Work in Stoneham, live where? (Lexington, Acton: job, traffic, communities)

[brightdoglover]

Littleton chiming in here. Westford is a fine town, as is Acton. It's just my impression that the commute during business hours is bad. I've never done it myself.
For that matter, Littleton is a great town, too (right between Westford and Acton). Very family oriented, small town rural background and still some feel, lots of public land, and not a materialistic super suburb kind of place. Concerns about the commute are the same as Westford, though.

[love2driveinct]

Originally Posted by suzy q

why not move to stoneham excellent schools nice town

Although I've never been there, I'll take your word for it that it is a nice town. MA has so many nice towns, really.

But I am shooting for top 20% school districts (for now, at least), so I've had to eliminate a few nice towns, and that includes Stoneham.

My hubby is looking at positions all over the Boston area, so I've been looking at a long list of towns depending on where he eventually ends up. I'm trying to narrow it down to a few in each area so we know what we are getting ourselves into if & when he is considering an offer.

BTW, thanks everyone! I knew I could count on you to be supportive and offer insight. Any other comments or suggestions, feel free to add them.

[love2driveinct]

Originally Posted by Asta

I personally will do anything to have to avoid driving on 495. Traffic moves along, but the few times I have driven it, it has been bumper-to-bumper tractor trailers. Last time I did it, I said I would never do it again. I used to live in Stoneham, and drove to Chelmsford often. Even today when I am commuting from Vermont to Maine, I will take the longer route in order to avoid 495. IMHO. Although you may be a braver soul that I!!!

Hmm... that's definitely something to think about Asta. We have no experience with this road. I've done a lot of traveling on Rt 3, 93, 95, 128, and 290, but not on 495. But years ago I did commute into the Washington DC area on Rt 95, I wonder how that would compare?

Anyway, thanks for mentioning it. Hubby and I have agreed that before any contract is signed on a house he will actually have to test run the commute!

[love2driveinct]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Littleton chiming in here. Westford is a fine town, as is Acton. It's just my impression that the commute during business hours is bad. I've never done it myself.
For that matter, Littleton is a great town, too (right between Westford and Acton). Very family oriented, small town rural background and still some feel, lots of public land, and not a materialistic super suburb kind of place. Concerns about the commute are the same as Westford, though.

Thanks brightdoglover... I was "wondering" if you're from Littleton, lol... I do like everything I've seen and heard about Littleton, and the fact that it has a commuter rail stop is a plus, too. It is unrealistic to think that the next job my hubby takes will be his last, so it would be nice to have "options" down the road if he needed to commute to Boston.

We are definitely people who don't like the "keeping up with the Joneses" kind of pressure. Sometimes we'll fall in love with a "fancy" town, only to find that we can't find a house we can afford and/or like. Then later we realize it's really for the best since we probably wouldn't have liked the added pressure of living there. LOL

That is why towns like Littleton, Stow, Bolton, & Westford appeal to me. Should we end up further south, I tend to gravitate towards Southboro, Northboro, Medway, Norfolk, Franklin, and Wrentham.

Sorry to digress, but thanks for listening!

[brightdoglover]

Littleton could suit you very well.

I used to drive from Littleton to Malden for my night shift job, meaning in the morning I'd be coming south on 495, first past Stoneham on 93. The traffic going the other way was a nightmare- you could walk on the hoods of cars from southern New Hampshire to Boston. The traffic (south) on 495 was managable- the major traffic seemed to be focused on getting to and from 93. I actually quit the job when the facility moved to Everett, only a few miles further in, but would have involved rush hour traffic on Rt. 1.
I cannot speak more clearly about avoiding 93 south at rush hour mornings. I-495 south isn't so bad, although people drive like drunken ferrets, very dangerously so. It was really a white-knuckle drive because of the speeding, weaving, and tailgating. I think too many people have long commutes (housing/job location issues) and speed to make it. Maybe it's better now that gas costs so much.
Again, I heartily recommend Acton/Littleton/Westford, although I think Littleton is the most modest of the towns. Data point, a co-worker sent his kid to school in Westford and said there was a great deal of materialism among the kids- getting an SUV for 16th birthday, etc. But the school was good. Most kids from Littleton High go to college, some local, some not. I think it's a great town, with two exits for 495.

[Skwidy]

I grew up in Stoneham (mom still lives there near Spot Pond), and just moved to Lexington from Acton with my family. Maybe I'm a bit biased, but I think the traffic from anywhere North/West would be horrid. Local roads would probably be best. Where in Stoneham would you be working? Because 28/Main St can get pretty nasty at times too.

I'd recommend one of the nicer areas of Medford, or as someone earlier mentioned Melrose. If youre looking for a more rural feel, Reading has great schools, is ok affordability-wise, and is just north of Stoneham.

As for your family in CT. How often do you visit them? And where in CT are they? My mom is from Vernon, CT, and visits her best friend there on at least a monthly basis. It takes about 75-90 minutes from Stoneham to get there...so not too bad. I also ask because my wife's family is from NJ, and we too considered towns that had easier access to 495, but I can say that moving from Acton to Lexington (about 12 miles closer to Boston and from 495 access to 128 access) really hasn't significantly added to the length of the trip. Again, maybe I'm just a bit biased. Good luck in your decision, and if I can answer any more questions, I'd be happy to do so.

[love2driveinct]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Littleton could suit you very well.

