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Hi folks, most of you know from my previous threads that I have a wife and baby and we are looking to buy a house in the Greater Boston area. My wife and I both work remotely but eventually I might start going into my company's office in Burlington 2x/week. Previously we had wanted to stay within striking distance of Boston/Cambridge, but our situation has changed and that is now less of a priority, which has us looking at towns just a bit farther out.
Our priorities are:
schools
town vibrancy – walkable parts, charm, restaurant diversity
our baby is half Indian and half Jewish, so some representation of both of those groups
From what I can tell both towns are priced similarly, in that you can get a very good 4-bed, 2.5-bath, 2500+ sq ft SFH for ~900K. This price point is much cheaper than other towns beyond the 95 belt including Carlisle, Concord, Wayland, Lincoln, Weston, Sudbury, and even Natick and Acton. Although I haven't yet visited I think both of these towns are supposed to be nice, so I guess the price discount is just because they are a little bit farther out from Boston?
I know Westford has top tier schools. Chelmsford schools are not quite at that level by the rankings but are still very good, from what I gather?
I am not sure which town has larger Indian or Jewish populations.
Again I have yet to visit either town but I believe Chelmsford has at least a somewhat walkable town center, and more restaurant selection. Also, Chelmsford is right next to Lowell which AFAIK is a full-fledged city with all that cities have to offer.
Also, Chelmsford being closer to Rt 3 offers a quicker commute into Burlington and Boston (I know I said proximity to Boston is less important but all else equal it is still a benefit).
Those of you who are more familiar with these towns – are these comparisons on the mark? What am I missing? And does either town have significant Indian or Jewish populations?
Based on my current understanding, I think I would lean toward Chelmsford. Although Westford has the edge in school rankings, my sense is that once you reach the level of "very good" then you really can't go wrong with respect to quality of peer group or teachers, so that on its own is not enough reason to favor Westford. And in terms of town vibrancy and connectivity Chelmsford seems to have Westford beat. If I'm right so far, then the biggest question remaining is about the Indian and Jewish populations.
Last thing I'll say is that we haven't decided for sure to land outside of 95. Our budget is 1.5M and while that can't buy us a great house in our tier 1 towns (Winchester, Belmont, Arlington, Lexington), it could get us something. That said, as much as the emotional part of my brain wants to stay inside 95 because I grew up close to Boston and there's something comforting about being close to a major city, financially I know that is a very stupid reason to spend up 600k more than we need to!
If you have kids, being close to Boston is probably not important at all. You won't have the time or desire to go to the fun places (for adults) anyway. You would want to have a big backyard, and no traffic near your home. On weekends you would be busy sending your kids to different classes, as parents in the metro west do.
Chelmsford is a comfortable place, with lots of places for shopping etc., and tax-free Nashua is close by.
However, traffic on Route 3 is extremely bad during peak hours. Basically from 4pm to 7pm, going north on Route 3 is painful.
Westford has much of what you are looking for~ I owned there for 17 years. A good number of Indian households with a smattering of Jewish people. (I am one). There is a temple in Chelmsford (Congregation Shalom) but none in Westford.
In my opinion, Westford has a far-prettier center and many more interesting neighborhoods-- heading out towards Carlisle and South Chelmsford, some really beautiful newer homes.
Also, if you haven't ruled out Acton, there are many more Indians and Jews living there with Indian specialty shopping as well as a synagouge and Chabad. You are correct that Lowell has much to offer, but is as close in miles to some parts of Westford as Chelmsford.
If you're looking in Westford or Chelmsford with a Burlington commute, why not Burlington itself? It has a large Indian population, a Temple, lots of dining and shopping, is basically inside 95, and will cut your commute to 10 minutes.
If you have kids, being close to Boston is probably not important at all. You won't have the time or desire to go to the fun places (for adults) anyway. You would want to have a big backyard, and no traffic near your home. On weekends you would be busy sending your kids to different classes, as parents in the metro west do.
Chelmsford is a comfortable place, with lots of places for shopping etc., and tax-free Nashua is close by.
However, traffic on Route 3 is extremely bad during peak hours. Basically from 4pm to 7pm, going north on Route 3 is painful.
Don't need a huge backyard but a modest one would be nice, and definitely no traffic near the home would be great. We do plan to keep our kid busy with classes and activities. Proximity to Boston/Cambridge is more about (a) proximity to Logan as my wife's family is international so we do a medium amount of flying and (b) proximity to tech companies in case either of our job situations ever change – although we might end up moving closer to Boston anways should we find ourselves needing to go in multiple days per week in the future.
Quote:
Originally Posted by babsd
Westford has much of what you are looking for~ I owned there for 17 years. A good number of Indian households with a smattering of Jewish people. (I am one). There is a temple in Chelmsford (Congregation Shalom) but none in Westford.
In my opinion, Westford has a far-prettier center and many more interesting neighborhoods-- heading out towards Carlisle and South Chelmsford, some really beautiful newer homes.
Also, if you haven't ruled out Acton, there are many more Indians and Jews living there with Indian specialty shopping as well as a synagouge and Chabad. You are correct that Lowell has much to offer, but is as close in miles to some parts of Westford as Chelmsford.
