Relocation back to Mass (Metro West) - where to live? (Boston: motel, jobs)

[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.

[pondhopper]

Those run the full range from "affordable" to high end! Marlborough has a full mix and lots of shopping and strip malls, easy commuting to 495 not so much for 128; Shrewbury has good schools, nice homes, not so dense and decent access to routes but further out (hence better house prices); Northborough more much like Shrewsbury but little closer in to 495 (check edges of Boylston near Northborough, Shrewsbury); Westborough has a full mix of malls, nice areas, good schools, library, etc and decent access down route 9); Hopkinton is expensive has very good schools early on but working on its higher grades right now, good access to all routes with 495 and Mass Pike (90) running through the town; Bolton has some cheap housing, not such great schools, convenient for 495 not so much for 128 (except upper end) and long ways to go for shopping; Upton and Grafton are more rural, no strip malls, up and coming as the sprawl and prices force people west and south. Take with a big grain of salt these are my opinions I'm sure others will differ, especially as its all subject to personality as to what will work for you. The more you post the more people can help - ie where on 495 and 128 will the jobs be? What are your price ranges for housing? I think I would go with Upton/Grafton with nothing else to go on than what you've posted, or possibly shrewsbury/Boylston. Good luck!

[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.

[smarty]

Almost all towns between Rt128 and Rt495 will satisfy your criteria. Without knowing which town you will work and price range, and more criteria/details... just pick one.

Btw... you use a lot of very vague terms...

what is a "cute" community vs a "non-cute" community?
What is "good" school in your mind?

[brightdoglover]

Don't forget Littleton, unless it's too far east for you. Old farmhouses, lots of protected land, unpretentious people, commuter train to Boston, good schools, small town feel.
(Disclaimer- I've lived there for 15 years and find it feels rural/friendly/quiet but is one mile of I-495/Rt.2. Modest houses for relatively modest prices. No real downtown (cute or otherwise) because it was always a farm town. The town has been very tough on development. The one shopping area is quite attractive, and the supermarket has organic food, sushi bar, and so on. Zero crime, kids ride bikes around, a lovely public lake.

[lorilou]

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.

Hello,
have you looked into Franklin? Right off 495, with 2 train stations in town. Nice dining, close proximity to antique shopping, Home Goods, & outlet malls (Wrentham); Whole Foods, movie theater (Bellingham); large mall (N. Attleboro). We moved here about a year ago and have made a very nice set of friends. The price ranges are good here. My only caveat pertains to the high school...it's not the "Harvard" of MA high schools, if you know what I mean. Still, education and schools are what you make of them...how much you put in, and how much you give back. The elementary & middle schools are very good, however. Welcome back, and good luck! lorilou

[mdexter57]

IMHO I think all of the towns listed in this thread are nice towns but it would be really nice to get more information from you. What price range of house would you be looking for? What other details are important to you, how old are your kids, do they attend public schools or perocial/private, are you looking for a lot of land or just a reasonable size lot. This type of information would help me to give a better response.

[millwoodhouse]

We moved to Ma from MD last December. Spent a lot of time checking out all those areas. Ended up picking Grafton and can't be happier. We're very convenient to shopping, Mass Pike and T-station. We've had a great experience so far with the schools. The town is really has a lot going on and still has a nice "small town" feeling. I think it's worth checking out more.

[CMDC]

THANKS everyone for the great replies! You cannot imagine how helpful you are to someone like me, who is trying to do this remotely (for now)
...so I appreciate you all taking the time to respond!

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?

- Oh I almost forgot! Everyone asked for price range. We are looking in $350 range - depending on how high the taxes are from town to town.

As for jobs...mine is mobile, so I can be flexible as long as I have internet access. We thought my husband's was going to be either in Marlboro or Waltham (he is transferring), but that may be changing. So we have some flexibility on picking a place that works for us, then making the job work around it.

Thanks again everyone...any additional ideas or feedback you may have would be greatly appreciated!

[puffle]

Just moved to Concord from California and think you should look into living here. Although your price range for $350 will definetly be on the low end, it's doable. We live in walking distance to the train to Boston, five minutes to Trader Joes and Stop and Shop, Whole Foods is about 15 minutes to Bedford and no chain stores at all. Walking distance to many shops/restaurants, great schools and involved community with no financial woes. Great hiking trails,Walden Pond, canoeing and skiing about 10 minutes away. Acton would be another great consideration. Waltham is only about 20 minutes from here.