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There are many parks in Acton where you will find families cycling and walking together. Some of the more popular ones are Nara Park, Acton Arboretum, and the newly built library playground for small children.
In Carlisle, but close and popular, Great Brook Farm. Ice cream, picnic tables and farm animals too.
Actually, if you could find something in the Carlisle Road neighborhood of Acton, you would be centrally located between Nara Park and Great Brook Farm.
Last edited by 495neighbor; 09-04-2015 at 08:31 AM..
I don't find it "pretty". The random strip malls with less-than-useful shopping are unsightly. The different areas of town seem so different from each other (eg, the area near Stow is very different from the area near the library, which is also very different from the area on 119 approaching Littleton). I don't like the looks of the W. Acton downtown area. Maybe everything just looks sad now because of dead lawns (mine is not great looking, either). It generally looks a bit unkempt to me. FWIW, I don't like the looks of Stow at all (same unkempt look), and Acton looks a bit like Stow. ETA: BUT, there are a couple of areas in Acton that I've found that look very nice, and am visiting a lot to see if they are a real possibility.
I love the looks of the Sudbury areas near 117/Hudson St/27 and also on/near Dutton, so I feel like there are more options for me there, if I'm looking for "pretty." I'm also used to running errands in Natick/Framingham, so it would feel more natural for me to be in Sudbury, vs. getting used to shopping in Lowell/Burlington (which sounds terrible to me; I'd probably still head back to Berlin/Solomon Pond for most things rather than go north).
We have everything right now where we are, within a few minutes, including the highway. It's been VERY convenient. Sudbury is not a town we'd ever consider if not for this Cambridge commute, because our jobs tend to take us up 495. But, Sudbury would open up Waltham and Framingham to us (which we wouldn't normally consider from here). Then again, we're hoping our current jobs last a very, very long time, maybe even until retirement.
We are foodies (I went to culinary school), so access to better restaurants is also a plus. Acton seems to be at a disadvantage there. Then again, moving to Sudbury would mean much less of a budget to go out to eat, LOL.
Sudbury tends to have larger lots with more trees and privacy, whereas Acton is more of a true suburb with cleared 1/2 acre lots where you can see many homes from the end of your driveway.
Sudbury is appealing for that reason, because my husband would like to keep his tractor... We can't figure out a reason to keep it if we live in Acton.
Mix of neighborhood where kids safely ride bicycles and rural beautiful like you have in Berlin is hard to find. It's a tradeoff. And then you also want a 45 minute commute, lots of trendy upscale restaurants, land for a tractor, want excellent schools for your special needs child, want to live in a rural area yet want manicured landscaping and yet do not want to be isolated. It seems like a rather impossible list.
I take it with a tractor you want to continue some hobby farming.
Do you have a budget?
Last edited by 495neighbor; 09-04-2015 at 09:13 AM..
Mix of neighborhood where kids safely ride bicycles and rural beautiful like you have in Berlin is hard to find. It's a tradeoff. And then you also want a 45 minute commute, lots of trendy upscale restaurants, land for a tractor, want excellent schools for your special needs child, want to live in a rural area yet want manicured landscaping and yet do not want to be isolated. It seems like a rather impossible list.
I take it with a tractor you want to continue some hobby farming.
Do you have a budget?
I don't need restaurants in my town, just within 20-30 minutes. Maybe there are more places near Acton? Westford restaurants aren't terribly exciting (I used to work there). Littleton, Boxborough, Harvard just get more rural. I do love the Fruitlands Cafe, though.
We're hoping for an optimal commute of 45 minutes, but know that it can go up to an hour. Land for a tractor is for my husband, not me, LOL. He mows and collects leaves with it most of the time, and other times, just putters around with it -- moving snow banks, fixing our mailbox that gets knocked down every year, clearing small trees and brush that encroach on our driveway, etc. No farming. I was surprised that he'd like to keep it.
