Maynard? (Boston, Worcester, Cambridge: 2013, houses, neighborhoods)

[huff100]

My husband and I live in Hopkinton in a small house -nice area/small house. We would like a bigger house but are priced out of most houses in Hopkinton. I work in Worcester and my husband works in Lexington so we need pretty good highway access...we came across Maynard on the map and drove through the town for a few minutes. The town looked built up for me but my husband liked it...also we noticed small lot sizes even for pricey homes there. Any thoughts on the town? Is there a nice 'city' vibe/good restaurants/ things to do? Are there any houses with more land? Our budget is up to 325,000. Thanks.

[jackshaw]

Maynard has a number of nice ethnic restaurants and a generally good feel. Two of my employees are families with young children who live in Maynard, but I think the problem may be the schools. The first family moved when the kid hit kindergarten to a town with good schools.

[ogre]

I'm not sure whether Maynard has any larger lots at all, but if it does, they are few in number.

I agree with Jackshaw that the schools could be an issue if you have children of school age. It's tricky, though, to say what to expect from Maynard's schools. They have been mediocre historically, but there has been an influx of young professionals to Maynard in recent years, because it's a walking kind of town with a downtown area that has some good restaurants and a variety of local shopping. Rather than young single people like you find in some city neighborhoods (like the South End or parts of J.P. in Boston as examples) what I've heard is that the young professionals in Maynard have families, so they've moved out of the city into single-family houses, but have chosen Maynard because they can still get a hint of the kind of walk-to-shopping lives they had in the city. It's possible that these newcomers may push for better schools, and in fact there is a new high school in the works in Maynard. On the other hand, you never know how good the schools might become in the future until the future arrives, so Maynard is a question mark in that regard.

[karmathecat]

I'm following this thread with interest as Maynard is on my radar for a move within the next year.

How is the commute to Cambridge? It seems that driving takes less time than rail/T? ( I have parking at work so that's not an issue )

I'd love to hear from anyone with school aged children on school specifics, added bonus if your kids have special needs/an IEP.

[Brave Stranger]

Look at Littleton.....better schools, and housing is not that expensive. It also has a train to Boston.

[ogre]

Littleton could be a good suggestion for someone looking for fairly large lots, solid schools, and lower property prices than you find in many nearby towns, in that general area northwest of Boston. The OP asked also about the presence of any city-like features, like a downtown with a variety of shopping and dining. That's one amenity you're not going to find in Littleton.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by karmathecat

I'm following this thread with interest as Maynard is on my radar for a move within the next year.

How is the commute to Cambridge? It seems that driving takes less time than rail/T? ( I have parking at work so that's not an issue )

I'd love to hear from anyone with school aged children on school specifics, added bonus if your kids have special needs/an IEP.

The nearest commuter rail stop is in Acton, which ia about 5 miles away; there's a large parking lot available, but it's fairly competitive. The commuter rail line will stop in Porter Square in Cambridge, right next to the Red Line, and then continue on to North Station in Boston.

Driving to Cambridge from Maynard will take 30-45 minutes, and longer on snowy days....

[brightdoglover]

Littleton pretty much never had a downtown, being a farm town, but it has everything else one could want. Remember that, in towns with walkable downtowns, you are still likely to live further away than a walking few blocks from the shops, etc., and will still be driving to those places. If I had kids, I'd prefer Littleton to Maynard for many reasons. You can always drive two towns over for a Maynard restaurant (although there are increasingly good restaurants in the whole area- Acton, Westford, Littleton, even the Bull Run in Shirley!)

[karmathecat]

Originally Posted by MassVt

The nearest commuter rail stop is in Acton, which ia about 5 miles away; there's a large parking lot available, but it's fairly competitive. The commuter rail line will stop in Porter Square in Cambridge, right next to the Red Line, and then continue on to North Station in Boston.

Driving to Cambridge from Maynard will take 30-45 minutes, and longer on snowy days....

Ah, but I have the option to work from home on super snowy days. I'll be doing that if school is closed although I have a feeling that unlike NM which panics at 1" of snow, school is open in MA when it snows.

Any idea of commuter/red line commute time vs. driving? ( from Maynard as the small downtown is very appealing )

[Happy in Maynard]

I think you'll like Maynard. Maynard has many of the amenities of a small city yet, it's a very safe place to live. There are several very nice neighborhoods tucked away off the beaten path with very nice lots. The Green Meadow Elementary and Fowler Middle school(s) are excellent with experienced teachers. In the Fall of 2013 Maynard will have a brand new High School certain to be the envy of the area. It's very small High School but with high student teacher ratios There is a new Superintendent of Schools in Town who has set a very high bar for academic excellence. The High School Principal recently resigned and a search has begun for her replacement.

Many young families have moved-in and are looking for improved schools and services. As a result taxes have gone up and many of the older residents on fixed incomes have moved out. Maynard is a very inclusive, sports minded community. It's worth a second look. My suggestion would be to talk to someone who actually lives in the community.

In my opinion, Littleton feels isolated with a country, red-necky feel but that works for some people.