Moving to MA from Europe (Boston, Lowell: apartments, condos, how much)

[Blighty]

I know this has probably been asked a million times and sorry to probably be repeating something but here goes:

We are moving to the Boston area this winter. I am from the UK, my Wife is Swedish and we currently live in Southern Spain. We are actually looking forward to "the seasons" and yes you can get bored of the sun, especially when, as now, it is around 37c in the shade!

Anyway the the reason for the posting is to get as much advice as possible on towns.

Our criteria is:

1. Within 45 mins of Boston centre
2. In a "nice" town of at least 15,000
3. With a downtown area of shops, restaurants etc
4. Great public schools - 2 boys of 8 & 10
5. Good walks, trails.
6. Good community spirit

I know that towns such as Newton, Wellesley, Concord, Lexington etc more or less fit this profile but is there anywhere that I am missing? Ideally we would like somewhere like these towns but with lower property prices.

I have seen a few negative posts on Acton and this area does appear to be a little too rural.

What about places like Peabody, Salem etc. North of Boston

We are coming over on a recce end of August so any advice appreciated.

[gamecock43]

Lowell is about 35 min to the city limits, it has a very 'new england' feel because it borders on the new england country-er towns, but the town of Lowell itself has alot going on. Many shops and resteraunts. There are many old factory buildings converted into office space and condos. They host a Red Sox minor league baseball team. It has a trendy urban feel, but is much more affordable than cities closer in to Boston.

[CaseyB]

You might like Hingham. Town of Hingham Massachusetts, Incorporated 1635 - About the Town

It meets all your criteria, plus it's on the ocean. Very historic, good schools, public transportation to Boston via commuter rail or ferry. Prices are probably a bit lower than the other towns you mentioned.

[Blighty]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I see Lowell is close to Chelmsford, which looks interesting.

Very good public schools are really important, so my wife will be researching that side of things, so again any help much appreciated.

Just been looking at schools in the Salem area and they look as though they are pretty bad. Is this really the case?

Thanks
Blighty

[MAtoNC!]

Yes, the schools are bad in Salem. Good schools in that area are Swampscott, Marblehead, and Lynnfield.

[patsfan63]

Hi Blighty,

Have you ever thought about moving a little more south? I live in Somerset Ma, and it's a nice little town. It's about an hour from Boston.
I believe the population is about 28,000, a little, more than what you
wanted, but, I think it's worth it.

I don't know if you have any children, but the school system is one
of the best in the region. It's pretty much all single family homes
if that's what you're looking for, but there are a few apartments
no too many though.

Somerset is pretty smack dab in the middle of Cape Cod, and Newport,
so it dosen't really take too long to get anywhere. There are nice resturants and shopping and we have a huge selection of outlets,
from shoes and clothes to furniture and rugs.

Well, I hope I have kinda sorta helped you,

Take Care,
Patsfan63

[Blighty]

Thanks Patsfan63 for the advice.

We want to try and stay around the Western side of Boston if possible. Anyone have advice on the Holliston area?? Is this also really rural??

Thanks

[Sistina]

It seems like Arlington might fit the bill. That's where we've decided to move to when we relocate to MA. We had similar requirements.

[pondhopper]

Holliston has a very good school system, is very rural, small downtown, very traditional New England quaint and you would get a good value on houses. It would take about an hour to Boston.
Hopkinton also would be nice though the schools aren't quite as good as Holliston and it has a smaller downtown. Hopkinton has LOTS of parks and land devoted to walking/nature and is very family friendly. About 45 minutes to Boston.
Southboro and Westborough are two other areas with Southboro being the nicer of the two - no downtown to speak of but you can quickly get to Westborough which has everything you want. Both are 45 minutes to Boston. Just some thoughts!

[jayrandom]

Do you want 45 minutes to Boston on public transit or driving? Both? Will the driving be during rush hour? Hopkinton, for instance, is 45 from Boston without traffic, but could be more with traffic. If you're only interested in visiting, it might fight the bill, but if you're looking to commute it could be a bit further than you're hoping for. If you're looking for 45 minutes by public transportation that is the most restrictive--meaning you have to live reasonable close and near an easy form of public transit. 45 minutes by car without traffic is the least restrictive.

How much less expensive than those towns are you looking for? How excellent do the schools have to be? There are a lot of trade offs, mainly between distance from Boston, quality of schools, and cost. It seems that you are still looking for a good town, so I'll just throw out other towns that come to mind--loosely based on the towns that I just looked at (we were trying to be 30 minutes from South Station by public transit).

You could probably add Winchester and Belmont to the list with Lexington--everything you're looking for, well inside the 128 loop, but quite expensive. Winchester I would say has better walking access--it's right next to the beautiful Middlesex Fells (which is a big hilly park). Both have top ranked schools.

Someone mentioned Arlington--that is a less expensive, slightly more urban alternative to Lexington and Belmont. It is even closer to the city and has generous public transportation opportunities. The schools don't seem to be as highly ranked as Lexington, say, but all indications are that they are very good.

Slightly further and with less well ranked schools are Wakefield and Melrose (both are in 128). Both have easy commuter rail access to downtown. Both have walkable parts and Melrose is on the other side of Middlesex Fells from Winchester. These are definitely more affordable. Reading and Lynnfield (a separate town from the city of Lynn) have more well regarded schools but are further out still.

Needham has very good schools, a cute town center, reasonable sidewalks, commuter rail right to downtown, and is located just south of Wellesley (the two used to be one town, many years ago). It's a bit less expensive then Wellesley, but in the same ballpark, so may still be too expensive. Further south still, Westwood is even less expensive than Needham, but lacks a nice town center. Westwood has a some very nice nature trails.

I'm sure there are other towns that meet your criteria that are further out--but those are some of the towns North and West of Boston but still relatively close that fit all or most of your criteria. Good luck!