Relocation back to Mass (Metro West) - where to live? (Waltham: homes, best schools)

[NY'er lost in MA]

...based on your list, you should definitely check out Ashland. I should add- Ashland meets every point you have brought up and there are homes in your price range. We are within 10 minutes from 495 and 5 minutes of the Pike. Shopping in Natick. Small downtown area with T- commuter rail, some restaurants and with plenty of nature all around. Look on the Southborough side of town- the Framingham side will not meet your needs.

Whole Foods and Trader Joes is about 10 minutes away on Rt. 9

Town local services are excellent. There are 22 kids on our street and all of the parents have excellent experiences with the school system. (ages 1-17)

There are approx. 20-25 daycare facilities within 5 miles- in town, corp centers, at home etc. Our daycare provider is 1 mile from our home.

[ncwannabe2]

Originally Posted by CMDC

Here's some more info:

- We'd like to be surrounded by trees -- more privacy, less feeling like we are right on top of our neighbors (we are coming from the city and are looking to go in the opposite, more "rural" direction")

- "Cute community"...you're right, that is vague, let me see if I can elaborate :-)
.... more "Mom and Pop" stores than small strip malls with chains
.... doesn't have to have a "downtown" but a even a small "downtown" would be really nice (Town Hall, a town commons, library, maybe a store or restaurant or too.)
.... easy access to groceries is a necessity (and a Whole Foods or Trader Joes within reasonable distance is a definitely plus!!!)
.... I guess a community with a lot of involvement from residents (local govt, volunteer work, recreational activities)
.... a local arts interest would be a very nice plus - even if in the next town over. (theatre, galleries, etc.)
.... access to parks, bike trails, hiking, outdoor activities is a very nice plus as well.

- Good schools - don't know how to quantify that just yet since our kids won't be going to school for a few years, but since we plan on staying for a while, it's a long term high priority for us

- Nursery school and daycare access -- even if it's one town over

- Access to malls/big box stores up to 30-40 minutes away

- Safe (low crime) is very important to me (as I imagine it is to most people)

- Decent local service (plowing the roads, etc)

- Also, since we are in the for the long haul, a town that is more on the upswing -- or no impending local "potential problems" or controversies, like a casino, cell phone towers -- anything that is not currently there but is being talked about that may cause property values to go down. I thought I heard that Marlboro was a potential site for a casino...is that true?

- Commuter train to Boston a definitely plus

- Easy access to Mass Pike and/or 495 -- I'd like to keep it to 20 minutes to get to either one of them. We have some family/friends on either end of the state (none in this area) that we'd like to have somewhat easy access to.

- No traffic or congestion in the town (again, we are leaving the city and boy am I ready to leave the "it takes 10 minutes to go through 1 intersection" days behind!). ...By the way, we are looking at Marlborough, and that is one of my concerns...going right through town is 1 lane road...does that get congested?

CMDC - you are almost describing my town perfectly. Hopedale, MA.

It is a small town , just a few miles outside the 495 loop. Hopedale is about 6 square miles with about 6000 residents. We have 1 traffic light, a cute downtown, a good school system, grocery store within 5 minutes, and several malls within 30 minutes, and a real small town atmosphere. We are 10 minutes to 495, less than 20 minutes to Mass Pike and can be to Boston, Cape Cod, Providence, NH in less than an hour.

I grew up in Framingham and hadn't heard of Hopedale until a friend told me about it. We moved here 16 years ago and have raised 2 boys here. It's a real nice town with a great reputation. House prices will be significantly less than Hopkinton, Ashland (we're a bit further out).

We are selling our home this spring and are in a very desireable neighborhood. Heading to NC. Our home is a bit higher than your price range. HOWEVER, I do know a house in the neighborhood that is in your price range and been on the market for a while. Not sure exactly why. If I can help with more info, please let me know. I know most of the towns around here fairly well, so don't hesitate to ask.

[scarletfire]

CMDC,

Concord is beautiful. It seems like it would be awfully hard to find a decent home in that price range there though. I think there's only one for sale under $350K on Lawsbrook Rd that's 720 sq ft. There are townhomes in that price range in town, but the monthly condo fees are pretty steep.

I haven't heard about a casino in Marlboro, but there are so many other good choices with better schools with easy commuting distance to Waltham or Marlboro that I wouldn't personally put that on the top of my list. Actually it sounds crazy but you can find a 2-3 bedroom home in Sudbury, which would be very convenient to either Waltham or Marlboro. The schools are very highly regarded, there's lots of community activities, 2 grocery stores, a few shops, nice trails/parks, no big chain stores. Trader Joes & Whole Foods in next town over in Framingham. However, there's no commuter rail access right in town.

Another option is Hopkinton, which has good schools, mom & pop stores downtown, easy access to 495 & Mass Pike, and the Commuter Rail right up the road on the Hopkinton/Southboro line and another one on the Hopkinton/Ashland line. There's a little grocery store in town. No big box stores right in town but there are plenty in the next town over in Milford. There's a nice town park, two lakes, and walking trails.

