Buying house in Westford vs Acton (Boston, Lowell: job market, school district, college)
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I won't go through my entire life story, as my family and I have moved/lived all over the US due to career opportunities and relocations. We lived in Acton for a short period of time, at a time when I stayed at home full-time when my children were toddlers. After several relocations to other states over the years, we are now back in New England and live in Westford. Both my husband and I are full-time working professionals.
I vote for Acton for a few reasons:
1) The schools are good (as they are in Westford as well)
2) Good location/proximity to major routes as well as commuter train. (Westford also has good access to 495 and Rt. 3)
3) When I was a stay-at-home mom, I felt Acton represented us socioeconomically more so than Westford. I felt I could connect with the other women in town a bit more. The playgroup I joined at the time (as part of the Acton Family Network, which is a wonderful organization) consisted of a SAHM who had worked as a scientist, myself (a SAHM who previously worked as an engineer), a mom who worked part-time as a computer programmer, and another mom who worked PT for a biotech company. We were all educated geeks, we got along well, and could discuss careers as well as children.
In Westford, the women in my neighborhood are primarily SAHM. I just don't connect with them on any level as our lives are so different. When they ask what I do, and I tell them I'm an engineer, I get a "deer in the headlights" look and the conversation abruptly ends right there. I work FT in a demanding career, and many of the programs for my school-aged kids take place immediately after-school, or if you're lucky, around the 4:00 or 5:00 time-frame. Not realistic for the dual-career household, and I've found we've had to really limit the kids' enrollment in extracurricular/after school programs as a result because we just can't get them there. Choices for childcare programs are slim (in my opinion), and are virtually non-existent in middle school.
Given that we haven't been in Acton in many years, I can't speak for kids' programs, childcare, etc. for the elementary/middle school age group. However, based on my experience with Acton when my kids were young, I truly wish we ended up living there (or Lexington) instead of Westford. I think we would have been happier.
Very valuable comment from Geek Girl....you get my reputation point for the depth.
As a side question, what is preventing you from moving out of Westford and moving into Acton?
This article was from 2012 and I'm pretty sure a lot may have changed. At present I reside in Lowell, but in a year we intend to move to a great school town and based on my friend/social circle, I've found Westford and Acton as great towns to move to. There is a third option as well, that is Chelmsford, but does any one here have any recent comments about Westford or Acton.
I would really appreciate your views as I'm seeing the house prices in a similar range between both the towns. The rating from greatschools.org for the high school in Westford is 8 while Acton-Boxborough is 9, but I want to know more about your experiences in these towns?
Westford Academy ranked #47 high school in the country. Acton Boxborough was not ranked in the top 500. America's Top High Schools 2016
From a schooling perspective, you cannot go wrong with either. Both are phenomenal- academics and extracurriculars are as good as it gets. As for the towns themselves, they are very very similar. Aesthetically, my preference is Westford. Westford has a few different power-boatable lakes, rolling hills, farmers markets, and a lot of apple orchards that we used to frequent growing up. Kimball farm is great, and the little ski area is a nice touch. Acton has some of the same, but also hosts quite a few older strip malls, and 2A is just plain old ugly. I prefer 110 in Westford, though there may not be as much in the way of shops. For me, the biggest draw-back for Acton is the massive amount of apartment buildings and mixed-use buildings. As far as comparing things like demo/sociodemos, education levels, cost of living, here is a great reference for your search:
Acton is going to be a bit more expensive apples to apples, but a simple eye test on realtor.com will show that they are quite similar. I think because of Westford's old industrial past, you may see a few more entry level homes, where a lot of young families have flocked to recently. Looks like Westford median household income is a tad higher, but the median family income is a tad higher in Acton. Like Westford, Acton is going to have it's mix of C-level executives, engineers, folks in tech sales, construction managers etc. I get the feeling that Acton has a bit more old-money as it was more established than Westford going back 20+ years ago and beyond. I read on a post recently that Westford has more schools aged-children per capita than any other town in Massachusetts. I believe it to be true as the high school has ~1700 kids vs. the regional Acton & Boxborough high school with ~1950.
