towns 45 min. out of Boston? (Cambridge, Quincy: sales, real estate, car insurance)

[karelise]

Hello,

My family is considering a move to the Boston area but we are looking for something about 45min or so outside of the city. Any state will do, we're just looking for a safe place, affordable (under $300k for a house), kid-friendly, and with good schools. Suburbs or more rural areas are ok as long as they hae those things. Any ideas?

thanks!

[MovingForward]

You won't be able to find a house for under $300k just 45 minutes outside of the city that is safe with good schools. If you were willing to go 1-1/2 hours outside of the city, your chances might be better.

[surfingatwork]

Originally Posted by karelise

Hello,

My family is considering a move to the Boston area but we are looking for something about 45min or so outside of the city. Any state will do, we're just looking for a safe place, affordable (under $300k for a house), kid-friendly, and with good schools. Suburbs or more rural areas are ok as long as they hae those things. Any ideas?

thanks!

45 minutes outside the city on a good travel day or during rush hour which will probably put you in Quincy during rush hour or maybe stoneham in the other direction. you're not going to find anything larger than 1300sf that will need some updating (but still livable) under $300K. can't help you with schools but you can still get decent homes with a nice yard in southeastern mass. my town is very kid friendly (lakeville, ma) almost every house on my street has children and so are the surrounding towns.

Lakeville is rural (lots of working farms, open space, lakes/ponds), if you want to do shopping you'll have to go to one of the next towns over (either Tauton, Raynham or Middleborough) but we do have a small convenience type store, several coffee shops including a brand new little cafe with wifi, wine shop, card store and sandwich shop. ummm yup that pretty much wraps up the stores in lakeville (oh and a chinese restaurant). It's a great town and the taxes are low.

[Valerie C]

If you consider going north of the city, there are a couple of cities/towns close to the NH border that you might be able to find something suitable, even under 300K. Once you cross the border into NH, property taxes go up dramatically, but there is no income or sales tax, and car insurance is much less expensive.

Keep in mind that they are TWO DIFFERENT STATES, and that's how it should be. You don't get all the services in NH that you get in Mass... and that's how it should stay Just know what you're getting into (your real estate agent will/should help you with these facts...)

[brightdoglover]

You can get a modest, older house in Littleton under $300K, like 3-bed, 1.5 bath. Littleton is very family-oriented, has a nice lake with public beach, good community spirit, lots of things for kids. Lots of preserved open land with hiking trails, several riding stables, down-to-earth folks. I've lived here 15 years, work nights and have no kids, so no experience, but I know what kind of community it is. Commuting is usually Rt.2, which can get jammed up early, but if you work "normal" hours, you can leave around 6:30a and get into Cambridge, at least, quite easily.

[kaioak36]

I would not recommend Lakeville at all. Not a good town if you want your kids to have a good education. If you can afford it, Hanover would be a better choice - you won't get as much for your money but can find a SMALL home for about $325k. The school system is comparable to a Duxbury/Norwell/Hingham school district without the high price of homes. However, Hanover's tax rate is just as high.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by kaioak36

I would not recommend Lakeville at all. Not a good town if you want your kids to have a good education. If you can afford it, Hanover would be a better choice - you won't get as much for your money but can find a SMALL home for about $325k. The school system is comparable to a Duxbury/Norwell/Hingham school district without the high price of homes. However, Hanover's tax rate is just as high.

10th grade MCAS scores at Freetown-Lakeville Regional ranked 113 out of 283 for English and 123 out of 283 in Math. Hanover is around the top 10-15%, so it looked like kaioak36 is just a test-score snoot. Lakeville is by no means one of the elite, but it performs solidly in the smartest state in the nation.

[surfingatwork]

I have to disagree with kaioak on Lakeville being a bad town, school wise. I may not have children in the school system BUT my neighbors do and I have never heard them complain about the school system. It may not be the best but Lakeville residents take pride in their town and schools and it shows. If you want a good family town that isn't all uppity then I suggest you take a look at Lakeville.