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Hello there, I'm looking for advice on our relocation to Massachusetts. Please give as much helpful info as it will be gratefully appreciated.
I'm looking for good schools, both my children (9&3) attended montesorri schools/nurseries previously in England but I'm now looking for a mainstream school to help their social cohesion. Our eldest is 9 and has ASD (I don't know whether this was important to mention, he attends a normal school in the uk and very gifted in computing) so I'm unaware of the American school system regarding autism. (In the uk they have class TA's support?) I would be very willing to move to an area that was notably good for autism although our youngest as far as I'm aware is neuro typical. Overall schools are paramount basically.
We need to be able to commute to Westford. I've looked at the market for renting over the course of the year whilst our documentation has been finalised and from what I can tell you add on near enough $1000 extra a month to get top schools. Which also brings me to asking, on Zillow there is school ratings. I've been looking at either go from red to orange to green - so we've been focusing on the green schools and trying to avoid anything lower than 6? Not sure if this is accurate however.
Housing wise, we want space. Min of 3 beds as with being from England - we need visitors to be able to stay and not be cramped. This is tricky because of our max monthly rent is $3k (3.5 max) a month there isn't alot to rent wise. So I've been looking for houses that have extra rooms that aren't strictly bedrooms that would double as a guest room.
I've seen houses in budget on lakes in woods - is it safe? If my husbands working away etc? Or being isolated isn't a good idea, although it is so idyllic. And in the Uk it's rare to be able to live on a lake or in the woods.
I hope I haven't been frightfully naive about this move. We are due to be arriving in the next few months and I want it be a smooth transition, and it's up to me as my husband will be expected to start work ASAP in the new office. So I will need to locate places to shop & navigate around.
Typical family type requirements ; near to a supermarket, farmers market if possible, amenities for children, theatre (also cinema theatre) central walking town? Is that possible? Ideally I'd like somewhere where people can get to know you, and we join a community. I'm very arty, love history. Concord looked gorgeous but the rents are few and far between. And to begin with whilst we acclimatise to a new economy & country I don't want to be under pressure to pay a terribly high rent ideally.
Please if there's anything I haven't mentioned please say.
Thanks in advance
Last edited by Britishexplorer; 01-02-2016 at 06:35 AM..
Massachusetts public schools are required to provide an education for all children no matter their disabilities. If your local town cannot provide the education, they will arrange to have your older child sent to a school that can.
Is your eldest high functioning and can handle school work with the assistance of a teaching assistant? If so, just about any school district will be able to assist him with the help of the TA and an IEP (Individual Education Plan). If they can't then they will arrange to have him attend an out district or private school at no cost to you.
I'm not sold on the greatschools ratings. They are based on one thing - standardized test scores. They don't have "boots on the ground" that evaluate things like arts, athletics, technology, special ed, et al. Those are the things that make great schools.
As for living on a lake or in a secluded area, I think you will be just fine.
Best of luck in finding a place to live. Unfortunately, rental homes are difficult to find.
Westford would be great for you especially if you can find something near the town commons. You could walk to community center, art center, library, farmer's market and town festivals from there.
Westford is the best place to start for all your needs, it is a great family oriented town. They just added a new center with lots of new restaurants and stores. Depending on where you find a home you may possibly walk there. If you have a local realtor, they too will show you what would work best for you.
Westford is the best place to start for all your needs, it is a great family oriented town. They just added a new center with lots of new restaurants and stores. Depending on where you find a home you may possibly walk there. If you have a local realtor, they too will show you what would work best for you.
The Westford town commons/center and the shopping center district are two separate areas. The shopping district is on a very highly trafficed road off a highway exit and inaccessible by foot.
The commons is a beautiful area with sidewalks and historic buildings.
My son is high functioning ASD -- we just got a 504 plan in place for him, mostly for accomodations for sensory regulation. The process can be a bit overwhelming, depending on how helpful your school administrators are. Please feel free to PM me at any point if you'd like any pointers from someone who just went through it!
Thankyou so much for all your help and advice. I'm very grateful! My eldest is able to cope in class Aslong as he has some access to help/support (staying on task & processing) so fills me with great hope actually with what you've said regarding catering for children on the spectrum. (Ive been told often America is about 5 years ahead of us Brits with regarding being able to understand/accept/support autistic children within education) and from what my husband tells me that Massachusetts has very good schools.
Okay I will stick to Westford, I was hard pushed to find many rentals (in budget in the area, but there does seem to be more to buy which gives me hope that in time we can buy) I will research more areas in Westford (the commons?) I found a lovely home on forge pond - it's gone now though unsurprisingly. But that was on a lake - so I shall keep my eyes peeled. I've been looking mainly on the Zillow app but I think if I contact a realtor/rental agent in the know to help find a home.
Thankyou again all so much for taking the time out to help me, it's such a daunting move as we've not actually ever been to Boston. (My husband has lots of course, he says 6 feet snow & amazing summers) we've only ever been to WDW in Florida in Aug (so I'm guessing nothing like Mass, from what I've seen online it looks as close to my English home as I'll get actually not being in England)
Thankyou again all so much for taking the time out to help me, it's such a daunting move as we've not actually ever been to Boston. (My husband has lots of course, he says 6 feet snow & amazing summers) we've only ever been to WDW in Florida in Aug (so I'm guessing nothing like Mass, from what I've seen online it looks as close to my English home as I'll get actually not being in England)
Well 6' of snow is bit dramatic. Last year was a horrible winter with 6' of snow in the course of 30 days over January and February and 9' over the entire winter. The annual average in the city is closer to 4' with outlying areas around 6'. As for the summer, it can get hot and humid. There are probably more sunny days than in the UK.
I found a lovely home on forge pond - it's gone now though unsurprisingly. But that was on a lake - so I shall keep my eyes peeled. I've been looking mainly on the Zillow app but I think if I contact a realtor/rental agent in the know to help find a home.
Forge Village is a former mill and seasonal cottage area. There are a few small businesses, a pizza parlor, liquor store. Forge Pond currently has something of a lake culture. Think fishing, jet-skiing, boating. It tends to attract more long time Westford people and long time Massachusetts people and not as many people from others states and countries as other parts of Westford. It is a short drive to the Westford commons or the Groton main street, a cute historic business district with some unique eating places, coffee shops and other small businesses. There is a railtrail behind the Main Street where you can bicycle or walk to the New Hampshire border or the ice cream stand in the next town small town Pepperell, if a shorter outing is desired.
Last edited by 495neighbor; 01-02-2016 at 12:52 PM..
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