get any help if they turn to the local police or courts for assistance, since the local cops, town officials, and judges are pals or relatives of the landlords. For what it's worth, I've also heard from others that my experience was not unusual. Sounds as if it's best in F'ham to stick with larger rental properties owned by corporations without local connections.

While I agree with mmyk72 that there are some neighborhoods in Framnigham which are a little the worse for wear, "sketchy" in F'ham does not mean dangerous inner-city ghetto kinds of areas. Still, if you'd rather live in a clean, attractive neighborhood without much petty crime, you want to get some info about specific neighborhoods before renting in F'ham. Most of F'ham is typical middle class, or a little bit blue collar, suburbia, and some neighborhoods are very nice.

Keep in mind that when I describe F'ham as having the character of suburbia, this is very much the case. It depends on what you want in your local area, but be aware that F'ham is very much a purely mall-oriented suburban kind of place. Even aside from any potential issues with local landlords, this is not the town you want if you would prefer to walk to a nice active little downtown.

I agree with mmyk72 that Natick is a nice town. Natick is another suburban kind of town with shopping malls as a big part of the economic base, but Natick has more than Framingham in addition to the malls, in the way of an attractive downtown with some small basic stores. Natick also has few or none of the faded, "sketchy" neighborhoods, which can be found here and there in F'ham.

[Vikatory]

I like the idea of living in a complex, for now anyway. The reason for that is because I've experienced deadbeat landlords in the past. I want to be assured that the parking lot will be plowed, grass cut, etc. We've done enough of that and frankly, need a break. But I also want to feel safe walking my dog at night.

We really don't care about proximity to Boston because we won't be commuting. Thanks everyone for replying. I'm hoping the people I meet in Mass are just as accommodating.

[felicitev21]

For an apartment complex I would recommend the Meadows at Marlborough. I have never lived there, but it is on a quieter side street and I drive by it quite often, at different times of the year, and the lawn is always mowed, yards clean, parking lots plowed, etc. I am not sure if it allows pets. But it may be worth checking out.

[bostonguy1960]

As Ogre said, perhaps stick with the large rental cos. in F'ham. Lots of semi-modern complexes on Rt. 9 Worcester Rd. You can see them easily from the Exit 12 area of the Pike, and they overlook a reservoir in the nearby vicinity. And they seem away from sketchy areas.

Seems your price would easily net you a 1BR there.

They adv. on Craigslist.

[dontgotsaclu]

might want to talk a look at southboro aswell