Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-03-2017, 07:54 AM
 
161 posts, read 229,133 times
Reputation: 236

Advertisements

Many of the 495 towns commute to the 128 belt (Burlington and Waltham). The 128 belt is where I think companies will move when priced out of Cambridge and downtown.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-03-2017, 07:57 AM
 
23,072 posts, read 18,215,921 times
Reputation: 10641
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00na View Post
Many of the 495 towns commute to the 128 belt (Burlington and Waltham). The 128 belt is where I think companies will move when priced out of Cambridge and downtown.
Some do but it is dealing with much of the same congestion and excruciating costs as the city, so 495 will continue to have its appeal.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-03-2017, 09:26 AM
 
4,998 posts, read 3,843,232 times
Reputation: 4497
Quote:
Originally Posted by massnative71 View Post
Some do but it is dealing with much of the same congestion and excruciating costs as the city, so 495 will continue to have its appeal.
I agree. As someone who grew up in the Acton/Westford/Carlisle area, we are looking at Reading for our first house as I predominantly work within the 95 belt, or need easy access to Logan for travel. That said, when we have school aged children, we'll likely want a larger home, a bigger yard, and the school systems that you find along 495.

Even if tech companies uproot back to 95 from 495, the commute from those communities is fairly straight forward. Westford is a 25 minute shot to Burlington down 3, and even during peak traffic, you can scoot back roads through Carlisle/Bedford to the area in 35 minutes. I know a lot of this area works up around Andover too -Raytheon, Phillips, Pfizer- In which case, the commute along 495 is a breeze.

I know that, across the entire US, millennials and corporations are moving to a more urban environment. I do think that the trend in Boston mirrors this migration to a degree, but the landscape here is just different. It's very compact, and 95 is never going to deplete to a point that it destroys housing value along 495. There's simply not enough room in Boston like there is in Chicago, for example. The education systems in the towns referenced here are gold, and that will always be true to a large extent. You won't see the housing appreciate in Acton/Westford like a Reading or Natick, but when the bubble bursts, I'd expect Westford/Acton to hold strong.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-03-2017, 12:16 PM
 
3,808 posts, read 3,101,074 times
Reputation: 3332
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwj119 View Post
I know that, across the entire US, millennials and corporations are moving to a more urban environment. I do think that the trend in Boston mirrors this migration to a degree, but the landscape here is just different. It's very compact, and 95 is never going to deplete to a point that it destroys housing value along 495. There's simply not enough room in Boston like there is in Chicago, for example. The education systems in the towns referenced here are gold, and that will always be true to a large extent. You won't see the housing appreciate in Acton/Westford like a Reading or Natick, but when the bubble bursts, I'd expect Westford/Acton to hold strong.
It will be interesting to observe the changes. The peak of the millenial population hit 12-24 months ago, so the influx of 20-somethings will begin taper.

I'm part of the older millenial cohort and am currently seeing my peers retreat from the cities in pursuit of better schools, tangible COL, and whatever flavor of the 'American Dream' they've invested in. These aren't staunch social conservatives making the transition, no, these are Sarte/Camus creative types who were seemingly willing to tolerate the toil and struggle of urban living to relish in it's dynamism.

My 20-something consciousness would never imagine living on 3 acres 45 miles west of Boston, yet here I am. I have no regrets leaving, though I do envy the job market. I suspect this latter point is why many of 30-something peers remain.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-03-2017, 03:25 PM
 
4,998 posts, read 3,843,232 times
Reputation: 4497
Back to the OP, some other towns to consider if proximity to Lowell is not a necessity/schools are a top priority/in the same price range:

Bedford(a bit more expensive than the rest), Southborough, Sharon, Boxford, Westborough and Hopkinton.

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...massachusetts/

Consider size of the school district. Westford and Acton are going to be significantly bigger than the rest. Pros and cons to that, but as someone who went to a larger high school, I find the large network hugely advantageous now (even more so than college).

Now, i'd also consider median income of each town. They're all fairly comparable, and again, pros and cons to higher vs. lower:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Westfo...achusetts.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Southb...achusetts.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Sharon-Massachusetts.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Bedfor...achusetts.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Acton-Massachusetts.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Boxfor...achusetts.html
http://www.city-data.com/city/Hopkin...achusetts.html
(Did not include Westborough as it's clearly incorrect. Ohter research tells me it's $100k on the nose.)

The links above will also show demographics for each. Acton is the most diverse, followed by Westford.

Last edited by mwj119; 08-03-2017 at 03:53 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2017, 12:24 PM
 
4,998 posts, read 3,843,232 times
Reputation: 4497
Add this to the list!

https://www.niche.com/k12/search/bes...tricts/?page=2
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2017, 02:46 PM
 
3,808 posts, read 3,101,074 times
Reputation: 3332
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwj119 View Post
The links above will also show demographics for each. Acton is the most diverse, followed by Westford.
Depends on your definition of diverse. Socioeconomically, Acton has very little diversity and within it's ethnic diversity, it remains largely western-euro or Asian. I'd argue Westford is more diverse when you factor in income, profession, and background; however, I'm doubtful this is what OP is seeking so the point is moot.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2017, 02:59 PM
 
3,808 posts, read 3,101,074 times
Reputation: 3332
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beachykeen917 View Post
Can you give some examples of companies that in the past five years expanded from Boston/Cambridge to the 495 area? I am not familiar with any, but would be interested to hear about them!
It's industry specific. While people emotionally tie engineering and development to Cambridge via MIT, in reality, the bulk MA's 'mature' engineering and 'commercialization' occurs along 495 (Bos-Sci, J&J/Depuy, GE Health, EMC, Raytheon, Philips Health, and hundreds of other med-dev/biotech firms).

495 will never compete with Kendall Square on the research end of dev; however.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2017, 03:00 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,582,440 times
Reputation: 4797
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shrewsburried View Post
Depends on your definition of diverse. Socioeconomically, Acton has very little diversity and within it's ethnic diversity, it remains largely western-euro or Asian. I'd argue Westford is more diverse when you factor in income, profession, and background; however, I'm doubtful this is what OP is seeking so the point is moot.
No much more Northern European and Asian with a smattering of Central Americans, South Americans, North Africans and people from Russia. I would say about 1/3 blue collar and 2/3 white collar. Westford is much less ethnically diverse than Acton.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-10-2017, 03:05 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,582,440 times
Reputation: 4797
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shrewsburried View Post
It's industry specific. While people emotionally tie engineering and development to Cambridge via MIT, in reality, the bulk MA's 'mature' engineering and 'commercialization' occurs along 495 (Bos-Sci, J&J/Depuy, GE Health, EMC, Raytheon, Philips Health, and hundreds of other med-dev/biotech firms).

495 will never compete with Kendall Square on the research end of dev; however.
You can scratch EMC from that list.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:




Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top