What's the deal with Milford? (Lowell, Framingham: to buy, theatre, high schools)

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by LLSheen

You might be right. It's just hard to look at listings, see the insane tax that the current owner is paying, and know that the town will likely jack up the assessment to (likely) market value after you purchase the place. My current home is worth $500k, it's assessed at $440k and we only pay approx. $4800/year in property taxes. Seeing similar homes with similar values with $9-10k (or more in some towns) in just property tax alone is a shock to the system. So, yes, I guess I am focused on tax rate because that appears to be the only way to assess the long-term affordability of a particular home in a particular town --knowing of course, that taxes only go up.

I bought in a town with "low property taxes." in the 5 years since my taxes have gone from $4,200/year to almost $5,000/year.

Its true that if you're seeing $10k/year now, it won't really go any lower.

You will not find a top school district with $5k/year property taxes. If that's what you're looking for, MA is not for you. Even "good" schools are hard to come by at that tax amount.

[LLSheen]

Originally Posted by Dm84

I bought in a town with "low property taxes." in the 5 years since my taxes have gone from $4,200/year to almost $5,000/year.

Its true that if you're seeing $10k/year now, it won't really go any lower.

You will not find a top school district with $5k/year property taxes. If that's what you're looking for, MA is not for you.

I believe I made it clear that we're looking for the best value, not a so-called "top school district." Believe me, if we could stay in our current location, we would-- but jobs don't necessarily work like that.

I'll definitely keep looking around. We don't have to make a decision today. We may just need to get used to the fact that our QOL as far as the house goes will certainly go down as we can't get a similar house for a similar PITI due to high taxes (although the actual purchase prices for the homes I'm looking at are comparable to our current town) I certainly do appreciate all of the different viewpoints available in a forum like this since so much of this knowledge is acquired on the ground and we won't be able to set foot in Mass. for at least another month.

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by LLSheen

Hi all -

We are a family that moves a bit for job relocation and we've been told that Framingham might be next. Now, we aren't complete strangers to the Boston Metro region so, while we're ok with working in Framingham, we are not that excited about moving there. Cue looking at some smaller towns in the region with which we are unfamiliar (the Cape Ann area is more of our forte'). That brings me to Milford. The housing/taxes costs look manageable there. It appears to be its own "smallish" town, something we're looking for...but then- BAM- the schools. What is going on there? We will have one entering 9th at the time of the move, so that's the child that we're most worried about. Are these test scores and numbers just superficial data or is there something about Milford that we should avoid?

We're also looking at Millis, Holliston, Hopedale, and Grafton...looking at smaller high schools in smaller communities that aren't super competitive. Housing could go up to $650. Would appreciate your expert opinions!!

If your budget is $650K, and you're looking for a "smallish" town around Milford with great schools, you can also look at Mendon and Upton. Sutton is another good option, but it's a little far west. If you're looking at Grafton, consider Uxbridge, too. You really can't go wrong with any of the towns you mentioned. Franklin is great, but it's a little large. I'm not sure what you can get in Medway for $650K, but it's worth a look.

[massnative71]

I would look at Hudson as well.

[Shrewsburried]

With a budget of 650k, why not Hopkington, Medway, Upton? Milford is a dive.

Depending on your commute, if low taxes are a priority, then Shrewsbury is a good choice. Just be mindful that their assessments tend to counter the low tax rate.

[Peabody99]

I agree if you want to stay in "Milford" area, then look at Upton and Mendon ( my personal choice), Holliston, or Hopkinton for more suburban.
I like the Bolton and Stow area and it's an easy commute to Framingham as well.
I wouldn't pick Hudson over the other towns mentioned. Hudson is nice to visit but with $650 budget I wouldn't move there.

[CaseyB]

I wouldn't pick Hudson, either. Hopkinton or Holliston, both have good schools.

[WillRunForBeer]

I love the elitist snobs here who have likely never set foot in Milford who decide to judge an entire town based on what they read on blogs or hear through their own personal grapevine of “sources” and expertly judge entire school systems based on suspect test score data.


In an effort that will surely be lost on those of you that believe only wealthy towns possess the ability to properly educate their students, below is a partial list of colleges and universities being attended by 2016 graduates of that “awful” Milford High School:


Harvard, Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern, HolyCross, Lehigh, Middlebury, RPI, Smith, Fordham, University of Rochester, WPI, Bentley, Providence, Trinity, Ithaca, Syracuse, Quinnipiac, Drexel, Hofstra, Stonehill, Clark, Emerson, Xavier, Wheaton, Mass Art, Mass College of Pharmacy, Savannah College of Art and Design, etc... (not to mention the dreaded publics such as UConn, Penn State, Temple, Purdue, Vermont, Delaware, UMass (oh, the horror!)


And the 2017 class also has a child of one of the dreaded “illegal” immigrants who will be attending Harvard in the fall.


A child surely can’t succeed in life if they are forced to attend those lousy Milford schools.

[Shrewsburried]

It's a fair point, but with OPs budget of 650K they can and should buy in a more preferable town for reasons which extend beyond the school system.

[WillRunForBeer]

Besides schools, what would those other reasons be?

Might have to mingle with the poors or have to hear a non English speaker from time to time?