Live in mass work in RI? (Boston, Framingham: real estate, rent, new house)

[mom2gurls]

Our situation is a bit different. We have some choices (plano,tx, charlotte, nc and woonsocket, RI?)..go figure. We are from NYC..so we are used to high home prices and I love the idea that we could improve our quality of live by moving to one of the southern states.

However we have family in the NE and some in mass, so that is a consideration. As most families with young children, schools are our absolute priority. I am reading that RI, doesnt reallly have much in terms of stellar schools. But the possibility exists that we could still get a commute of about 45 minutes to woonsocket, in a great school system.

We are familiar with natick and framingham..but we are looking for new construction homes(will rent first)...but would eventually like newer construction areas or towns that are building newer subdivisions.

We like the subdivision feel, no rural. Shopping Malls and drugstores and grocery stores should be within a 10 minute drive.

Which towns and specifically which school districts should I look at.

From the guess of things, I was hoping for less expensive real estate, but it looks as though rhode island and mass are in about the NYC price range of real estate. (which is a bummer).

I would say on the high "stretch end" we could go up to 600k. But I was really hoping to keep it around 400k.

Funny, because in the southern states 400K gives you the house of our dreams.

BTW...salary is senior salary no matter where we live..it all comes down to the nitty gritty of the offers.

But we want to give the North East a fair shake as this is going to be more of a lifestyle move for us. (less stress, shorter commute time, more time with family)....and I guess the great news is that the position would be out in the burbs of providence, so commuting to major metro isnt the issue. I hope that works in our favor.

Also comparing the two winters...NYC and boston/RI...give me the good the bad and the ugly....is it colder?

Any words of wisdom from the New Yorkers who move up in that area?

[terrasurf]

Like anywhere, RI has it's share of suburban lifestyle, we don't really have shopping areas that rival Framingham or Natick, thankfully:-). RI just doesn't have the scale of development as you might find in FL, metro Boston, or NC. Have you ever been to Woonsocket? Not the nicest city, lots of run down areas. Boston is slightly colder than RI, which is slightly colder than NYC.

[mom2gurls]

Nope never been, but have been to natick plenty..so I guess I was hoping for a "natick type of town"...closer to woonsocket...

Any ideas? I dont mind natick..but worried about the commute...and well...while its good to live close to family....we dont need to live THAT close....LOLOLOLOL

[brightdoglover]

Winters are about the same as NY, I'd say. It's only four hours further south, at most (the city).
There aren't a lot of new houses and subdivisions anywhere around here. Not enough land. You might find something around Hopkinton and a commute down I-495- not sure how long it would be.
I don't think you'd be interested in Woonsocket-area school systems.
Best wishes.

[CaseyB]

Hopkinton would be the best recommendation if you want new construction and be close to Framingham/Natick. It's about 20 miles/35 minutes to Woonsocket. Hopkinton has very good schools, but it IS a lot more rural than a town like Natick, and new houses will be more than $400,000.

[AandD]

Most of the Boston suburbs have decent school districts. Greatschools.net is a good place to do some preliminary research. I hear there are some decent school systems in specific RI towns... I have kids with special needs, so I felt I was better served in MA.

I notice that you did say great schools were your priority... I would caution you that Texas lags far behind the majority of the country. (The big joke in Texas about the schools is: "at least we're not Mississippi or Louisiana"... the only two systems rated LOWER than Texas). If you ever need your school system to work FOR your kids (ie: special education, etc), the Texas is NOT where you want to be.

If you do give serious consideration to Plano (we just relocated here from Texas), Plano and surrounding areas probably have some of the better school systems in Texas.

[mom2gurls]

yes Plano is as that is where one of the offers are from. And we dont need to live near natick, it was just a town that I noticed that you can live and have your major and minor shopping as well. I dont want to have to drive 20 minutes to go school shopping!

[rdsox101]

As a native Rhode Islander who is currently living in NYC, let me first say this about the winters: they are not the same. NYC doesn't get nearly as much snow as RI/MA, though the frigid wind and temps are pretty similiar. Overall, New England is harsher in the winter.

Also, in regards to schools, RI does have a lot to offer. Places like East Greenwich and Barrington have stella public schools, not to mention the endless amount of great private schools around the state such as Bishop Hendricken, La Salle Academy, and Mount St. Charles.

Woonsocket isn't the best place to live, but working there should be fine. Don't be discouraged, New England is one of the best places to raise a family and build roots.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by rdsox101

As a native Rhode Islander who is currently living in NYC, let me first say this about the winters: they are not the same. NYC doesn't get nearly as much snow as RI/MA, though the frigid wind and temps are pretty similiar. Overall, New England is harsher in the winter.

I shuttle back and forth just about every week and I agree except I don't think I'd use the word "harsher." The temps are about the same, but this is the second straight winter the NYC area got hardly any snow while the Boston area was hit with a series of big storms. Personally, I much prefer the snow. If it's going to be cold anyway, I like having it broken up with snow and at least look like winter rather than endless gray. I find NYC and DC winters very bleak and would take the snow any day.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by mom2gurls

From the guess of things, I was hoping for less expensive real estate, but it looks as though rhode island and mass are in about the NYC price range of real estate. (which is a bummer).

I don't know where you live in the NYC area but I don't think there's any comparison in housing prices. From what I've seen a comparable house in the NYC area will invariably have a longer commute to the city and still be at least 40% more expensive than one near Boston or Providence, with property taxes at least 50% higher.

A lot of towns farther from Boston than Framingham are more on the rural side, but for a commute to Woonsocket, you might want to take a close look at Franklin, Mass.