Haverhill (Boston: houses, neighborhoods, tax)

[dnbnv]

Thinking about moving out east. What is Haverhill like? Houses seem very nice and the prices seem to be affordable especially in comparison to most of the surrounding area.

[Mass Exodus]

My mom grew up in Haverhill and my grandmother and the rest of my mom's family still live there. The nicest area of Haverhill is Bradford. That's probably where you're seeing the nicer houses. Prices are relatively inexpensive compared to surrounding towns because Haverhill is definitely a small city as opposed to a town, with some "inner city" neighborhoods and areas. My grandmother lives in a not-so good area, but she feels safe there and nothing bad has ever happened. Haverhill is getting better, particularly the downtown has been revitalized a bit in recent years, but I wouldn't seek it out as a place to live. A few years back it was given the distinction of "Most undesirable/ugliest town in Massachusetts." I wouldn't go that far, it definitely has some quaint and nice areas too.

[LagasseGreen]

I grew up in Haverhill and my parents still live there. It's an OK city but not much in the way of anything going on. Downtown is pretty dead with only small shops here and there if you can find parking. They built the parking garage at the wrong end of downtown in my opinion. Nights downtown aren't great either as there are only a few clubs. It is a great hub as you can hit the mountains in about 1 1/2 hours, beach in 1/2 hour, Boston in about an hour (depending on the time of day mind you), NO TAX NH right next door. Tax rate was good when I lived there do not know now as it's been 10 years.