I want to move to Mass but not sure where

[holden125]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Enjoy your "utopia" (wherever that may be) but I'll take my chances here on the "mean" streets of Massachusetts. I love this place.

It's an old and established state. It's not going to have the same growth numbers as the states in the sunbelt or out West (which without looking at the list I'm willing to bet are the fastest growing). It's common sense and no one's shocked. Just because it's not growing as fast as Arizona doesn't make it a bad place. It just means it's better established (and it is). Even Boston is showing positive growth according to recent census estimates. Personally, I'll take Massachusetts and Boston over the desert any day. When that population starts SIGNIFICANTLY declining, I'll worry. Until then, it doesn't mean anything.

Amen. Wyoming used to have three people and how it has nine. That's 200% growth.

[Jimrob1]

Originally Posted by holden125

What nonsense. Among the highest crime rates in New England. Which is only six states, half of which are very rural and sparsely populated.

Mass. does not have high rates of violent crime or homelessness compared to many states.

Nobody asked you to badmouth the place every chance you get. Plenty of us love the place and there are plenty of people who do want to move here, including the OP.

Im originally from Mass and live in Portland, Oregon. In my entire life of living outside of Boston, I never saw homelessness or crime like I see in this area of the country. I would not list Mass as having one of the higher homeless populations by a long shot. Expensive there yes, but belive me there are many places in the USA that are far worse places to live than Mass.

[DreamworksSKG]

oh and like who got us into this mess in the first place?
could it be mitt Romney? ..........(aha! Of course) hit the nail on the head. A republican governor messes everything up and leaves Deval to sort out the mess - and fix everything
seems quite similar to what Bush did for 8 years. - and is now leaving for Obama to fix up.
I'd rather have a sales tax increase than toll increases - or new tolls on 93. - or 128 or whatever - and/or a large gas tax increase

I think the majority of people unless you're 20 min from the Mass - NH border will continue to shop in Mass . -

Overall you might want to check out the Winchester area - or Arlington Heights. - Melrose and Wakefield are nice communities as well

Nahant is a nice coastal town though with small population - in winter
(more people in Summer)

South of Town you might check out - Hingham, Hull, Cohasset, Scituate, or even Quincy - (Hough's Neck area)

You could also look up on Cape Ann - around Marblehead, Rockport, Gloucester, Manchester , Beverly Farms., Prides Crossing (Beverly).

Metro West: You might look into Newton - Waltham, Concord, Bedford, Lexington, Burlington

South West of Boston you might check out Mansfield, Foxboro, Dover, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Stoughton, Wrentham.

[pbdyhcky189]

Whatever you do, I suggest staying away from Lynn. Marblehead and anything down on Cape Cod would be good.

[VlyRoadKid]

I'd avoid Cape Cod if you don't want the summer hassles of traffic and tourists! I lived in Newburyport for over a year and yes, it was well-kept and quaint, but in your price range, you're not going to find much that's very nice, house-wise. Of course, that's true of most coastal towns. Newburyport is also very class-oriented and divided. Though it has lots of tourist shops, there is almost nothing to do there at night, nor during the long, cold winters!

Gloucester is excellent, too, especially the beaches (unlike Newburyport's Plum Island). But again, anything near the ocean is upward of $800K, and that's for the basics.

If you're not completely insistent on coastal living, try the Connecticut River Valley (Amherst, Northampton area especially). Most of the towns there are well-kept and culturally rich, with laid-back, diverse populations, good schools and a nice mix of Yankee staidness yet liberal openness. You can always hop on Rte. 2 or the Pike and head to the North Shore or the Cape when it's warm, without paying a fortune to live there the rest of the year!

Just a thought...