Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Tysmith, my husband's truck is 2 yrs old and we were planning to replace mine when my daughter turns 16 next year. Good to know it's only high for newer cars. But I will have to look into insurance rates as well. I will check more into Acton today, too, thank you!
A new F-150 double cab will run you about $1000 in excise taxes the first year and then it drops a couple hundred each year until the bill is around $100, where it will stay until you sell the truck. I didn't think insurance rates were high here. My insurance dropped considerably after I moved here from Atlanta. Rates are cheaper out by I-495 than they are inside Rt-128.
We will buy a house instead of renting because my husband has good relocation benefits that pay realtor fees and closing costs on buying/selling houses. So I think it would be better to just go ahead and buy a home. Thank you, chicagoliz, for the heads up about renovations, because there are some houses we have considered that need reno.
The most expensive part of relocation is paying a realtor 5-6% to sell your house. Can you just take the benefit to sell your house in NV and then rent something here, or do you need to buy another house to get that benefit? Keep in mind if you move again in 1-2 years and you're not offered a relocation benefit, you'll get hit with about $40k out of pocket for realtor fees plus another few thousand for the tax that MA charges when you sell a house.
Why would anyone consider buying real estate if they're only going to be in the area for 1-2 years? That would be a financial bloodbath unless it's a corporate relocation.
Which she said it was and they have a relo package.
To the OP - the excise tax is based on the age of the car and it's MSRP. The rate is $25/thousand goes like this:
In the year preceding the designated year of manufacture 50%
In the year of manufacture 90%
In the second year 60%
In the third year 40%
In the fourth year 25%
In the fifth and succeeding years 10%
Some towns do charge bus, sports, music fees. You really should check that out if it's important to you. I suggested Westford and just checked and they have many fees:
Bus - 1 kid $225, $600 family max
Sports - $240-275 per student per season
Music - $235 per year
Clubs - $50 per year.
I like to suggest my town - Burlington - because it has low taxes, very good schools, and no school fees. But there are only a couple of homes in your price range that I would suggest mostly due to busy streets. But give it a look for kicks. It is right next to Billerica.
Lancaster is a very pretty town but it's out in the middle of nowhere and very rural. It's part of a regional school district so your kids could spend quite a bit of time on the bus everyday. We looked out there years ago and decided it was too quiet for us.
Thank you, robr2, what a great help! I will see what Burlington has to offer, as well. We are hoping for a nice raise to help offset the costs of moving to a more expensive area, so we may be able to stretch the budget a bit.
I don't work outside the home, so I could drive kids to & from school if the schools were close. I just found here once I had kids in 3 different schools, I was in the car all the time. So my oldest 2 take the bus now. But it sounds like Lancaster is too rural for us.
This is a corporate relocation, so all realtor and moving costs are paid for us, but I didn't think about taxes to sell the house. I will have to check into that. The other thing is, we may end up there longer, who knows? We never thought we'd be in Nevada for 16 years!
I suggest looking at a cost of living calculator to determine how much more expensive this area will be. The results may surprise you. Also remember Massachusetts has a 5% income tax whereas Nevada has none.
Burlington has really tough local traffic due to the number of businesses located and the lack of practical mass transit there. Just something to be aware of.
Burlington has really tough local traffic due to the number of businesses located and the lack of practical mass transit there. Just something to be aware of.
Yes Middlesex Turnpike can be pretty busy due to all the retail and Rt 3A is busy during rush hour. But once someone lives here and knows how to get around, it's not that bad. It's like any other town in terms of traffic - during rush hour, the main routes are busy.
Rain/Snow line for many winter storms seems to be Mass Pike in MA: N of Pike snow, S of Pike rain (this typical for coastal storm). Although slightly below 32 deg & snowing seems about the same as slightly above 32 and raining.
As other posters have said, range of weather pretty much the same where you're looking. Spring might come a day or so later in NH than the more southern MA towns you're looking at. In winter, more northerly towns will have a few minutes less daytime, and a few minutes more daylight in summer.
Best advice to deal with winter weather 1: go to Cabela's or LL Bean and get warm winter gear. Get coats and hats and gloves and sweaters and boots. Spend for waterproof breathable membranes on coats. Get wool socks. If you're cold, get longjohns to wear. WinterSilks has lightweight silk longjohns that can be worn un-noticeably under your clothes (don't need to size up). Look @ getting wool long johns for winter outdoor activities. (Join REI & get membership benefits -- rebate based on how much $$ you spent there. Stores in Reading MA and Framingham MA)
2d advice for dealing with winter: Get out in it and enjoy it. Try cross-country skiing @ Weston Ski Track (Weston Ski Track :: Cross-Country Skiing 15 Minutes West of Boston, Massachusetts) or other local to where you end up. Try downhill skiing @ Nashoba Valley or Wachusett (sign the kids up for weekday after school lessons or go as a family on the weekends)
Other budget areas: check out which company provides electric service for the towns you're looking at & check out rates & compare to what you're paying now. Be aware that electric rates in MA often go up quite significantly for the Winter months (December through March or April) because much of the electric generation in MA is from natural-gas-fired plants, and there is higher demand on natural gas in winter due to home heating.
Good luck in finding a house for your family & in your upcoming move
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