I have lived in Acton for 15 years and have kids in the school system. Westford and Acton are almost similar. Both towns are lovely with strong schools. Acton Boxborough has school choice at the elementary level, which is unique. You can choose from 6 schools, each with their own teaching styles. The big deciding factor for us was access to Boston - the express commuter rail train out of South Acton.
I have lived in Acton for 15 years and have kids in the school system. Westford and Acton are almost similar. Both towns are lovely with strong schools. Acton Boxborough has school choice at the elementary level, which is unique. You can choose from 6 schools, each with their own teaching styles. The big deciding factor for us was access to Boston - the express commuter rail train out of South Acton.
Very very true. If you work downtown, the commuter train is a big plus for Acton. Westford residents rely on the Lowell line to get to north of Boston inbound, or Littelton to get west of Boston inbound. Alternatively, if you work along the 95 belt, you'll want to look at which would be a better fit. Westford will get you to Burlington quicker with direct access to rt. 3, while Acton will get you to Waltham quicker via Rt. 2 to 95.
I was also going to mention school choice in acton as a plus. I don't think westford has this? But then on the flip side you need to know that means that your kids may or may not go to school with their neighborhood friends. I don't think it's a huge issue, but just something to keep in mind if you are envisioning a certain culdesac lifestyle.
Honestly, I think the AB schools are great, but somewhat still riding the coat tails of some amazing administrators and educators from several years ago.
Personally, I think both Acton and Westford are at risk of a housing downturn - or at least stagnation - as the general trend seems to be a focus on housing closer to big cities...495 towns boomed when there were so many new tech companies on 495. That landscape has shifted. New tech is now in Cambridge or the Seaport...
That doesn't mean you wouldn't have a lovely life in either town...I just think those are towns that aren't going anywhere fast in the next 20 years and I personally would not have to sit in traffic on route 2 to get to Boston if I could avoid it.
Personally, I think both Acton and Westford are at risk of a housing downturn - or at least stagnation - as the general trend seems to be a focus on housing closer to big cities...495 towns boomed when there were so many new tech companies on 495. That landscape has shifted. New tech is now in Cambridge or the Seaport.
This point is rehashed over and over again on this forum, but I just don't buy it. While the tech growth on 495 isn't as dramatic as in Cambridge or the Seaport, it continues to grow. Many start ups in the city eventually expand in places like Westford, Littleton and Marlborough due to space demand and by demand from their own workers who often live out that way.
As housing closer to Boston becomes increasingly out of reach for most workers, that will continue to put upward pressure on prices further out as people have nowhere else to go. At current trends Boston will continue to be more expensive; but as long as Greater Boston fails to create enough housing to meet demand, the demand in more distant suburbs will inevitably increase as well (there is nowhere to go but "out").
Well, workers they want USED to live out that way. Currently I think workers these companies want to attract (young college educated 20-30 somethings) are not, as a general rule, flooding to live off 495.
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!
From my experience, school choice doesn't affect neighborhood interactions. Some of the schools are geographically together Douglas/Gates, McT/Merriam) and share busses. The kids ride to school together. Also, the kids all see each other at soccer, the park, library, etc. Some neighborhoods have central pools and club houses also.
I have a different take on how housing will hold up. We will never be Cambridge. It is highly desirable, and the prices reflect that. Acton is a more affordable option with express commuter rail train access to Cambridge and Boston. I work in tech. My younger coworkers are getting married and starting families. They like the city life, but they also can't afford to stay and don't want to raise kids there. They are looking at places like Arlington but get priced out there also. So, they keep moving west and stop until they hit a town they can afford. Companies are getting priced out from the high rents in Seaport and Cambridge also. I think the price pressure will force some companies to move. Biogen is an example. They originally planned to close the Weston campus and move everyone to Kendall. They have reversed course on that.
Well, workers they want USED to live out that way. Currently I think workers these companies want to attract (young college educated 20-30 somethings) are not, as a general rule, flooding to live off 495.
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!
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