Relocating from London UK to Massachusetts (Boston, Attleboro: real estate, house, condo)

[amyalta]

Hi! We are a UK /US family about to move to US permanently. We had thought of moving to Houston where we have family, but after much research we think maybe somewhere near Boston would suit us better. Husband is a Television / Video Editor so will be seeking work in that line, I am SAHM & we have 2 kids 15 and 9.

Our priorities are - excellent schools, reasonable commute time to Boston (he does a gruelling 1.5 hours to London at present) friendly, upscale community preferably with some old architecture / nice downtown. Budget to about $400000 which will be cash after sale of UK house!

Can anyone suggest towns / locations which might suit us? Your help is much appreciated - there seem to be so many great places to choose from!

[scarletfire]

The nice suburbs with a short commute and great schools are likely to be pricier than $400K. Wellesley, for ex, is a really easy trek into Boston with excellent schools and easy access to highways and the commuter rail. You can find a small (1000-1500 sq ft) older home with a small (under .25 acre) lot or a townhome in that price range there. It has a very nice town center with pretty shops and historic properties. It's an upscale community with lots of very pricey homes.

You could also find some nice options 45-60 minutes outside the city with strong schools and a nice downtown. Sudbury and Concord are two of them - both have very highly regarded schools. Concord has a lovely downtown with pretty shops and a great bike path, and Sudbury is also lovely and quiet with lots of community activities but doesn't really have a town center per se. Southboro is also nice with historic homes and good schools but the downtown is quite small. Blink and you miss it! :-)

A quick thought re: finding a job: Avid Technology is based in Tewksbury. I wonder if they could advice on good leads for video editor jobs since that's who many of their customers are.

[MassREBroker4u]

There are also many towns south of Boston within a reasonable 45 minute car commute or train ride you could afford for $400,000. Prices are still dropping everywhere in the state, so you should plenty of homes to choose from for your money.

Rule of thumb: the farther away from Boston you go, the lower the prices. For instance, a few years ago you couldn't buy a newer (less than 10 years old) 4 bedroom/ 2 bath 2000 Sq. Ft. colonial style home for under $400,000 in Attleboro. Now you can find them for $350-$375,000. And those prices will drop more I'm sure.

Attleboro has 2 rail stops, and RT 95 if you drive to Boston.

Find a good buyers real estate agent to represent you when you are ready to move to help you get the best deal for your money, in a town you want to be in. It doesn't cost you any money, as they are paid by a percentage of the gross commission of the sale.

[MovingForward]

With all due respect to MassREBroker4u, excellent schools, upscale community, and short commute cannot be had for $400,000. Unless you are willing to consider purchasing a condo or townhome?

[smarty]

You may be disappointed as to what you can get for a house compare to Houston. For the same price, you can only get half the house around here.

Here's a website to search for home...

For Wellesley... The median income for a household was $138K.
http://www.realtor.com/search/search...3&mxp=27&typ=7

For Attleboro (not as nice of a town)... The median income for a household was $51K.
http://www.realtor.com/search/search...3&mxp=27&typ=1

[Denton_County93]

I would reccomend Hopkinton. It's 26 miles outside of Boston and is a small, quiet town of around 14,000. It has many beautiful neighborhoods, and some of the best schools in the state! It is also rich in history, being founded in 1715. Being a former resident of 12 years, it's the best town I've ever lived in.

http://www.hopkinton.org/

[pondhopper]

If I read it right you have $400,000 as a downpayment and can then get a mortgage, without knowing earnings you should easily still be able to get a mortgage for $200,000 which will put you in a nice house in most suburbs. You can get a fixed rate loan for 30 years instead of just 5 like in the UK. You can use one real-estate agent who can put you in touch with ANY house ANYWHERE in Massachusetts due to the MLS instead of the way it works in the UK (and no gazumping - its like Scotland where you make an offer if its accepted you sign a contract with only an outclause of not qualifying for a loan (so if you pre-qualify things go faster and easier).Transfer your credit history by using HSBC, NatWest or any of the high street banks who should either have branches in the US or relationships with banks there. With a conservative budget of $600,000 you should be able to find something to your liking in many suburbs. Good luck !
I live in Hopkinton US and Southampton UK

[MassREBroker4u]

If you look real hard MovingForward, you can find towns where you can buy homes under $400,000 and have good schools in Massachusetts. Dighton is one of them. Nothing but raves about their school system. They may not be right next to BOSTON, but towns with good schools and decently priced homes are out there.

And it takes less than 1 hour to drive to Boston from Dighton also...

[NY'er lost in MA]

I agree with Denton- Hopkinton is a great community and you can get all of the perks for under $400K. Some of the country nooks of Metrowest also might remind you of the UK!

[Boomerang]

Just bear in mind that traffic makes it difficult to commute into Boston by car -- you have to time your commute carefully or take public transport, which is limited to certain areas.
You could also spend 1.5 hours doing a killer commute into Boston from some outlying communities at no great distance, but at certain times of day, all bets are off.

From the South Shore, you will run into heavy traffic both mornings and afternoons, and God help you on Friday afternoons when all the world is heading to Cape Cod.
I've never tried it from the West but hear from friends it can be horrific, particularly out to I-90. From the North it may be more do-able, especially if you don't have to drive all the way to the southern end of the city (right through the middle of the city each way, I mean).
The commute along the I-95 south corridor isn't bad if you get into the city early and leave early. Personally I would not go as far as Attleboro; it's not exactly a garden spot and is too close to Providence for my liking. The commuter rail isn't cheap either. North Attleboro is much better and has great shopping, but my top picks would be Wrentham or Foxboro, and perhaps Sharon or Canton. Wrentham and Foxboro have some very beautiful countryside-type scenery, pretty New Englandish town centers, etc.

Best of luck with your endeavor.