questions about Methuen (Lawrence, Revere, Salem: for sale, real estate, apartment)

[SickOfRevere]

I live in Revere and will soon be getting married, hopefully starting a family, and want to move away from the city. My Fiance works in Wilmington, I work in my car from boston to So.NH

Am looking at the $250,000 to $275,000 range for a single family 3br house. And Methuen has some nice little homes in my price range.

As my screen name says I'm not a fan of living in Revere. My apartment is nice, and even my neighborhood, but going out food shopping or to get dinner, there are too many smelly people who get in my way.

And looking at the Youth around here, I would not want to start a family in such a dirty place.

Is Methuen a nice community to spend the next 30 yrs or will the same things bother me?

[smarty]

It takes a lot of $$$$$$ to clean things up and make it look nice.

There are a few indicators I use.... to determine niceness...
Resident's Education level
Income level (or reverse... % under poverty level)
Number of successful Prop 2.5 overrides (how much they care about education)

High unemployment rate will drive a town down to it knees very fast... no taxes... no $$$$... no service.... and then high foreclosure rate.... lower your property value...

Here's a website you can look at some of those statistics...
Mass.Gov

[Valerie C]

Hi Sick
Methuen has some very nice areas, and you could easily find a single family in your price range. You'll need to watch your areas very closely however. Methuen is located right next to Lawrence, which unfortunately has a bad reputation for drugs, gangs, etc. There is some spill-over in certain areas... IMO your best bet in Methuen is to stay to the west side of Route 93. Some really nice neighborhoods, and you're well away from the city elements that are cropping up on the east side. Here's a tip on Methuen: next time you go there, go to Thwait's Market and you'll want to become a resident

[SickOfRevere]

Originally Posted by Valerie C

Hi Sick
Methuen has some very nice areas, and you could easily find a single family in your price range. You'll need to watch your areas very closely however. Methuen is located right next to Lawrence, which unfortunately has a bad reputation for drugs, gangs, etc. There is some spill-over in certain areas... IMO your best bet in Methuen is to stay to the west side of Route 93. Some really nice neighborhoods, and you're well away from the city elements that are cropping up on the east side. Here's a tip on Methuen: next time you go there, go to Thwait's Market and you'll want to become a resident

Thanks Valerie. Methuen seems to be where I can get the most value for my dollar. I'll check out the market next time I'm near.

[rebekkak]

hi. we live in the Riverside section of methuen. it's just east of 93, near lawrence. our neighborhood is decent (no crime that i know of) but lots of lawrence people travel thru. recently a level 3 sex offender got out of jail & lives around the corner. i've been really pissed off about it. most of the other sex offenders in town live closer to downtown and/or the high school/elementary schools. i'd avoid anything near the spicket river, or anything that isn't uphill from the merrimack river (due to flooding). the neighborhood near the mormon church is the one of the best in town. the other really nice area is the hampstead st area - near salem, nh. good luck!

[DreamworksSKG]

Some other towns you might check out would be Billerica, North Andover, Andover, Tewksbury, Dracut, maybe even Windham NH, Salem NH.
or Pelham NH

Methuen is good in places too

try Real Estate, Homes for Sale - Zillow for current house market

[xCaptainMorganx]

I'm in a similar situation and would like your opinion and feedback. I'm not looking at houses but condos and I've found what looks to be decent value in the Colonial Village area, near the Loop, 213 and 495. Do I have blinders on? Trouble is I can't seem to find 100k-150k condos on the west of 93 as you've mentioned is a good area... not to mention, 93 is my favorite highway for other life/work reasons.

[brightdoglover]

If the OP is planning on a lifetime in a town and wants to raise children, I think the schools should be a question.