Westboro has a lot of good features, however it is getting very congested, particularly with the large new condo & retail complex going in near downtown, and has lots of big box stores in town.

[ncwannabe2]

CMDC,

IMO,

* I would stay clear of Milford and Marlboro. I lived in Marlboro for a while, and now live next to Milford. Both are real big towns with big school systems that are not well regarded.

* you will be hard pressed to find something in your price range in Sudbury, Ashland, Southboro, Westboro, Hopkinton, and Holliston. All nice towns, but expensive.

* You may have to go further west to find something decent in your price range. Consider Grafton, Mendon, Upton, Hopedale in this area if you are looking outside of 495.

* there is a significant bump in price once you get inside the 495 loop

* another poster just reminded me of Franklin - don't leave that off your list to research - great town, great location

Just my opinion.

[dmoss79]

Originally Posted by scarletfire

I agree with Pondhopper's comments and would add:


- Southboro is lovely with a nice small town feel, good schools, and easy highway access, though prices are higher there than in many of the neighboring towns. I think it depends on your price range whether it's worth looking there. One tip - if you are looking online at properties there, click on the map feature to see how close the house is to the train or highway. There are many nice neighborhoods in town, but also several that have a lot of road noise or are really close to the train.

- Westboro is a nice town, although it's getting quite trafficky and congested. If you get a home on the east side of town you'll avoid much of the traffic problems you'd face going through the town center, and you'd have very easy access to the Mass Pike and Rt 495. Schools are good and there are some nice neighborhoods with not terribly expensive homes.

- If you prefer a really small town feel, Berlin and Boylston are quite lovely and schools are up and coming though I don't think they're up to par with the North/South/Westboros. There are still apple orchards and horse farms there and there is little shopping or industry right in town, although there is a large shopping mall on the border of Berlin.

- Upton is a nice quiet town but access to 495 can be a bit of a hassle.

- Marlboro school systems are not considered as good as many of the other towns you mentioned and has more of a small city feel.

- I'm not quite sure the best way to get to Rt 128 from Shrewsbury but it seems like it would be a bit of a pain. There are parts of Grafton that would have easier access if you choose a neighborhood that is not far from the Mass Pike so you could take the Pike to 128 or 495. The schools are good though and there are some very pretty neighborhoods and quite a few parks. Most of the shopping is along Rt 9 and sort of separate from the residential areas.

- Hopkinton has easy access to 495 and is a very convenient location. It still retains some degree of small town feel but is growing a lot and going through some growing pains, and it also doesn't seem like they have such a strong commitment to protecting open space over development. There are some mom and pop shops downtown, which is nice. They are planning to add a few restaurants and "boutique" shops in the downtown area. The town does have a nice park, and two ponds - one is used more heavily for motorized sports and I feel is just getting crazy, and one (Lake Whitehall) is a nice place to hike or kayak.

Please feel free to PM me if you have other questions about the area. I've lived in all the towns that you mentioned, except for Shrewsbury and Grafton.

Hi, I completely agree. I live in Hopkinton, I just moved over the summer and I thought it was a 'small' town but it really is getting out of control with development, which I am surprised by because it is expensive to live in and I heard the schools are excellent [but have no kids].
Anyways Hopkinton is great if you want to be right near 128/495, which is why I started looking at the town because I needed to be near both highways.
Not all of Grafton is great-and pretty close to Worcester-not a fan of that city.
Besides Hopkinton I would look at Southboro and Holliston as nice towns.

[ncwannabe2]

Originally Posted by CMDC

My husband and I are relocating to Massachusetts and are looking into the Metro West area (jobs are around the 495 & 128 loop). Looking for a cute community, good schools, more trees than strip malls (if possible in our price range, which is averge but not terribly high) and reasonable commutes. (Easy access to highway is preferable, but we also don't want a very thickly settled area).

So far we've been looking in Grafton, Marlborough, Upton, Bolton, Westborough, Northborogh, Shrewsbury, Hopkinton.


Any advice or recommendations on these towns...or any others we should be looking at? Thanks so much! Right now, our house search is being done remotely -- we need to really get familiar with the area.

CMDC - have you made any progress in your search?

[Coldjensens]

WAYLAND!

Concord is awesome too if you can afford it and you are sufficiently liberal. (i.e. you think that Hillary is a conservative).

[findingmesomeday]

Also try Medway and Medfield. Medfield is more pricey and you might have a tough time finding a decent house in that price range, but the market is soft and prices are coming down. Medway is a bit further out (but still in between 495 and 128) and a bit cheaper.

[MovingForward]

I concur with Brightdoglover: Littleton (and Stow) are GREAT towns in which to raise a family. Acton, too (although it's pricier and little bit snooty). Concord and Bedford will be much more expensive.

[CMDC]

Thanks everyone for all the information and your experiences in these towns. It really helps! We are still looking for a house. My husband is definitely working in Marlboro, and we'd like to keep his commute as short as possible (while living in a less urban town than Marlboro). So far, we think that Northboro, Southboro, Westboro, Berlin, Bolton, Clinton, Shrewsbury, and maybe Upton & Grafton are our best bets. Now we just need to find a house!