Husband got a job in Boston (Woburn) and we have never been to the New England region. Need advise where to live (Lowell: fit in, to rent)

[elhelmete]

Without reference to what rental inventory or rates might be in these towns, I'll reco the following based on the OP's last post:

Burlington
Woburn
Wilmington
Tewksbury
Reading
dare I say Billerica

But extreme southern NH is a good option too.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by chanamiryam

We have actually never paid more than $1400 for rent ever! So if we are going to have to spend higher....I am sure we will have to find ways to cut back on our other things. I mean, if there are families who do it than we should be able to do it also.
I am curious, what is the average middle class family income in Boston?

What do most families live in over there? I would like to see what is a typical home over there. I guess its just a matter of changing our way of thinking thats all. I am versatile. Anyone from Texas? someone who is from TX can understand what I am looking for.

CNNMoney has a cost of living calculator where I compared Houston to Boston and it says $100K there is equal to $143,843 here.

Price difference in Boston, MA

Groceries
56%more

Housing
70%more

Utilities
46%more

Transportation
11%more

Health Care
26%more

Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities - CNNMoney

I actually think that is a little low. I think $150K is more like it and most couples would have a cape or colonial type home (not new, either).

[masshawk]

What about Woburn itself? Since OP doesn't have to worry about schools, that's where you'd get the biggest yard and nicest house for the money in the area. Horn Pond and Middlesex Fells for walking and nature, central to a lot of shopping, synagogue in Burlington or Winchester, beach not too far down 128. It's not affluent but 'affluent-adjacent' especially on the west side touching Lexington or the south touching Winchester. The main thing missing would be large Jewish/Euro population, but you're not going to get much of that outside Boston, Brookline, Newton anyway. Edit: a lot of the housing stock is raised ranches or split levels.

Something else I heard on here was Swampscott. Don't know much about it, but someone said it has a lot of Jewish Brookline transplants and is a lot cheaper than Brookline, and also near beaches.

[sobo16]

At this point, it might be best for the OP to start searching some realtor rental websites to get a feel for what is available at different price ranges. You can start with some of the towns suggested to you, or search the entire region.

[brightdoglover]

OP rates higher-end shopping as second only to an upgraded house. I hardly think Maynard counts towards any of it, as one poster suggested Maynard.
Regarding Littleton, a friend bought an older Cape and gave it a facelift and rents it for $1600/month and it's not much more than face lifted. There are very few rentals in Littleton of any type and lower-end are older houses, period. No higher-end shopping around.
Maybe OP should look up locations for, say, Whole Foods, and see what towns are around it. I honestly don't think what she wants exists (even rating the desired elements).

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by masshawk

What about Woburn itself? Since OP doesn't have to worry about schools, that's where you'd get the biggest yard and nicest house for the money in the area. Horn Pond and Middlesex Fells for walking and nature, central to a lot of shopping, synagogue in Burlington or Winchester, beach not too far down 128. It's not affluent but 'affluent-adjacent' especially on the west side touching Lexington or the south touching Winchester. The main thing missing would be large Jewish/Euro population, but you're not going to get much of that outside Boston, Brookline, Newton anyway. Edit: a lot of the housing stock is raised ranches or split levels.

Something else I heard on here was Swampscott. Don't know much about it, but someone said it has a lot of Jewish Brookline transplants and is a lot cheaper than Brookline, and also near beaches.

Swampscott would be a good choice in many ways, but the commute to/from Woburn isn't great. It's also not cheap

[brightdoglover]

Remember, earlier on, OP said she canNOT see herself living 30 minutes from a nice mall or store. That lets out most of the suggestions, since there are only so many that fit that description.

[Bruins_Fan]

Originally Posted by elhelmete

Swampscott would be a good choice in many ways, but the commute to/from Woburn isn't great. It's also not cheap

I agree, Swampscott could work. And while not cheap it doesn't have the absolutely insane prices of places like Newton, Winchester, etc.

And Swampscott has it's own Whole Foods, Marshall's, synagogues in town, and the Jewish Community Center in neighboring Marblehead. And Swampscott is about 20 minutes from North Shore Mall with Macy's etc. I'd say about 35-40 minute commute to Woburn with average rush hour traffic...maybe longer on a bad day.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by chanamiryam

We have actually never paid more than $1400 for rent ever! So if we are going to have to spend higher....I am sure we will have to find ways to cut back on our other things. I mean, if there are families who do it than we should be able to do it also.
I am curious, what is the average middle class family income in Boston?

What do most families live in over there? I would like to see what is a typical home over there. I guess its just a matter of changing our way of thinking thats all. I am versatile. Anyone from Texas? someone who is from TX can understand what I am looking for.

Depends on what do you consider middle class? What sort of lifestyle do you imagine?

Median Household income in the state is probably in the mid $50K range. At $51K household, for a family of 5, you would qualify for food stamps in this state.

Expenses here are high. Unsure what you drive, but your car insurance will shoot WAY up depending on where you live. With a clean record (no tickets or accidents) i pay ~$6K/year to insure 3 cars. Taxes and fees on EVERYTHING is high.

This state is just damn expensive. If your husband didn't have to pay income tax in MA, i'd suggest living in NH where it would be slightly cheaper to live and just commute to Woburn. But you insist on living near the city, then ideally you'd prob be happiest living inside 495 (or inside 128 for more of the urban feel) to get close to what you want. You won't get the sprawling yard, and half of the year the area will be a gray mess with winter.

I have friends that went to college in Boston and moved to TX afterwards. I try to convince them to come back but they won't. Property is cheaper, cost of living is cheaper, and it's just cheaper.

Towns/Cities to look into
Arlington
Swampscott
Marblehead
North Reading
Andover
Newton
Welsley
Brighton

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Remember, earlier on, OP said she canNOT see herself living 30 minutes from a nice mall or store. That lets out most of the suggestions, since there are only so many that fit that description.

How so, there are lots of places within 30 minutes of Framingham... which has a Nordstroms and other froofy high end stuff like that.

And I suggested Maynard as one of the up and coming diamonds in the rough, which was mentioned. I mean, really, you can't get very fancy for a couple of thousand a month rent with four bedrooms and fancy stuff like walk in showers and granite countertop islands. Brookline? Newtown? Etc not happening.