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Old 07-20-2018, 02:09 PM
 
Location: New England
2,190 posts, read 2,230,657 times
Reputation: 1969

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ECPCVC View Post
I think you are kind of cherry picking towns. Salem and Lynn have straight up horrible schools and it is very annoying trying to drive to the Swampscott area. Lexington is arguably the most highly regarded public school system with Wellesley right up there. Along with Waltham they are super close to Boston/Cambridge driving or with public transportation. If I compared Natick and Framingham against Lynnfield and Manchester I could say Metrowest is cheaper.
You just picked the two most affordable metro west towns and compared them to the two most un-affordable north shore towns.

I think a good equivalent to Framingham would be Peabody or Salem, and a good equivalent to Danvers would be Natick. With evenly matched towns the north shore ones are still slightly more affordable. Middleton/Topsfield are much more affordable then Wayland/Sudbury.

And Salem doesn't have horrible schools, it's just more diverse.
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Old 07-20-2018, 08:22 PM
 
3,176 posts, read 3,693,742 times
Reputation: 2676
Quote:
Originally Posted by tysmith95 View Post
And Salem doesn't have horrible schools, it's just more diverse.
On this forum, if it's not a top 10 school district, it's horrible.
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Old 07-20-2018, 08:25 PM
 
Location: Blackstone, MA
8 posts, read 6,254 times
Reputation: 27
Red face The Ocean Is so close...

The amazing thing about MA is that you are never more than 1 hour away from the ocean no matter where you are.

There are Universities all over the State.

A good website to look at for schools is: https://www.greatschools.org/massachusetts/

It really depends on where you live for the prices of homes.

If you split the state down the in thirds, you can almost do low-medium-high.

A 4 bedroom home can range from $250K-over $1M depending where it is in MA.

You have to do your homework to figure out what is most important to you to decide where to live.
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Old 07-21-2018, 03:51 AM
 
1,131 posts, read 1,260,374 times
Reputation: 1647
Actually, in W. Mass. you are definitely more than an hour away from the ocean. Wish that weren't true, but it is.
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Old 07-21-2018, 04:42 AM
 
Location: Newburyport, MA
12,379 posts, read 9,473,336 times
Reputation: 15832
Quote:
Originally Posted by tovarisch View Post
Actually, in W. Mass. you are definitely more than an hour away from the ocean. Wish that weren't true, but it is.
I think you need to be at least as far east as Worcester before you even have a shot at reaching the beach within an hour - and that's with no traffic and driving like a maniac.
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Old 07-21-2018, 07:31 AM
 
2,440 posts, read 4,834,313 times
Reputation: 3072
I’d look at the Worcester area. Cost of living is much more manageable than around Boston but you still have job opportunities. Worcester has things to do, some nice neighborhoods in the city and many good towns around it.
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Old 07-21-2018, 07:34 AM
 
317 posts, read 331,380 times
Reputation: 326
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dm84 View Post
On this forum, if it's not a top 10 school district, it's horrible.
Oh please, Salem schools are horrible. Would you send your kids there? Framingham is also diverse and has a pretty good school system.
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Old 07-21-2018, 07:55 AM
 
317 posts, read 331,380 times
Reputation: 326
Quote:
Originally Posted by tysmith95 View Post
You just picked the two most affordable metro west towns and compared them to the two most un-affordable north shore towns.

I think a good equivalent to Framingham would be Peabody or Salem, and a good equivalent to Danvers would be Natick. With evenly matched towns the north shore ones are still slightly more affordable. Middleton/Topsfield are much more affordable then Wayland/Sudbury.

And Salem doesn't have horrible schools, it's just more diverse.
As I replied to the person above, Salem schools are horrible and diverse, Framingham schools are good and diverse. Natick schools are also a good deal better than Danvers. To me affordable is not just comparing price but also schools and commute time, and of course there are some great school districts in the north shore but it is so annoying trying to get to Boston compared to the metrowest towns that it negates any decrease in price. I think Natick and Framingham as well as Holliston, Hopkinton, Southborough are some of the best bang for your buck towns in MA. Commuter rail, Mass pike, very good schools. I get that some people will pay a premium to live near the water, but I am not one of those people.
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Old 07-21-2018, 10:00 AM
 
9,909 posts, read 7,689,224 times
Reputation: 2494
We are just exploring areas for now.

Work shouldn't be an issue; yes know does depend where we land work. Once school is done should be easy to search out jobs in Mass then it is now!

Few people outside of this thread mentioned looking into Worcester. Only downside is I heard it snows a lot in Worcester and crime is a big issue in the City (Could easily live in the suburbs though.)

Love Salem area but seems wicked expensive!!! We prefer housing $300K or less for a 2bdrm. Can always rent for a little. Yes enjoy Salem & Marblehead. Do have to explore Cape Ann area a little. In Salem the school has an LPN to BSN program that works for the Wife.

Wife feels Berkshires are too far from the Ocean and too quiet.

Don't mind the Pioneer Valley outside of snow and very little water activities near by; though could be wrong!

Wife does like the South Shore, but feel it is a little rural. Have to explore more!

Do enjoy the Lowell/Andover area!

Appreciate the awesome feedback so far!
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Old 07-21-2018, 10:03 AM
 
Location: Westwood, MA
5,037 posts, read 6,919,512 times
Reputation: 5961
Quote:
Originally Posted by commonwealthre View Post
The amazing thing about MA is that you are never more than 1 hour away from the ocean no matter where you are.
.
You either aren’t very good at geography or have a jet.
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