I used to drive from Littleton to Malden for my night shift job, meaning in the morning I'd be coming south on 495, first past Stoneham on 93. The traffic going the other way was a nightmare- you could walk on the hoods of cars from southern New Hampshire to Boston. The traffic (south) on 495 was managable- the major traffic seemed to be focused on getting to and from 93. I actually quit the job when the facility moved to Everett, only a few miles further in, but would have involved rush hour traffic on Rt. 1.
I cannot speak more clearly about avoiding 93 south at rush hour mornings. I-495 south isn't so bad, although people drive like drunken ferrets, very dangerously so. It was really a white-knuckle drive because of the speeding, weaving, and tailgating. I think too many people have long commutes (housing/job location issues) and speed to make it. Maybe it's better now that gas costs so much.
Again, I heartily recommend Acton/Littleton/Westford, although I think Littleton is the most modest of the towns. Data point, a co-worker sent his kid to school in Westford and said there was a great deal of materialism among the kids- getting an SUV for 16th birthday, etc. But the school was good. Most kids from Littleton High go to college, some local, some not. I think it's a great town, with two exits for 495.

Thanks so much for the input; it does sound like a commute that he wouldn't really want to make, so we'd have to think about it pretty seriously. He has also been looking at positions in the Lexington area, so Littleton would probably be a good commute for those.

To be honest, when he first mentioned a position in Stoneham, I said NO! Not the North Shore!! LOL Nothing against that area, but it just makes it that much harder for us to find a place to live...

[love2driveinct]

Originally Posted by Skwidy

I grew up in Stoneham (mom still lives there near Spot Pond), and just moved to Lexington from Acton with my family. Maybe I'm a bit biased, but I think the traffic from anywhere North/West would be horrid. Local roads would probably be best. Where in Stoneham would you be working? Because 28/Main St can get pretty nasty at times too.

I'd recommend one of the nicer areas of Medford, or as someone earlier mentioned Melrose. If youre looking for a more rural feel, Reading has great schools, is ok affordability-wise, and is just north of Stoneham.

As for your family in CT. How often do you visit them? And where in CT are they? My mom is from Vernon, CT, and visits her best friend there on at least a monthly basis. It takes about 75-90 minutes from Stoneham to get there...so not too bad. I also ask because my wife's family is from NJ, and we too considered towns that had easier access to 495, but I can say that moving from Acton to Lexington (about 12 miles closer to Boston and from 495 access to 128 access) really hasn't significantly added to the length of the trip. Again, maybe I'm just a bit biased. Good luck in your decision, and if I can answer any more questions, I'd be happy to do so.

Thanks for your input also, although I have to admit, I'm still trying to figure out what your subject heading means...

The position he was looking at was right off 93, I think on Montvale Ave. But right now I'm about at the point where I want to tell him to forget it!! lol

As far as Medford and Melrose, I can't really consider them because of the schools, and I think Medford is too urban for us, also. Reading is ok, but for some reason I just can't get excited about it. But it's not "off the list", lol.

As far as family goes, right now we have both our moms within 30 minutes, so as you can imagine we see them each at least once a week. Then there's the extended family who are all 40-50 minutes away and we see them once a month or so. Christmas Eve is at our house, we have big parties for the kids' birthdays, one relative has a lot of picnic/pool parties in the summer, you get the picture. So I guess what I'm saying is that we'd like to be no more than 60 min to the closest relative (near MA border), so that would keep us at 1 hr 45 min to the farthest relative (CT shoreline).

Nice to know that I'm not the only one considering these things, since you have done so, also. And I do understand what you're saying about a few minutes here or there -- where we live, send our kids to school, go to church, make friends, & contribute to our community on a daily basis is definitely much more important than how long it takes to get to so-and-so's family BBQ. But it is still a factor to consider, enough for me to keep reminding my hubby to stay away from those north shore companies! lol

All in all, it seems like riding the commuter rail is the best deal around. Boston traffic has never been great, and continues to get worse. (Of course, I'm from the South Shore where the entire summer is a nightmare on Rt 3.) Any company located downtown or near a rail or T stop is at the top of our list!

[gayleward]

Have you considered Carlisle? As a Real Estate Agent in MA, and Carlisle is very highly rated. They have more money allotted per student than the average city in the state does. Hope this helps!

[love2driveinct]

Originally Posted by gayleward

Have you considered Carlisle? As a Real Estate Agent in MA, and Carlisle is very highly rated. They have more money allotted per student than the average city in the state does. Hope this helps!

Yes, I did check out Carlisle, and obviously they have top-notch schools. But it looked comparable to Lexington or Wellesley as far as finding a satisfactory house on our budget (nearly impossible), so I had to cross it off the list.

I'm sure you know, being an agent, that every family has specific things they are looking for, and of course it varies from buyer to buyer. I don't know if you saw some of my earlier posts, but I mentioned that besides really good schools, we want to find something that's not a total and complete change from what we have now -- 6-yr-old 4br colonial on one acre in a nice subdivision, in a fairly rural suburban town.

I am glad to hear you have been happy with Franklin (I saw your post on another thread), since that is one of the towns that has been on our list since the beginning. I took a drive out there in April and checked out a bunch of neighborhoods, even popped in a few open houses, and I liked what I saw. As a family of five, I think we would really appreciate and enjoy all that the town has to offer.

But of course, to be smart, we have always tried to keep from limiting ourselves to just one town, since that can make it more frustrating and difficult to find a house.

Thanks for your input.