Where would you live in Mass. if you were above 40 yrs, single, active, moving from Calif.? (Boston: schools, college)

[deerstar]

I am moving from Calif. April 1st.
Where should I live?
What town should I live in? I am over 40, single, happy, hike, bike, can't wait to see and live in all 4 seasons again...after 40 years....I do not have children to take to school or lives with me.....I do not have to be concerned about commuting. I will be exploring the areas....I do not want to live in the center of activity, I like a little more rural and then I go find the busy when I WANT TO ENJOY IT...Towns perhaps near the north, yes I love the water.

Is there any real reason I should not live in Clinton? as a landing place for 3mos until I get my bearings?

[lrfox]

I don't know enough about Clinton to speak either way about it, but I've never heard anything bad about Clinton.

I do think the Northampton would be a nice place to look. If not downtown, the area is nice. North Adams is situated nicely and has a great modern art museum in the center of town. It's in great proximity to outdoor activities.

Newburyport is right on the ocean (North Shore) and has an active town center, but it's close to many outdoors activities.

[CaseyB]

Older threads about Clinton here:

Clinton, MA--any info would be great!

Clinton, MA: Why are schools *so* bad?

[nelli]

Hi Deerstar, I am considering moving to Boston as well. I am moving from FL, we about the same age group. The difference is that I have kids. Is it possible we can keep in touch via e-mail?

I just thought that it will be great, because we are going to be going through similar changes. My e-mail is Nalinim@aol.com.

[brightdoglover]

Clinton isn't near anything, especially the North Shore. No reason not to land there if you have some good reason, but I can't see what it might hold for you, and it's a lousy drive to more ocean-like areas.

[scarletfire]

If you like to be near the water you could do Manchester by the Sea - a quiet small town near the ocean and it's nearby more bustling areas like Marblehead, Rockport & Salem for when you want more action. There's tons of parks, beaches, beautiful places to bike around there.

[SDG]

Clinton is not the place to be, trust me -- I used to live in a town called Harvard which is close by. Clinton's only real known quality is that it used to hold claim to greatest number of bars per sq capita. Otherwise, its a depressed mill town that will not offer you much more than a DQ and a few places to drown your sorrows. I don't know where in CA you are coming from (or why) but having lived in Hermosa area for several years, you better brace yourself for the tortures of being enslaved to indoor life for 6 months of the year. That aside, the North Shore is probably your best bet. As stated earlier: Marblehead, certain areas of Salem and/or Beverly, maybe Swampscott -- than skip up to Newburyport. MHD/Salem/Beverly/Swampscott are all about 25 miles by car to Boston, relatively quiet (MHD being the most) easy trip to airport and provide ample forms of public transportation. The vibe is fairly decent, its coastal (but forget about swimming w/o a wetsuite ;-) and there's a good mix of of farms/hiking/athletics etc. In general, if you head west of the 495 beltway, prepare for some serious alone time. Unless you dip into a College town out that way (which is basically Amherst area) -- most of towns are established family suburbs and very quiet. As a single person and in your 40s, I think you will find the diverse mix of what you desire and more like kind inside within 95 belt area period. You might also consider Portsmouth, NH area as well. Good luck!

[clevedark]

There are lots of decent towns on the water. I'm more familiar with the South Shore, but there's Scituate, Marshfield and Plymouth to look at down there, for example. You're closer to the Cape if you go south. I had a carpenter once who moved from Martha's Vineyard to the South Shore for some peace and quiet.

[dely8]

newport ri would be a nice place for you...

[DreamworksSKG]

I'm biased because I live here,

But Winchester is a great town --or Arlington :-)

Winchester is a bit pricey though but deals can be found :-)
easy access to 93-128 and 2 commuter rail stops in town

Lots of services in town and within 15-20 min drive

-- Jeff--

Winchester, MA

P.S. we have a great volunteer organizations in WInchester and people are really involved in town affairs.
its a cool community to be a part of where people care about their community

we also have neat events each year like Town Day, Summer Concerts on the common and Movie nights, Tree Lighting (Holidays), and Enka Fair.

check it out :-)

We have a great forest (Middlesex Fells with hiking trails right in our backyard)
and another good walking area, Horn Pond just across the line in Woburn