Relocating to MA?

[smarty]

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Hi, I was wondering if anybody would be able to give me a list of places in MA which fit the following description:

Somewhere where I would be able to go out and go to the cinema, go bowling, go to a handful of restaurants, a couple of takeaways, but not a big, crowded city. Somewhere where I can get to a a big city in a short amount of time (20-40 minutes) but also to the countryside in in 20-40 minutes, somewhere where there is a suburb feel, clean, friendly and free of crime but where there are also forests to hike through and lakes to fish in.

20 minutes from Boston puts you within Rt128/Rt95 (max)
40 minutes from Boston puts you within Rt495 (most likely half way between Rt95 and Rt495)

Going to Worcester would be about 1+ hour away.

There are many suburb towns that fits your description. To name a few... Newton, Weston and Wellesley would fit your description easily. You are looking for the same thing that everyone wants..... Just have to pay $600K+ to make it come true.

[Yoshi]

Originally Posted by smarty

Going to Worcester would be about 1+ hour away.

Is that driving?
I understand that there is a train directly to Boston from Worcester? - anyone know how lony the train would take?

[Yoshi]

Woah! only just went back a page =/

thanks Scarlet & Smarty - I'll go look for that magazine now.

[Valerie C]

Seriously, Amesbury might be a consideration for you. Not a "trash" seaside town, many historic homes, beautiful and walkable downtown, tons of restaurants, easy access to highways (495/95) or commute to Boston via the train in Newburyport, (beautiful old port town, now too full of tourists/visitors on weekends, at least till summer is over!). Take a ride up one of these days, might be worth your while

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Thanks Ogre & Valerie

Valerie seems to understand almost exactly what i'm looking for from the description she gave (or 'he' I guess) but I'm not really a fan of the seaside, love seafood, but hate the sea - well its not the sea I hate its the 'tacky' 'seaside towns' - anyway I think you know what I am looking for but maybe not those 2 towns.

Ogre - you have really got me interested in the Worcester area - do you have any information about Worcester, its suburbs & neighborhoods and its surrounding towns?

I know Boston and certain Boston suburbs much better than Worcester. Though I cannot tell you much in detail about the Worcester area from personal experience, I can give you some very basic info from spending afternoons there occasionally, from what people who know the area have told me, and from what is generally known by those living in eastern MA. Just keep in mind that much of what I tell you needs to be checked out further to make sure it's accurate, since I'm not very familiar with the area, and am mostly telling you about what I have heard from others.

Worcester is a little west of the densely populated Boston suburbs, so many of the towns even very close to Worcester are small, with a rural character. This is especially true to the north and west. When you travel in these directions you find rural countryside almost as soon as you leave the Worcestcity limits. There is more population to the south, in towns along the MA Turnpike, and to the east, where Worcester's suburbs are not far from the outer fringe of Boston's suburbs. Still, the area in general is much less heavily populated than Boston's metro area. This means that you may have to travel to other towns nearby, or to the city of Worcester itself, to find even some of the local entertainment options you seek, such as movies and bowling. However, because of the rural character found in much of the area, it should be easy to find a town that has the woods and lakes and ponds you'd like to have. Also, in this area you are close to Mount Wachusett, which is convenient if you would enjoy some hiking that is a bit more challenging than paths through the local woods. It's not as demanding as climbing in the White Mountains up in NH, but it does give you some moderately challenging mountain hiking right in the local area.

From what I've heard, Worcester has a nice medium-sized art museum, and some kind of science museum where I believe the exhibits are oriented mainly toward biology and ecology, and where they may have a small collection of live animals. At the Worcester Centrum (which may now have a new name that includes the name of a corporation but which is known around eastern MA as the Centrum) they have indoor sports and rock concerts. Also, there's a smaller arena called the Palladium, where they have concerts by good area bands, as well as occasionally hosting big names from the past (I think Bob Dylan and B.B. King have both played there fairly recently).

As for towns in the area, again keep in mind that most of what I can tell you is only what I have heard from others. Two towns north of Worcester that I've heard are safe and clean are Lancaster and Sterling. I've heard that both of these towns have a rural character, which may mean that you'd have a good chance of finding hiking and fishing spots right in town, but also that you'd have to go elsewhere for movies or bowling.

Immediately west of Worcester is another town I've heard has a somewhat rural character, maybe mixed with a bit of a suburban feel, which is the town of Leicester (pronounced "Lester"). From what I've heard, Leicester is a nice pleasant town, also kind of rural in character, but right next to Worcester, so you'd have a short trip into Worcester for movies and bowling and the like, as well as more of the city kinds of recreation.

Immediately east of Worcester is Shrewsbury, which I've heard is largely a suburban town, though I believe they do have some lakes or ponds where you could fish. Like Leicester, Shrewsbury is very close to Worcester, so it would be a quick trip across city lines for museums and concerts, as well as for the more everyday kinds of recreation like movies.

Two towns south of Worcester I've heard are nice are Dudley and Douglas. They're farther from Worcester than Leicester or Shrewsbury are, but they're also nearly as close to Providence as they are to Worcester. Providence is another smaller city you might consider living close to if your preference would be to live near a city smaller than Boston. I don't know much detail about Providence, but it has a reputation for being a really nice smaller city, with maybe a little more of a big-city feel than most places its size. Douglas or Dudley would put you about as close to Providence as to Worcester. I'm not very familiar with southeastern MA, but I would also recommend considering towns in that part of the state that are close to the RI line and Providence as another option, since Providence has the reputation for being a good place to find city entertainment.