Budget is up to 850, but honestly I think we can go higher than that. We haven't had to budget before, so we're a little nervous about taking on debt. That's a number we can comfortably do without making big changes. I have a feeling that while house hunting, when we actively start, that max number will change.
I am more FOR a real neighborhood setting, with houses closer together. He really wants land and space, which is why he chose this house in the first place (I wasn't in the picture yet; I would have said a big HECK NO to this house if I had been!).
Along with the tractor, we're also hoping he can keep his woodworking shop. But the chances of that are dwindling and dwindling, especially since many houses seem to have already-finished basements.
I wish we could just pick up this house and move it to a different street.
I don't like the looks of the W. Acton downtown area. Maybe everything just looks sad now because of dead lawns (mine is not great looking, either). It generally looks a bit unkempt to me. FWIW, I don't like the looks of Stow at all (same unkempt look), and Acton looks a bit like Stow. ETA: BUT, there are a couple of areas in Acton that I've found that look very nice, and am visiting a lot to see if they are a real possibility.
West Acton village is getting a makeover. There will be a new locally sourced restaurant/brewery, coffee shop, other businesses going in. It is supposed to be done by early 2016. Business Directory | Villageworks
Quote:
Originally Posted by pippiep
We are foodies (I went to culinary school), so access to better restaurants is also a plus. Acton seems to be at a disadvantage there. Then again, moving to Sudbury would mean much less of a budget to go out to eat, LOL.
29 Sudbury is a favorite new restaurant of mine in Sudbury. It has new Northern Italian cuisine. The Local on the Wayland/Sudbury border is trendy and pretty good too.
In Acton, some new brewpub restaurants are Red Raven and Rapscallion Table & Tap.
Trails End Cafe nearby in Concord has an original menu.
^^ Thank you! That sounds like a good list, for both towns.
I also wanted to comment about wanting excellent schools. The schools need to have good services; our current services are very limited and some of them are only available part-time one day a week. If my son needs services from that person twice a week, he's out of luck. (I'm about to fight that battle...) I'm not as concerned with grades, MCAS scores, etc.
I live in Sudbury and was deciding on Acton/ Sudbury a few years ago. We choose Sudbury for the more rural feel (we are north sudbury off Mossman). There is so much traffic in Acton.
If you live in either of those towns, where do you shop for the following :
- Groceries (general)
We shop Sudbury Farms 99% of the time. There is a good S&S in Wayland, some people make the monthly run to Market Basket in Waltham or Westford for staple goods.
- Specialty groceries/food/ingredients
A lot of farms on 117 and a few specialty stores
- Butcher for fresh meats (I love the homemade sausage from our local butcher)
I buy most of my meats at Sudbury Farm Butcher.
- Lowe’s/Home Depot
Both in Framingham. There is an Aubuchon in Maynard.
- Pharmacy
I use CVS in Maynard, There is a Rite Aid by Sudbury Farms and a CVS on Rt. 20 by Shaws
- Clothing/shoes for kids and adults
I go to the internet or Framingham. For sports stuff there is an Olympia in town, and the Maynard Outdoor store.
There is not a wide selection of food in Sudbury but there is some in surrounding towns. Maynard has Asian, Indian, Mexican. Natick/ Framingham has it all, etc.
We live in a good neighborhood. Lots of kids at the bus stop, etc. But, dont drive around on a Saturday/ Sunday looking for kids playing in yards. Most kids in Sudbury do some sort of organized sport or other activity (dance, scouts, etc). and are often at those activities.
If you move to Sudbury... can I borrow the tractor?
If you have questions about the schools try to make an appointment with the super in the towns you are looking at. We did that for Sudbury before we moved and did that in the town we were moving from (we did not have kids in the schools yet).
Last edited by westcedar; 09-04-2015 at 09:53 AM..
Reason: Schools
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kids on bikes in Acton
We can't figure out a reason to keep it if we live in Acton.
