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Old 06-01-2008, 08:12 PM
 
2 posts, read 6,484 times
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Does anyone have any suggestions on safe areas to rent a house around Salem, MA? We were thinking of somewhere in the middle of Metro west area and Salem (but we are open to other areas too), with max commute of 30 minutes to Salem.

We have a 2 yr old and want to be around neighborhoods that have young family communities and not just students or retired folks.

Also, we would like to have a garage- as we are spoiled with 2 car garage here in CA. Seems like no (or close to none) houses have garages in MA. It will probably be great to have a garage in those harsh winters there.

Thanks!
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Old 06-03-2008, 05:05 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
195 posts, read 648,425 times
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You are so stupid if you move from the beautiful California to the ugly, cold Massachusetts....
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Old 06-03-2008, 05:09 PM
 
Location: Tolland County- Northeastern CT
4,462 posts, read 8,018,408 times
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Massachusetts is beautiful actually, I find New Jersey less so, especially Northern NJ.

For the OP- actually many homes and condo's in New England and Massachusetts do in fact have garages.
Are you working in Salem? I would consider Andover, North Andover. Also nearby Peabody.
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Old 06-03-2008, 07:23 PM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,656 posts, read 28,659,091 times
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Don't forget Danvers -- I think that would be close enough, not sure.
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Old 06-03-2008, 08:23 PM
 
2 posts, read 4,554 times
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It isn't so much which town near Salem - it's which part of town. Avoid Lynn. Salem, Beverly, Danvers and Peabody are all nice, but you will find that for most of Salem it's the old saw about "you can't get there from here". From Beverly, the Beverly/Salem bridge is miserable in summer. From Danvers, it's traffic every step of the way. Parts of Peabody would be ok - but why not just find something in Salem? Plenty of families there.

Hamilton, Wenham, Beverly Farms, and Essex are all within about a 30 minute commute and are lovely communities if you can afford them.
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Old 06-03-2008, 08:25 PM
 
Location: Southern New Hampshire
4,643 posts, read 13,943,398 times
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Nice... real nice... Please don't judge Massachusetts by posts like that...

Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthNJ View Post
You are so stupid if you move from the beautiful California to the ugly, cold Massachusetts....
I think there are quite a few people on the Mass board and also the NH board who have moved from "beautiful" California to "ugly, cold" Mass/NH. Of course California is beautiful, but sure not for everybody...

Salem is nice, but it can get *really* congested, and can be difficult to get in and out of, at least that's been my experience.

Many houses, both old and new, will have garages, the exception being houses on small city lots. It's a good idea to rent to be sure you're in the right area for your family. Cities are not the "planned communities" that you may be used to in Cal, so it may be tough to acclimate yourself to a different lifestyle. Best of luck with your decision--Massachusetts has an awful lot to offer
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Old 06-04-2008, 11:00 AM
 
Location: in a house
5,835 posts, read 5,199,376 times
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Guess I'm stupid because I moved from SoCal last year and love it here. Many apartment homes offer garages for a monthly fee but it won't be two car. The older the home the smaller the garage if any. You'll have to get use to very small closets too. That's what I miss about California,closets,hehe.

What about Reading,Swampscott or Marblehead??
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Old 06-04-2008, 01:42 PM
 
Location: Pepperell
2 posts, read 6,133 times
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Default Re: Salem

I'm not all that familiar with Salem...it's been a few years since I was up that way. But I can tell you that it's nowhere near the center of MetroWest if you are trying to locate towards the middle of the technology belt. It's actually above what would be considered north shore, north of Marblehead, which is at the very end of rte 128. But Salem is very nice.

If you want to keep the commute to 30 minutes you really aren't talking much distance from Salem. The traffic in Mass is pretty bad. You are probably limited to staying within the Beverly-Salem-Marblehead area....nice location, however.

I moved from CA to mass myself last year. Other than a nasty winter it has been great. Decided to build a house and just moved into it.

Good luck!
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Old 06-05-2008, 08:23 PM
 
2 posts, read 6,484 times
Reputation: 11
Thanks a bunch everyone for the informative replies!

First of all: No, I am not stupid to be moving to MA from CA. It's lot more complicated than I can explain here - as it involves my husband's medical career and we want to experience living in New England for a year or so.

Secondly: Our plan intially was to move somewhere in-between MetroWest and NorthShore, so I could find a job in a software company. But, now we have to reconsider it as everyone mentions that traffic is just terrible there.

Also, are there any good websites with rental home listings, other than craigslist - boston and boston.com? Or any good rental communties in NorthShore, NorthWest, or MetroWest? Please help!

How is the commute from Burlington or Wakefield to Salem between 7-8 AM?
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Old 06-06-2008, 04:53 AM
 
Location: In my mind
630 posts, read 2,226,344 times
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There are a couple of great complexes in Bedford, MA. Heritage at Bedford Springs and Avalon at Bedford Center and then Avalon at Lexington Hills in Lexington. The first one I mentioned is on the border of Burlington and Bedford. I really like it, or course I currently reside there. I also moved from CA to MA in Oct '07'.

Best Wishes to you on your relocation
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