Looking to move back to Boston area from CT (Peabody: apartment, rental)

[nouveau.mere]

Has anyone else moved back to Boston after fleeing? (We used to live in Arlington, MA and want to return to Arlington or a town near it.)

We left only one year ago and we don't feel that the home prices are great in towns that we want to live in CT (those that near the areas that we work in). We live in a rural area now and absolutely hate it.

Ironically, when we were home shopping in Mass., we seriously considered Littleton and some other towns near Rt. 2/495. Never would do that today.

We've learned so much about ourselves through this move and we're happy we don't have a lease or a mortgage to worry about although we will incur an unfortunate amount of moving costs and rental deposit costs.

If you've made such a move, can you help me think through what we should investigate so that we don't make the same mistakes? We honestly thought we had investigated things before we moved but I realize that we took shortcuts and ignored different signs.

I feel that in many ways CT is just as expensive as MA. We deal with outrageous utility costs and automobile gas prices. We are looking forward to selling one car and using public transportation to get to our jobs. My husband and I both have jobs in the creative industry so it's not an option for us to move to more inexpensive of the country. Not only do we like being near the city, we have to be near a city for our jobs.

***Can someone tell me what the going rate for daycare is in the area?***

Thanks for any thoughts you may have. I'm also looking for ways to reduce the amount of moving stress and plan things carefully. (For example, one thing I thought is that we want to move with even fewer things than we left with so we plan to consign, sell and donate items.)

We want to go back home.

Nouveau.Mere

[calvak]

I'm in NJ and moving back to MA at the end of May. All I can say is select a few areas and rent to make sure you like the city/town you are moving to. Try NOT to get into a lease. I have sold stuff on Craigslist. Be willing to part with A LOT of stuff. I am getting a POD. If you go to Home Depot, you can get 10% extra off. I do not have kids so I have no clue on the price of daycare. Good Luck!

[nouveau.mere]

Thank you very much. The PODs sound like a good idea. I've never gone without a lease from the start so I don't know how to go about getting into a place without one. I lived for almost five years in the same apartment in Arlington and after one year we had no lease. Our current lease in CT is also up and we are month to month but I have never gotten an apartment without a lease.

I imagine we will need a lease and need to have everything A-OK on paper because we also need a deleaded apartment for our baby.

Good luck with your move.

[calvak]

When I lived in Peabody MA - our apt was tenant at will. We agreed to give 30 days notice and put 1st/last down. We lived there for 4 years before we moved to NJ. Our landlord was an absentee kind but very nice. We loved the North Shore as there is where I grew up and my faimly lives. But the housing stock is too old and that we are looking more toward: Tewksbury, Billerica, Chelmsford, etc.

Try Craigslist or pick up the Globe for the apt listings. It's a great time to buy in MA. The opportunity of a lifetime opened up for us so we are thrilled.

I wish you the best and good luck! It's so great to be going HOME.