Andover vs. Newbury/Newburyport (Beverly, North Andover: homes, theatre, high school)
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IMHO why consider a landlocked town and typical preppy suburb adjacent to Lawrence (yuck) over a beautiful seaside community with a great downtown and waterfront with a much better selection of restaurants chalk full of colonial seaport charm and excellent beaches nearby? Andover is good for practical reasons I suppose but Newbury/West Newbury/Newburyport is great for LIVING!
IMHO why consider a landlocked town and typical preppy suburb adjacent to Lawrence (yuck) over a beautiful seaside community with a great downtown and waterfront with a much better selection of restaurants chalk full of colonial seaport charm and excellent beaches nearby? Andover is good for practical reasons I suppose but Newbury/West Newbury/Newburyport is great for LIVING!
Except that Newbury & West Newbury don't really have town centers with restaurants & shops. Some areas of Newbury are actually closer to the downtown activities than many of Newburyport's streets (particularly as you get down toward the Chain Bridge, Maudslay State Park, etc).
The big draw in Newburyport is of course the active downtown and ongoing festivals of every sort--there is ALWAYS something going on in town. Traffic and parking during festival days, and waiting to get into downtown restaurants on summer weekends can be an issue.
When you're checking out Newburyport, you might take a ride to nearby Amesbury. It's just a stone's throw from NBPT, and while it doesn't have nearly the same constant influx of visitors, it's got a great downtown with shops & restaurants. So if you chose to live in NBPT, you can 'get away from it all' in Amesbury
Quote:
Originally Posted by caphillsea77
IMHO why consider a landlocked town and typical preppy suburb adjacent to Lawrence (yuck) over a beautiful seaside community with a great downtown and waterfront with a much better selection of restaurants chalk full of colonial seaport charm and excellent beaches nearby? Andover is good for practical reasons I suppose but Newbury/West Newbury/Newburyport is great for LIVING!
Boxford is a nice, but rural town, lacking the downtown, shopping & restaurants that you desire. The HS is part of the Masconomet District, along with Topsfield and Middleton.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckg12171
I'm not interested in Beverly due to the school system.
Have not looked into Boxford
My wife and I are currently battling the same questions regarding our move. In fact, we are currently looking a a tear down in Newbury but are a little concerned about their middle and high school as our little one is currently in 1st grade.
So on paper, my husband and I have narrowed down the two areas we will look at in July when we're back East. They are Andover & Newbury/Newburyport area.
Like I said, on paper they both look great, but I'd love to hear some personal feedback and how they differ, strenghts & weaknesses, etc. from those who have lived there
Again, we're a family of 5(kids starting school)looking for strong community life, great schools - but not the best in the state - due to stress and competition for kids, green space, lots larger than 1/4 acre, culture, well maintained town/roads, cute downtown with shops, restaurants and nearby stores for weekly shopping(groceries, pharmacies, Target, etc.) no McMansions please....
Our budget is $700K.
It's because of city data we've been able to narrow things down. Any additional info would really be appreciated. Thanks so much...
We are in the same boat with same criteria (not as many children though!) -- my husband works in oil and will be travelling to/from Logan twice a month; we're relocating from England.
I've just done a recce to Hamilton/Wenham, Newburyport, Topsfield, Boxford, Ipswich, .
Loved the spaces in Hamilton/Wenham but not much of downtowns in either; Ipswich, great downtown but a little off the beaten path (I know there's flooding around the Ipswich River); Topsfield, cutsie downtown, nice area but may be a little off the beaten path for ferrying kids around, good schools; Boxford, nothing there; Newburyport, loved it, great downtown, a lot of people say Newburyport is a lifestyle and may not be for everyone, schools are ranked 34th -- not the best but not the worst.
Haven't been to Andover but have been intrigued by the comments. We'll be checking out Marblehead in the summer due to its proximity to Logan and the very cute downtown, schools are also great. Also intrigued by Beverly (not due to its schooling) but from the comments in this post.
We are in the same boat with same criteria (not as many children though!) -- my husband works in oil and will be travelling to/from Logan twice a month; we're relocating from England.
I've just done a recce to Hamilton/Wenham, Newburyport, Topsfield, Boxford, Ipswich, .
Loved the spaces in Hamilton/Wenham but not much of downtowns in either; Ipswich, great downtown but a little off the beaten path (I know there's flooding around the Ipswich River); Topsfield, cutsie downtown, nice area but may be a little off the beaten path for ferrying kids around, good schools; Boxford, nothing there; Newburyport, loved it, great downtown, a lot of people say Newburyport is a lifestyle and may not be for everyone, schools are ranked 34th -- not the best but not the worst.
Haven't been to Andover but have been intrigued by the comments. We'll be checking out Marblehead in the summer due to its proximity to Logan and the very cute downtown, schools are also great. Also intrigued by Beverly (not due to its schooling) but from the comments in this post.
Any feedback from anyone would be great.
These towns have a lot of things in common, and some things that are different. If you could be more specific about the things you are looking for it would be helpful to narrow it down.
From your comments, it seems like you want access to Logan airport, not off-the-beaten-path, a decent downtown, the general feel of Hamilton, good schools, more amenities than just woods.
You might want to rule out Topsfield, Boxford, and Ipswich.
