What city or town would suit my family? (Boston, Worcester: real estate, apartment)

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by Coastal_habitat

Thank you, CapeCodder. Yes, we've considered Maine, absolutely. Is that where you currently live? (if you don't mind me asking).

I think ME is a blue law state, right? Anyway, thanks for the recommendation. I think we're very confused as the whole New England area seems so beautiful, and each state is so unique in its own way! But something ME might offer is cheaper housing options, right?

My only concern about ME -and I'm sure I might be wrong on this one- is the cultural diversity... I don't expect to find a replica of the Bay Area, of course... just to be able to feel my family and I don't stick out too much, I guess. Also,having my child accepted in school for his cultural background is something that worries me (as any other parent, of course, and with the understanding that there are no guaranties for anything just by moving to a certain place!)

Thanks again.

Yes, I just moved to ME last year from MA.

ME in general is very white...but I believe Portland's much more diverse.
Housing will most likely be cheaper than Boston's suburbs.
I totally understand your worries about your child, and I wish I could comment more on the schools. Maybe you could make a post over on the ME forum and see what feedback you get.

I've found the people of Maine to be wonderfully accepting, as are the people I've known in Mass.

Can you tell I love New England?

I really hope you find "home" soon...would love to have you for a neighbor!

[masalamomma]

We are also moving from Texas to MA next month - we are in Dallas. I also had more than sticker-SHOCK when I looked into what I could get in MA for what I could afford/wanted to spend, so we have decided to rent for a year. My husband started his job in Boston almost 6 weeks ago, and EVERYONE at work tells him the best place for families is Lexington. There were no apartments to be had in Lexington, so we ended up in Newton, which is also excellent for families we hear.

I made the mistake of rushing and buying a home here in Dallas, that I ended up hating. And I am someone who definately tries to learn from past mistakes.

Good luck with your research.

[TheWereRabbit]

The Packys (which is what liquor stores are called here) used to be closed on sundays but they changed that a few years back. So, most things are open and I don't think are any formal blue laws left but many stores close on Sunday anyways. Anything important is open though.

Any suburb of Boston will be welllll within an hour drive from the ocean

[Mark8251981]

This is a biased recomendation because i grew up there, but i would recommend Hingham Mass. It is on the water and is right near Nantasket Beach in Hull, and closer to Cape Cod then the north shore or the western suburbs. There is a jewish temple on Main Street. I have lived in both the western suburbs(Lexington Belmont) and Hingham and I would have to say that the quality of life is definately better on the South Shore. People are friendlier and do not drive as aggresivly, you are farther away from the city near the water and there are many parks and recreational areas minutes away. Hingham an easy commute to Boston either by commuter boat or T. There are many great restaurants and a good public school system.

[Coastal_habitat]

Thanks for all the recommendations. We'll try to visit all the places you guys have mentioned. We're also going to CT (we're flying to Hartford) so hopefully there will be enough time to see enough to get a rough idea of how it is...

Any key places you think we should visit, not necessarily as tourists (which we are anyway) but also to get a real feel of how life is in MA?

Thanks again to all...!

(Masalamomma, good luck with your move as well. I wonder if you picked your name because you happen to be a huge Indian films fan like me ~ sorry for going off topic!)

[Kelticnomad]

Hello a few tidbits of information, its hard to get everything you want but that being said, I've discovered the beauty of Gloucester and Magnolia (section of Gloucester)...comment on Portland,Maine very diverse, similarities with your place in CA..worth a look good luck Keltic

[MissMee]

We live in Mansfield, which is smack in the middle of Providence and Boston and at the "intersection" of 95 and 495. It's not the most beautiful town like Lexington or the like, but it is perking up. The schools are excellent - I'm a former teacher in both TX, NH, and MA and have no complaints. My kiddos are getting a great education and really like their schools. There are some very nice neighborhoods full of kids of all religions and colors, and there are some cute older homes on the main roads if you don't care about neighborhoods.

A new "lifestyle" center was just built. It has the typical stores - Kohl's, LLBean, Talbot's, Michaels, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Linens n Things - as well as some restaurants. A huge outlet center is a couple of exits up - Wrentham Village Premium Outlets.

There are a couple of apartments and some condos around the center of town. One set of condos is brand new and look pretty cute. There's a large paved walking/biking trail that runs through the town, and Borderland State Park is next door in Sharon/Easton. "Auto Mile" is just up Rt. 1, which would be a great place for your hubby to find a job. The football stadium is also next door in Foxboro, and there are some nice shops going in there - Christmas Tree Shop, Bass Pro, a huge movie theater, and many others. Many beaches within close driving distance as well as a private pool club in nearby Plainville/Wrentham area.

House prices aren't too bad here for such a good location, IMO.

[love2driveinct]

Funny, I was just going to suggest that you also look into CT, then I saw that you are already planning on it. CT still has Blue Laws -- no alcohol and no autos are sold on Sundays. (I don't know how long the alcohol one will last, though; there has been a push to change it for years.)

I've noticed that many of the towns here are very progressive when it comes to trash collection and recycling, going so far as to have mandatory recycling and charging per bag of trash to encourage you to recycle every little thing you can.

I grew up in MA (15 yrs) and have lived in CT for 10. They are very similar in a lot of ways, and one thing they have in common is how different various areas within the same state can be, as you've obviously picked up based on the other posts. With CT, there are some geographical differences that affect how it "feels" -- in Eastern CT, you feel like you are more part of the metro-Boston/metro-Providence area. In central CT, you are metro-Hartford, and obviously in Western CT you are metro-NYC. The shoreline towns have their own distinct "feeling", but still lean a little towards their closest city.

You might want to check out the CT board for more specific answers, but off the top of my head I'd say you definitely want to look at West Hartford while you're up here. Great schools, walking/biking town, diverse, good restaurants, right next to Hartford, etc. It's no more than an hour to the coastline from there.

If you don't feel like being near a big city is a priority, there are a lot of wonderful shoreline towns and areas I could recommend (like Groton -- diverse, good schools, affordable housing), but it sounds like you would like to be near a major city for all that it has to offer.

No one can blame you for wanting to live near Boston, since my hubby and I are currently considering relocating there ourselves.

Good luck with your search!

Edited to add: Oops, it looks like I am somewhat misinformed regarding CT's blue laws... apparently there are some exceptions that I wasn't aware of. All I know is that around here, in this part of CT, we can't shop for a new car on a Sunday and we go to MA if we want to buy liquor on a Sunday! lol

[Another Pocono Transplant]

I'd recommend Acton, Burlington, or Billerica. Far cheaper than Newtown, but still great communities close to everying. Chelmsford is also worth researching.

[Another Pocono Transplant]

Randolph, Norwood, Dedham, and West Roxbury.