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Old 11-16-2012, 08:23 PM
 
4 posts, read 5,118 times
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Looking to move to Massachusetts from Illinois and need some advise on decent towns west of 495. I have NO idea of towns in terms of safety, house prices, nice town center, etc. Any advise is so appreciated. It is just my husband and I (kids are grown) so we do not need to worry about schools. We are looking for a nice area with a decent downtown (or even next town over) and nothing too expensive. We would only need a small house (2-3 bedrooms) and would love a house maybe to "fix" up that has a lot of charms. We love the New England setting of a small town.

Any recommendations would be so helpful! Thanks - Kris from Illinois
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Old 11-18-2012, 07:32 PM
 
18,670 posts, read 33,286,569 times
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Let's see, Groton, a few miles west of 495. Nice downtown.
Uh. Uh. There really aren't too many I can think of! Hope others have more imagination than I do.
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Old 11-18-2012, 09:05 PM
 
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How about Ayer? It's very reasonable in price and has many fixers with charm. It has a stop on the Fitchburg commuter line and it's the southern terminus of the Nashua River Rail Trail. It has a decent, ungentrified downtown.
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Old 11-18-2012, 09:36 PM
 
Location: Denver,CO (originally Boston MA)
31 posts, read 64,224 times
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A couple towns that are reasonably priced around the 495 belt are: Franklin, Hudson, Westborough. Each have a small downtown and are close enough to shopping/restaurants etc. There's also Marlboro which is bigger and more of a city. Metro West has a majority of beautiful, safe areas but can get pricey too. What I liked about that area is, you could be in a quaint town in the hills, but you don't have to go far to find shopping/food. There's a lot of choices off most of the exits off 495
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Old 11-19-2012, 09:37 AM
 
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Do not forget taxes. Westbourogh has high taxes, expensive homes, and great schools. Northbourough is bit cheaper. I would also check on Chelmsford, Littleton, Lunenburg. Pepperell, Leominster.
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Old 11-22-2012, 05:05 AM
 
374 posts, read 653,207 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ktrojan View Post
Looking to move to Massachusetts from Illinois and need some advise on decent towns west of 495. I have NO idea of towns in terms of safety, house prices, nice town center, etc. Any advise is so appreciated. It is just my husband and I (kids are grown) so we do not need to worry about schools. We are looking for a nice area with a decent downtown (or even next town over) and nothing too expensive. We would only need a small house (2-3 bedrooms) and would love a house maybe to "fix" up that has a lot of charms. We love the New England setting of a small town.

Any recommendations would be so helpful! Thanks - Kris from Illinois
Why not Medway? It is just easy of 495. Plus, it leaves you closer to Providence, if you chose to head in the other direction. It really isn't that far from Worcester, Natick, or Framingham, either.

I think that the prices are better than in the adjacent town of Franklin.

Bill
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Old 11-23-2012, 07:32 AM
 
Location: Southern California
112 posts, read 296,081 times
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Are you just looking past 495 because it's so far removed from Boston? Or are you looking for more of a country setting? Because there are a lot of cute, sleepy, affordable towns inside the 495, too, like Concord, Acton, Hudson, etc. As far as safety, out in the country it's not really a problem. Keep in mind I don't know what your frame of reference is for "safety", as there's usually a common idea of what's safe, but one's own sense of personal safety can differ.

Anyway, try Clinton, Northborough, Shrewsbury, Uxbridge, Milford, Groton.
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Old 11-26-2012, 06:48 AM
 
Location: Beverly, Mass
940 posts, read 1,931,327 times
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Are you looking there because of your budget? Because not all towns inside 495 are expensive. There are many safe towns with nice quiet neighborhoods inside 495 where you could find smaller houses under $350 th. and they probably have or are close to more amenities and public transportation, like Danvers, Beverly, Salem, Peabody, Ipswich, Winthrop, Saugus, Swampscott, North Andover, Gloucester and Georgetown.
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Old 11-26-2012, 10:43 AM
 
18,670 posts, read 33,286,569 times
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Littleton! Littleton!
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