Lowell, MA - any info would be great! (Boston, Worcester: fit in, renting)

[grimstuff]

If I were part of a young childless couple, I'd want to be in Brookline, Watertown, Waltham, etc.-just a few stops on the T to BOS-yet parks, universities, Charles River.
If I knew your price range, it would help. Also, are you looking for large diversified universities i.e. BU, Northeastern or small private i.e. Wellesley, Babson or Stone Hill College?

Thanks for your reply, ivymm. As far as colleges and universities, we would be looking for the "large, diversified," i.e. affordable. I would be interested in grad school, but not right away, as I want to work for a few years in my field first. My wife would need either a college for dental hygiene or a college for a BSN.

Based on what we have now and my money-making potential in my field, we could afford a place up to about $1000/month. Definitely not more than that. How are these Boston-metro areas for rents?

[AlanD]

Grimstuff,
I don't know whether you've given this any thought or not. I lived in NH for many years and for a portion of that time I worked in Lowell for Verizon.

The commute from southern NH to greater Lowell is less than an hour. If you lived in a town like Bedford, Merrimac, Manchester or Nashua, NH you'd be close enough to Lowell to work and, by living in NH, you'd avoid sales and state income tax. NH has no state income tax and no sales tax.

Just a thought but you might find living in southern NH and working in Lowell is a good move. It's done a lot. There's a steady stream of commuters from southern NH into Mass. every day.

[grimstuff]

Originally Posted by AlanD

Grimstuff,
I don't know whether you've given this any thought or not. I lived in NH for many years and for a portion of that time I worked in Lowell for Verizon.

The commute from southern NH to greater Lowell is less than an hour. If you lived in a town like Bedford, Merrimac, Manchester or Nashua, NH you'd be close enough to Lowell to work and, by living in NH, you'd avoid sales and state income tax. NH has no state income tax and no sales tax.

Just a thought but you might find living in southern NH and working in Lowell is a good move. It's done a lot. There's a steady stream of commuters from southern NH into Mass. every day.

Thanks for the suggestion, ALanD. I'll give it a thought. I heard of some others considering the same thing, but seeing as how I've never been to NH, I'm more hesitant.

[julz]

Great suggestion! N.H. is a beautiful state and the commute is not bad at all.

[xrilander]

Check out a few of the surrounding towns like Dracut, Chelmsford, and Pelham, NH. All are within 5 miles of Lowell, and are nice communities.

[flossu2000]

Lowell is one of the most up and coming cities around. All I hear on this post is how bad it is. I live on the outskirts of Lowell and love coming to this city. It has the tsongas Arean, the spinners, tons of art galleries, great dining and not to mention great night life. Of course you have your bad sections, but what city doesn't. I am a graduate of one of best Dental Hygiene programs, Middlesex Community College,which is very affordable. Lowell is an excellent choice. The cities that everyone else are recommending are not affordable and does not have the character that Lowell has. Good Luck

[snapperblue]

Lowell has an interesting history and is home to the Lowell National Historical Park (http://www.nps.gov/lowe/). The town annually celebrates the Bread and Roses festival on Labor Day. It has been a dismal spot, but I think there is a good spirit growing and would be a great place for an optimisitic town planner.

[4acadia]

I commend your courage in seeking to make a difference! I sent you a private message so please check it out.

Good luck!

[CityGirl52]

A very good friend of mine lives in Lowell and I love her house. It's an old New Englander and I'll tell you it looks like something out of a magazine if you ask me, it's pretty nice. The area where it is isn't bad, it's quite nice where her and her husband live as a matter of fact. Do NOT rule it out. YES there are lousy areas, but they're being worked on and cleaned up! Lowell, Lawrence & that whole area always always got bad raps all through the years and they always will to this day and in the future I'm afraid. No matter where you live there's going to be good areas and bad areas. It won't matter which city or town it is either. It's there and it won't go away any time soon with that issue. I think it's what you make of a place and of a home. So go for it, do your homework good though with where your new house is located in one of these towns, that's all you have to do!

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by grimstuff

Hi, my wife and I are looking to relocate back east to New England. We are looking for a city at least as big as 20,000, and that also has a univeristy and/or community colleges.

I will be graduating soon with a degree in city and regional planning, and my wife will hopefully be entering into a dental hygiene program within the next year or so, depending on where we move. But we want to make sure to be in an area with colleges that offer dental hygiene and/or nursing, as that is her plan B.

We love the 4 seasons, are not afraid of the snow, and love a city with ambiance, atmosphere, and history. We are young with no children (yet) but would like to live in a place where we could have kids if we wanted to. I.e. a relatively safe place, good schools, etc. We both grew up in California, but I lived for a year in NE and loved it and always wanted to go back.

Anyway, we were researching Lowell because it seemed to match our criteria for colleges, being a sizeable city, relatively affordable, etc. If anyone could give me more info on this place or other cities that might fit, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it.

If you wish to plan, check out Dorchester and south boston, better choices than Lowell, maybe even Hyde Park