Marlborough? (Boston, Brockton, Lynn: for sale, condos, high crime) - Massachusetts (MA) - City-Data Forum

mass100 · 10-25-2013, 09:20 AM

My husband and I have been looking for a single family house in the Bolton/Stow area with no luck. Our budget is max 400,000. We are frustrated because the inventory has been so low the last few months there is nothing in our price range that is on a nice side street, we do not want a ranch and want a basement and would like 3 beds and 2 full baths-this is really becoming a challenge and every day we check the MLS and nothing new that is nice...We started expanding the search into Maynard, Hudson, Lancaster, Berlin and Boylston and now see a few really nice houses in Marlborough.
From what I have heard the town is okay and schools are so-so. We don't need Weston quality schools as we understand we cannot afford it but schools that are middle of the road seem fine to us. How bad really is Marlborough Public Schools? The downtown seems okay-again not geat but is it really as bad as people are telling us?

wheelz · 10-25-2013, 12:31 PM

Why not try looking in Lancaster? Lower taxes than Stow or Bolton, plus you have affordable town water and you are still part of the Nashoba Regional School District. I would pick Lancaster over Marlborough for raising kids in the town.

Parsec · 10-25-2013, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheelz

Why not try looking in Lancaster? Lower taxes than Stow or Bolton, plus you have affordable town water and you are still part of the Nashoba Regional School District. I would pick Lancaster over Marlborough for raising kids in the town.

I agree - Lancaster is a nice small town to raise kids in. Much more similar to Stow and Bolton than Marlborough is. You can't even begin to "cross-shop" Marlborough and Stow. Completely different towns (Marlborough is actually a city) in every way. The problem is if one of them works closer to Boston. They might've been looking at Stow originally, but Bolton is an extra 10 minutes and Lancaster is an extra 20 minutes. I wouldn't spend an extra 40 minutes in my car everyday to live in Lancaster over Stow. I would rather buy an almost-perfect house in Stow instead of a perfect house in Lancaster and remodel it over the next couple years as money allows.

J.M.M · 10-25-2013, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mass100

My husband and I have been looking for a single family house in the Bolton/Stow area with no luck. Our budget is max 400,000. We are frustrated because the inventory has been so low the last few months there is nothing in our price range that is on a nice side street, we do not want a ranch and want a basement and would like 3 beds and 2 full baths-this is really becoming a challenge and every day we check the MLS and nothing new that is nice...We started expanding the search into Maynard, Hudson, Lancaster, Berlin and Boylston and now see a few really nice houses in Marlborough.
From what I have heard the town is okay and schools are so-so. We don't need Weston quality schools as we understand we cannot afford it but schools that are middle of the road seem fine to us. How bad really is Marlborough Public Schools? The downtown seems okay-again not geat but is it really as bad as people are telling us?

The schools are fine. I am sure they pale in comparison to the small expensive towns surrounding it, but they are not bad schools. I went to Marlborough public schools from 4th grade through hs graduation.

I'm not sure what your second question is? Are you asking if downtown is bad or dangerous? The area by downtown, basically some of the streets stretching from Lincoln Inn to 7-11 is what is considered the "bad area". I use quotations because I do not consider any area of Marlborough to be bad. I wouldn't want to live in the Lincoln Inn, but I've lived a stone throw away from it and never had any problems. I do not know why people here insist Marlborough is dangerous or has a high crime rate. My experience tells me that is not true and so do the stats

mass100 · 10-25-2013, 02:55 PM

We would love to move to Lancaster, Berlin, Stow or Bolton-if you find a house with 3 beds and 2 baths on a side street in good condition please let me know! We had to expand to the "outskirts" of Marlborough due to low inventory and budget! We see some lovely houses online and have to go see them this weekend-we didn't think Marlborough was bad but the reputation seems to be negative.

495neighbor · 10-25-2013, 03:25 PM

Lancaster similar to Upton has a very solitary feel. If you like peace and quiet, it is the town for you.

massnative71 · 10-26-2013, 12:12 AM

Marlborough is not bad, but I would consider Hudson as a better alternative (if you want something cheaper than Bolton, Berlin, Stow, etc).

bostonguy1960 · 10-26-2013, 12:09 PM

Doesn't Marlborough have lots of cheap condos (former apts.) along a part of Rt. 20? Plus, realtor.com always has trailer homes for sale there. Believe me, my income necessitates that I only buy a cheap condo seen in Marlborough, so no offense.

Plus, weren't/aren't there Brazilians there? Lots of foreign-speaking people may impact home prices and town desirability? Bigotry on my part, I know, but I can't be the only one. If a town has lots of high-income foreigners, that's usually different. Yet, Quincy, where I live, has lots of Chinese, and property is not dirt cheap, so so much for that theory applying widespread...

All of these are negatives in some minds. So that's why one may perceive the place in less than glowing terms?

(foot still in mouth...)

Parsec · 10-26-2013, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

If a town has lots of high-income foreigners, that's usually different. Yet, Quincy, where I live, has lots of Chinese, and property is not dirt cheap, so so much for that theory applying widespread...

All of these are negatives in some minds. So that's why one may perceive the place in less than glowing terms?

(foot still in mouth...)

Asians don't really apply to your "foreigner" theory. In fact, they have the opposite effect. I think MA is about 5% Asian, but take a look at the towns with twice the average (10%+ Asian population): Acton, Westford, Quincy, Lexington, Winchester, Newton, Wellesley, Westborough. I might be missing a couple towns, but I think Quincy is in good company there.

massnative71 · 10-26-2013, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Doesn't Marlborough have lots of cheap condos (former apts.) along a part of Rt. 20? Plus, realtor.com always has trailer homes for sale there. Believe me, my income necessitates that I only buy a cheap condo seen in Marlborough, so no offense.

Plus, weren't/aren't there Brazilians there? Lots of foreign-speaking people may impact home prices and town desirability? Bigotry on my part, I know, but I can't be the only one. If a town has lots of high-income foreigners, that's usually different. Yet, Quincy, where I live, has lots of Chinese, and property is not dirt cheap, so so much for that theory applying widespread...

All of these are negatives in some minds. So that's why one may perceive the place in less than glowing terms?

(foot still in mouth...)

I think it's more the reverse. Brazilians and other immigrants are attracted to Marlborough due to its relative affordability compared to other Metrowest towns (same with Hudson, Milford and Framingham). Those towns have always been more affordable than the Southboros and the Sudburys and the Waylands due to their greater urbanity and industrial roots. I'm not aware that foreign speakers have made these places less desirable than they have been in the past. If anything, Marlborough is up and coming. It is still overwhelmingly American.

Now Lawrence, Chelsea, Lynn, Brockton, etc....whole different story. Much poorer, skillless, dependent set of immigrants. That variety does have a negative impact.