Sounds like I underestimated Westford! I'll do more research. We are also hoping to take a trip this weekend to visit both towns, and sounds like we should probably add Acton to the list. I was thinking Acton is priced a bit higher and so I was wondering if it is worth the premium, but I suppose it's not too much more expensive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robr2
If you're looking in Westford or Chelmsford with a Burlington commute, why not Burlington itself? It has a large Indian population, a Temple, lots of dining and shopping, is basically inside 95, and will cut your commute to 10 minutes.
Apologies for my post giving the misleading impression that these are the ONLY towns we are considering. Some others are still in play, including Burlington itself. That said, Burlington prices have really shot up this past year, I would estimate that a comparable house in Burlington is now ~200–300k more than in Chelmsford or Westford.
Even though our max budget is 1.5M, our purchasing power is based on our salaries much more than savings, and of course salaries are never guaranteed so we are definitely price conscious. We would still go up to our max budget for a house and area we love if everything is right, but a 300k difference in price works out to a ~$1,600–$2,000 difference in PITI and for us that is nothing to sneeze at.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie
I wouldn't choose either but speaking to your question and based on vibrancy and walkability I would say Chelmsford.
What are your reasons for rejecting both towns?
Last edited by thinkingotherthings; 02-28-2022 at 06:46 AM..
That said, as much as the emotional part of my brain wants to stay inside 95 because I grew up close to Boston and there's something comforting about being close to a major city, financially I know that is a very stupid reason to spend up 600k more than we need to!
I wouldn't call it stupid. People spend money on a lot of different things that other people don't place the same value on. It's good to recognize how much trade-offs cost.
Westford is a bit stuffy and Chelmsford gets stuffier by the day. Moreover, I prefer more vibrancy, greater walkability, and more diversity.
There is definitely a snob factor in Westford. In fact I might dare to say it leans towards the pretentious side. It's sad to hear Chelmsford is going that way too.
Hi folks, most of you know from my previous threads that I have a wife and baby and we are looking to buy a house in the Greater Boston area. My wife and I both work remotely but eventually I might start going into my company's office in Burlington 2x/week. Previously we had wanted to stay within striking distance of Boston/Cambridge, but our situation has changed and that is now less of a priority, which has us looking at towns just a bit farther out.
Our priorities are:
schools
town vibrancy – walkable parts, charm, restaurant diversity
our baby is half Indian and half Jewish, so some representation of both of those groups
From what I can tell both towns are priced similarly, in that you can get a very good 4-bed, 2.5-bath, 2500+ sq ft SFH for ~900K. This price point is much cheaper than other towns beyond the 95 belt including Carlisle, Concord, Wayland, Lincoln, Weston, Sudbury, and even Natick and Acton. Although I haven't yet visited I think both of these towns are supposed to be nice, so I guess the price discount is just because they are a little bit farther out from Boston?
I know Westford has top tier schools. Chelmsford schools are not quite at that level by the rankings but are still very good, from what I gather?
I am not sure which town has larger Indian or Jewish populations.
Again I have yet to visit either town but I believe Chelmsford has at least a somewhat walkable town center, and more restaurant selection. Also, Chelmsford is right next to Lowell which AFAIK is a full-fledged city with all that cities have to offer.
Also, Chelmsford being closer to Rt 3 offers a quicker commute into Burlington and Boston (I know I said proximity to Boston is less important but all else equal it is still a benefit).
Those of you who are more familiar with these towns – are these comparisons on the mark? What am I missing? And does either town have significant Indian or Jewish populations?
Based on my current understanding, I think I would lean toward Chelmsford. Although Westford has the edge in school rankings, my sense is that once you reach the level of "very good" then you really can't go wrong with respect to quality of peer group or teachers, so that on its own is not enough reason to favor Westford. And in terms of town vibrancy and connectivity Chelmsford seems to have Westford beat. If I'm right so far, then the biggest question remaining is about the Indian and Jewish populations.
Last thing I'll say is that we haven't decided for sure to land outside of 95. Our budget is 1.5M and while that can't buy us a great house in our tier 1 towns (Winchester, Belmont, Arlington, Lexington), it could get us something. That said, as much as the emotional part of my brain wants to stay inside 95 because I grew up close to Boston and there's something comforting about being close to a major city, financially I know that is a very stupid reason to spend up 600k more than we need to!
Neither is "vibrant". They are both firmly suburban residential. Chelmsford has a town core, but very few neighborhoods that provide walkable access. From the Eastern Reaches of Westford, it's just as close as the Southern reaches of Chelmsford.
Westford is a good bit more affluent than Chelmsford. It's more bucolic... Lakes, apple orchards, large houses on "country roads". It also has a larger Asian population.
Westford tends to see a lot of spillover prospective buyers along Rt. 2/495, and is more associated with the western suburbs. Chelmsford tends to see more buyers considering 95/3 towns, like Burlington, Billerica, Wilmington.
Overall, I prefer Westford. Just a prettier town with more natural amenities to take advantage. And as an aside, as I saw you call it out- Be it Craft Beer Cellar, Tiki Bar, Karma, Gene's, Buddy's, Wholefoods.. I'd argue Westford has the better food and drink.
Feel free to DM me for specific areas of Westford and Chelmsford.
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