Relocating to Hanscom AFB (Boston, Billerica: rental, big house, to buy)

[MagicTouch]

I have a friend that lives in Worcester and it takes him a little over an hour to travel to my place. I live in Bedford and am only 8 miles from Hansom AFB, since I work there I know that from my house it takes about 15 min on a good day. When it was raining heavily last week it took almost 30 min, so I gather in snow it will take even longer. So you know the main entrance to the base is Hartwell and they just re-stripped that street so that it's a single lane. Now depending on when you are heading in the back up can now actually back up to the freeway (95). Just some basic information that I'm aware of since I work at that location.

Best of luck to you and your family..

[airedaly]

I would not recommend either Fitchburg or Worcester. It would be best to visit those cities before you make a decision. Shirley is rural and would be a lot safer than Fitchburg, and their schools are much better. All I know about Shirley is there is a state prison there. The commute would be about an hour to Hanscom with morning traffic.

[brightdoglover]

How about Littleton? Small, quiet community, very family-oriented, good schools, a real town environment. About 15 miles down Rt.2A to 2, or through beautiful back roads in Concord and Carlisle.

[Valerie C]

Have you looked into either Groton or Ayer? If I remember correctly, there is a nice public beach in Ayer. And I know there was some new construction available for just around 400, not sure if it's still available.

Although Concord/Lexington/Bedford might be one of the first choices due to a short commute, prices are much higher, even with the market being so favorable to buyers, prices there are holding (though they are staying on the market much longer)

Good luck with all the choices that you'll be making...

[brightdoglover]

Actually, I forgot about Ayer. It's next to Littleton. Used to be the major town for the former Fort Devens (Devens is actually in three towns). You could likely get the house you describe in the price range you want. There's a fair amount of recent/new construction, and with the recent price slowdowns, there should be some nice choices.
Don't know about the schools. Ayer has had a slightly rough reputation, although that's largely because it's next to such well-regarded towns as Boxborough and Harvard.
I second the "forget about Worcester and Fitchburg." Too far, way too rough, bad schools. Of course there are blocks or neighborhoods that are OK, but there's no reason to live there, especially with kids.
Shirley is the next town west to Ayer, out Rt. 2. I don't know about schools. It's a fairly modest town, I think had some mills there in the past, and a piece of Devens. Kinda semi-rural, too.

[alabamafam]

Valerie C/BrightDogLover,

Thanks for the info, I'll check into Ayers. I'm also looking at Nashau, Hudson and Hollis NH as options. My preference is to stay in MA--my sister lives in East Longmeadow so it would be nice to be close to her. However, price and commute are my top considerations so NH is back on the list.

Thanks again for the information. By the way, I heard you all got a lot of snow today---I've lived in Montgomery, AL since 2004 and I haven't seen one flake---but I guess I better get used to it!

[brightdoglover]

Coming down from New Hampshire is a pretty rugged option if you work normal business hours. Half the local planet moved up there for housing and drives down 93/3 to 128 or stays on 93 to Boston.
On the other hand, I was in Hollis the other day for the first time, and it seemed to be a very nice, unpretentous town.
By the way, it's "Ayer," not "Ayers." I still think a commute from Rt.2 west would be best for normal business hours. Where you'd go straight for Hanscom, most people bear right towards 128/Pike or Cambridge, and it gets very jammed up.

[MagicTouch]

Coming from NH is a commute and when it's snowing it's even worse. I work with a few people who live in NH. The drive in the morning takes more than an hour and going home takes longer with weather like Monday's they don't come into work or the drive takes hours.

alabamafam - When are you suppose to be coming this way??

The traffic getting into the Base is bad. Can take up to 20 min just to drive down Hartwell. I do it every morning, some days are worse than others.

Keep us updated and let us know where you end up,

Best wishes to you and your family

[alabamafam]

MagicTouch,

I'm due to report this May. My wife and I will take house hunting trip to the area sometime in early March (after it thaws out a bit). Hopefully by then we would have narrowed our search of homes/cities and the plan is to concentrate on those areas to find suitable housing. Currently, Billeria, Chelmsford and Woburn are placing in MA high on the list. Nashua and Hudson, NH are on the list, but from the posts I'm reading, they may drop. I'm used to a commute, having lived in California as well as the Washington DC area --however, I was single with no kids, so nothing really bothered me--i.e. location/commute, good neighborhoods, schools, etc, etc. Now, with a wife and twin toddlers to provide for, those things are important (schools maybe not so much because they're not 2 yet). There's a possiblity that my girls may go to the Child Development Center on base and I would hate to think that bad weather would have us stuck in a car for more than 3-4 hrs trying to get to a home in NH---I'm sure that could happen in MA as well, but that's something we'd have to contend with, vs a conscious decision to live farther out and suffer the consequences. So, I'm still in the fact-finding mode...thanks for your help!

[MagicTouch]

alabamafam,

Sounds like you are prepared, I'm from CA just moved here in Oct. of 07 and I was use to that long commute as well. Now I like living closer and when the weather turns, like it has this winter I can still get into work. Believing that you are military, you have no choice but to come into work. NH would be great if during the winter you could call in for snow days, just on Monday the place here was more than half empty, but hey I made it in. Yes on really bad days, like one in early December, everyone left work early and everyone in MA seemed to be on the road at the same time. Now I only live less than 8 miles away and it took me almost 3 hrs to get home. That was a bad day for everyone.

My oldest son is in the AF, he and his family just relocated to SC from Japan so I understand these types of moves.

I hope that you and your family enjoy MA once you arrive, I really like it here and I was born and raised in CA.

Wish you and your family all of the best in your relocation to MA !!