Hope this helps, and best of luck!

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Is that driving?
I understand that there is a train directly to Boston from Worcester? - anyone know how lony the train would take?

By train it's about and hour and fifteen to an hour and twenty minutes to Boston.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Valerie C

Seriously, Amesbury might be a consideration for you. Not a "trash" seaside town, many historic homes, beautiful and walkable downtown, tons of restaurants, easy access to highways (495/95) or commute to Boston via the train in Newburyport, (beautiful old port town, now too full of tourists/visitors on weekends, at least till summer is over!). Take a ride up one of these days, might be worth your while

I'm not as familiar with most towns north of Boston as those to the west, but some towns I know enough about to think you might consider them would be: I second Valerie's suggestion of Amesbury; Rockport and Ipswich are coastal towns with beautiful coastal scenery, and some genuine small-town feel without the seashore tackiness you said you'd like to avoid; and, a couple of nice small woodsy towns which are a little bit inland but still close to the coast are Hamilton and Wenham. Rockport, Ipswich, Hamilton, and Wenham are kind of small, but are very close to larger towns where you could find movies, bowling, malls, etc.

Depending on exactly which town you might consider, and where the nearest train station would be, you'd probably be looking at a trip to Boston by train that would take anywhere from about 45 minutes to a little more than an hour. If you were working in Boston and driving there during rush hours, that could be a tough commute. People on here who live north of Boston could give you a better idea how long it would actually take, but I know there's heavy traffic into the city from the north, so it would likely take a lot longer than you'd expect given the distance you'd be travelling. During times of lighter traffic, Hamilton, Wenham, and Ipswich would probably be fairly close to the outer limits of your preference for 20-40 min. to the city, while Amesbury and Rockport would be a little farther, maybe a bit under an hour.

[Yoshi]

Hmm, I am going to concentrate on the MetroWest area, I think its the right balance between time to get to Boston city centre and time to get to the countryside I am espicially looking at Natick at the moment - anyone know anything about it?

[ogre]

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Hmm, I am going to concentrate on the MetroWest area, I think its the right balance between time to get to Boston city centre and time to get to the countryside I am espicially looking at Natick at the moment - anyone know anything about it?

I was actually thinking of suggesting Natick if you expressed interest in looking closer to Boston. Housing is somewhat less expensive than it is in most of Metrowest (though still not incredibly cheap), but it's still a pleasant town. You haven't mentioned anything about children, but if schools would be a consideration for you, that would be my one concern. I've heard that Natick's elementary schools are good, the high school decent, but the middle school maybe not so good. However, the quality of schools is relative. Most of the suburbs west of Boston will have better schools overall than many other places. I don't have kids myself, so I'm not as familiar with schools, but, from what I've heard about the schools in Natick, if school quality is a concern for you, I'd suggest that you still consider Natick, but look into the details of what the schools offer to see if this would work for you.

In other ways, Natick sounds a lot like what you've said you want. Overall, the town has a suburban character, with neighborhoods that vary from classic suburban subdivisions to quaint areas with older houses and big shade trees. On the north side of Natick you're close to malls, movies, bowling, all the local basic entertainment you seek. Bordering Natick on the north also is Cochituate State Park, which I believe has some hiking paths, and centers around Lake Cochituate, a popular spot for water recreation. Also, the southern part of Natick is a little more open and woodsy. I don't know what that area has in the way of hiking trails, but it's generally the kind of open green area you say you'd like to be close to.

Natick also is a good town for access to Boston. You'll find a lot of traffic going into Boston from any direction during rush hours, but it's a somewhat less difficult commute from the west than from the north or south. Natick also is on a commuter rail line, with trains that can have you into Boston in maybe forty minutes or so.

Another area I'd suggest considering would be the Cochituate section of Wayland. House prices in Wayland are higher on average than they are in Natick, but if they're within the range you can afford, Wayland is a nice town, with woods and fields in many parts of town. Cochituate is a nice, established neighborhood, with some medium-sized but nicely preserved older houses, and a small business district that is like a small-town downtown area, with the basic businesses for everyday use, like a grocery store, a drugstore, and a few small local eateries. This part of Wayland is also in the southwestern part of town, right at the spot where Wayland, Natick, and Framingham converge, and just over the line from the parts of Natick and Frmingham where the malls, movies, restaurants, and bowling are found.

One last thought on this general vicinity: I don't recommend Framingham, but living in either Natick or Wayland--particularly the Cochituate section of Wayland--could meet your needs very well. Take care and good luck.

[AnnPedi614]

I am no longer in Boston unfortunately however let me suggest a few areas. Your range and what you are looking for could put you in Georgetown which is a great small town with good school systems, I have two sisters living there for this reason. I grew up in Lynnfield which has a wonderful small town feel and the commute to Boston would be much easier. With the market the way it is in New England you could pretty much choose anywhere though. You might want to look into Westford, though taxes are high there. Other towns around Westford could work too, my mind is drawing a blank though, I want to say Acton is a choice..........
Good Luck in your move, I simply love the Boston area and miss it so much!!!