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^My greater point is not to defend Hopkinton. But, at $600k, if you don’t like those towns, maybe this area is not for you. You're certainly limited at that price point a bit.
All of those towns listed above will be cheaper than teir 1 suburbs here. From an aesthetics stand point, probably a good deal. But, I’m not trading Philly/PA for Boston/MA. Nope no chance. Now NYC suburbs? That’s something I’d consider if I needed to.
As for the Stamford parade comment.. huh? Are you insinuating towns in MA don't have parades? You'll be happy to know both of my reccomendstions, Andover and Concord, have xmas parades and tree lighting events. Both have nice farmers markets, town runs, etc.
Again, this sounds like a you and your friends/family issue. Either that, or you're terrible at choosing towns that suit your liking. You said you don't think there are many nice suburbs around Boston, regardless of price, right? That there simply aren't a lot. Winchester, Lexington, Belmont, Wellesley, Weston, Newton, Needham, Manchester by the Sea, Marblehead, Hingham, Duxbury, Concord, Andover are all wonderful. Do you disagree?
One nice thing about the 21st century's unimaginable levels of metropolitan gentrification and COL is that it's gotten so out of hand that many smaller cities and towns, forgotten in past decades, are quietly beginning to come back to life as people working in fields without the amazing salaries that mwj119 takes for granted as a millennial birthright for happening to have the right professional proclivities, move to farther-out places that a "civilized" middle class Massahole didn't have to consider back a couple decades when houses in Cambridge cost $150k, and undertake interesting business and cultural ventures. In Mass - smaller places like Lowell, New Bedford, Easthampton, Greenfield, Gloucester, Plymouth, Hudson, Maynard, and even Worcester come to mind as experiencing some socioeconomic boost and arts and cultural renewal, places formerly uniformly gritty, without being gentrified quite yet as they fill up with wayward $40-$70k salary scumrats seeking relief. Often drawing people interesting enough to look beyond semi-hollow suburban hand-wringing factors like school "quality." As mwj points out, Malden and Chelsea soon to follow the Somerville pattern too.
This idea that the only people that agree or can live in Boston are in their 50s is just ridiculous. You sound so old and bitter and stale. I’m a millennial- Hi! Living amongst all of my peers who grew up here. We had a blast in Boston. I left to try something new, and came back because I love it. As did they. Millennials in tech or consulting, for example, deal with the high cost of living because it’s the tech hub of the east coast. It’s tough to complain when you’re selling a SaaS solution, work 4 days a week, and make $250k at 28. It’s great that they can bounce between sub areas, like travel tech to cyber security. For consultants, a strong private sector is opportunity. BCG and Bain aside, Boston hosts a ton of Big 4 advisory and all sorts of alternative consulting companies- IT or management related. Again, huge amounts of young folks pulling in $150k at 25-35 years old.
Add all of the cities nurses and doctors, all of the brain power that MIT/Harvard/BC is pumping our, the research and development, etc etc. Plenty of young people call it home, and will never have to leave due to high COL. They’ll either tolerate it, or they’ll make big wages in the sectors that offer it. That will manifest itself.
As someone who was once you I completely get that you think this, but it is not true. I was making $250k a year at 30 in Boston in tech years ago. I have lived the "dream." It is not sustainable, but you don't know that yet.
One nice thing about the 21st century's unimaginable levels of metropolitan gentrification is that it's gotten so out of hand that many smaller cities and towns, forgotten in past decades, are quietly beginning to come back to life as people working in fields without the amazing salaries that mwj119 takes for granted as a millennial birthright for happening to have the right professional proclivities, move to farther-out places that a "civilized" middle class Massahole didn't have to consider back a couple decades when houses in Cambridge cost $150k, and undertake interesting business and cultural ventures. In Mass - smaller places like Lowell, New Bedford, Easthampton, Greenfield, Gloucester, Plymouth, Hudson, Maynard, and even Worcester come to mind as experiencing some socioeconomic boost and arts and cultural renewal without being gentrified quite yet as they fill up with wayward $40-$60k salary scumrats. As mwj points out, Malden and Chelsea soon to follow the Somerville pattern too.
I'm confused. I make a good salary? I like tech?
Man, feels like we're getting to really know each other. Funny though, as I haven't told you a single thing about myself. I merely pointed out that millennials can and will continue to live and work in and around Boston as we trend upward and onward. The OP can't get his utopia- nice town, good schools, mature and thin tree lined streets, neighborly, no chain resatatunts, etc.- close to Boston for that price point. Everyone in the country wants that. And renters, as a result of this 21st century metropolitan gentrification, need to look elsewhere to cities and neighborhoods that are not yet infiltrated. Hence the expansion into the towns and cities you described.
What do I have to do with that narrative? I'd love to buy a place in Cambridge or Winchester, but I can't afford it. So a town like Stoneham will suffice. I'm perfectly fine with Stoneham, or Hopkinton. It's the posters on here that are not ok with the Stonehams that seem to be struggling.
Anyways, the idea that only 50 year olds or folks that bought a place decade back can live in Boston is nonsense. Plenty of entry level workers living in Dorchester, Allston, JP. Just because we can't live in a Back Bay brownstone doesn't mean the entire city is off limits. Same thing with Winchester vs. Hopkinton.
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From here, after all this and reading other forums and Redfin, Haddonfield looks pretty good. Maybe Morristown, Ardmore, Tarrytown, Armonk, or Media. Ridgefield would be nice. Hell, even Stamford has a Thanksgiving Day parade
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