One positive for Hamilton/Wenham is that it is very close (10-15 minutes drive) to downtowns in Ipswich and Beverly.
If you liked Newburyport, but are not sure about schools, I would not worry. The reality is that schools are extremely close in the rankings, where they could be apart in the rankings but share the same test scores. In Mass all schools follow the same curriculum. The average is also very high (it's a top state in the country). The average for English, for example is 88%, so the difference between #1 and # 50 could be about 4% (99% vs. 95%). When locals say Newburyport has good schools, you don't have to worry, many people move there for the schools.
Also in the area - Lynnfield. You might not like the fact that it has a very small town center, but it's woodsy and spread out, like Topsfield and Wenham. However, it shares route 128 and route 1. Route 1 also has a lot of stores and restaurants.
You haven't mentioned Manchester-by-the-sea. It's one of the priciest in the area, and the oldest. Downtown is small, but cute. Schools are some of the best in the area. Essex shares schools with Manchester, also has a tiny center.
You might just like Marblehead the most. Much closer to Logan. Nice downtown. Beaches. Good schools. Would be more pricey then Newburyport or Ipswich, though. Close to Salem, for a bigger downtown with more to do. Older and less spread out, then Topsfield, Boxford or Lynnfield.
Then there is Swampscott. Very good schools. Nice commercial area near the ocean. Nice beaches. 15 minutes from the Blue line. Close to Salem. Less woodsy, and houses closer together.
Nahant. 5-10 minutes from the Blue line. Small peninsula. Lots of coastline and views. Beaches. No downtown, but right next to Swampscott, with which it shares middle school and high school, and where most residents go for services and shopping.
If you are still intrigued about Beverly: A fishing and farming village in the 1600's, after the railroad came in 1850's it became a summer resort for the ultra-wealthy (including the president) until the 1930's, when cars and airplanes allowed people other opportunities for travel. In the 20th century Beverly had a world monopoly on shoe machinery, were most residents were employed. At the time, it had some of the best profits and benefits in the country and brought a lot of wealth to the city. It was also the biggest building in the world. In the 1970's the company was broken up by the government. It was a big blow for the city, then in the 2000's the site was turned into an office park (Cummings Center), which brought 5,000 high skilled jobs to the city. So Beverly has fallen on some hard times, but it has been improving since then. It still has some of the lowest house prices in the area, except for Salem and Peabody. It has a great downtown, and it's very dedicated to improving schools and downtown (see Beverlymainstreets.org).
A note that we have Brits who moved to Ipswich from BP operations in Libya and love it here. Ipswich Rotary Club has had a 50 year exchange with Ipswich England club.
Best wishes
Quote:
Originally Posted by RelocationWannabe
We are in the same boat with same criteria (not as many children though!) -- my husband works in oil and will be travelling to/from Logan twice a month; we're relocating from England.
I've just done a recce to Hamilton/Wenham, Newburyport, Topsfield, Boxford, Ipswich, .
Loved the spaces in Hamilton/Wenham but not much of downtowns in either; Ipswich, great downtown but a little off the beaten path (I know there's flooding around the Ipswich River); Topsfield, cutsie downtown, nice area but may be a little off the beaten path for ferrying kids around, good schools; Boxford, nothing there; Newburyport, loved it, great downtown, a lot of people say Newburyport is a lifestyle and may not be for everyone, schools are ranked 34th -- not the best but not the worst.
Haven't been to Andover but have been intrigued by the comments. We'll be checking out Marblehead in the summer due to its proximity to Logan and the very cute downtown, schools are also great. Also intrigued by Beverly (not due to its schooling) but from the comments in this post.
Any feedback from anyone would be great.
Last edited by CaseyB; 02-20-2013 at 04:31 AM..
Reason: no solictation
A note that we have Brits who moved to Ipswich from BP operations in Libya and love it here. Ipswich Rotary Club has had a 50 year exchange with Ipswich England club.
Best wishes
Funny, my husband worked for BP operations in Libya a couple of years ago (he's with Baker Hughes). Are they still working for BP?
Do they have children? If so, what's Ipswich like for families (i.e., convenience for ferrying them around sports, events, dare I say-- malls?)
The nearest mall is North Shore Mall, which is in Peabody, and Liberty Tree Mall in Danvers, which is about 20-30 minutes from Ipswich. That's where the nearest Target and Walmart would be, too. There is a TJ Maxx and Market Basket that I know of. Route 1 has businesses, shops and restaurants, but more stores before Topsfield, although there are plenty of plazas with everything for your daily needs. Downtown is nice and charming, with many small businesses and restaurants. Newburyport is 15-20 minutes away with a lot more to do and shop.
Ipswich is really a beautiful town with so many fun things to do in the summer, it beats most towns in Greater Boston area for all that it offers and it's easy to fall in love with: Cranes Beach, Cranes Estate, the most 17th century houses in the country, farms, horses, beaches, reservations, Ipswich river, clam shacks and views. They even have a French monastery with a farm-based preschool.
It's really a quintessential New England town. It's not just a suburb with streets and houses, but it has it's own unique personality.
Some of John Updike's novels were based on Ipswich.
Last edited by konfetka; 02-20-2013 at 04:09 PM..
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