Gloucester/Cape Ann area. Advice please!! (Boston, Plymouth: real estate, rentals, homes)

[IDG375]

Well, I'm thinking of moving to MA and I have a few questions about the Gloucester area. I've visited a few times and found it to be absolutely beautiful, love the ocean town feel. I'm considering making a move to MA from NJ and was thinking of Plymouth Co, or Gloucester. Any advice/info on property taxes, commuting to Boston, best/worst places, pros/cons, etc? What about the politics, is it a more liberal or conservative atmosphere here? Anyone from Gloucester on the forums please feel free to email me with personal opinions/thoughts. thanks!!

[ScituateAl]

Welcome to MA!

Gloucester is indeed a beautiful town. A good friend of ours lives there with his family and is quite happy. There is a real old-time new england feel to it with commuter rail access to downtown Boston. Gloucester is still very much dependent on the fishing industry and while one reads about how it's about to turn the corner and be 'the' up-and-coming town, it still has yet to do so. Classic new england fishing town that, by default, is a little rough around the edges.

What type of housing or neighborhood are you looking for?

Good luck!

[IDG375]

As for neighborhoods I haven't really decided. I'm taking a road trip to Boston and the north shore in late August to check out the town and area more thoroughly. Any recommendations?

[sfosyd]

Where are you coming from in Jersey?

There is a ton of open space in Gloucester that is great for dog walking and there is a thriving little restaurant scene. Also, a great theater company. It's a beautiful place. The winters are not that bad and much less snow than other areas due to the water. The tough part is that Spring never seems to come....weather is not warm consistently until late May/early June but weather is perfect up until November.

Property taxes are extremely reasonable compared to Jersey and so is income tax. Commute into Boston is very easy and especially so if you are working North of the city. It took me 30 minutes to get to my office in Burlington when I left Gloucester at 9am. You don't hit traffic on 128 until you get to Peabody and the rush hours are very predicable unlike Southern California. Also, the tolls around Boston are minimal and train fares are much cheaper than Jersey.

I think Gloucester is consistently Democrat while neighboring Rockport is a bit more Republican. Gloucester is a very blue collar town and has some great real estate deals at the moment. I don't think the schools are very good in Gloucester but I think there is some sort of school choice program. Property taxes are lower in Gloucester than surrounding towns. Water and sewer rates are very high though, I believe the highest in the country.

Hope that helps

[brightdoglover]

(DIsclaimer- I don't live in Gloucester but have a good friend who has owned a 2-family in town and been there for almost 20 years).
The little theater company, so well regarded, unfortunately closed this year for financial reasons.
Longer-time residents, second generations and inheritors of former blue collar homes, are blue collar in outlook. There is a real working-class feel to things and social life and the schools, as far as I know. Gloucester has long had a heroin problem above and beyond its size, due to the ability to bring it in by boat.
My friend had never had trouble renting her one-bedroom, and says that people say there isn't any "decent" rental property. I don't know about anything larger than a one-bedroom, but certainly there are some high-end rentals due to the beaches, and some rentals that are only available for nine months due to the summer season.
Good Harbor Beach is gorgeous and big with parking. A wonderful place all year long.
Commuter rail to Boston is good if you work normal business hours. Don't know about off-hours and weekends.
The out-of-downtown areas are very pretty and anything on the river or ocean is magnificent, including public access places.
Sewer system was put in town-wide several years ago, and there was an hookup fee of several thousand dollars per household, even if the household was already on city sewer. I don't know if regular costs include a pro-rated payment for the city-wide system, but if so, that could account for some higher fees. If the fee was paid in a lump at the time, it wouldn't be in the regular fees.
Overall, I'd be happy to live there. If I had school-aged kids, I'm not so sure, but I also don't know that much about the schools. Certainly they aren't considered any kind of top-notch.

[IDG375]

Schools are not a real concern for us, but thanks for all the information. I look forward to our trip in late August so we can get a better sense of the town, maybe even talk to some locals or a realtor while we are there.

[DreamworksSKG]

There can be traffic in Boston ANY time of day, I've been in traffic jams downtown and on 93. and 128 at 12pm! of all times.

I would highly recommend NOT DRIVING into Boston from Cape Ann. There's commuter rail service from many of these towns _ take advantage of the easy ride. catch up on some sleep for 40 min while you go on the train into North Station and you wont have to worry about traffic ever. Its worth it!
You can choose to read the paper, drink your coffee, snooze a bit, or get the last minutes of the report typed up :-) most commuter rail trains have wifi now too (free)

if you drive into Boston every day and evening you'll waste gas $$ and be frustrated half the time, not to mention it'll drive you crazy
trust me

[IDG375]

Originally Posted by DreamworksSKG

There can be traffic in Boston ANY time of day, I've been in traffic jams downtown and on 93. and 128 at 12pm! of all times.

I would highly recommend NOT DRIVING into Boston from Cape Ann. There's commuter rail service from many of these towns _ take advantage of the easy ride. catch up on some sleep for 40 min while you go on the train into North Station and you wont have to worry about traffic ever. Its worth it!
You can choose to read the paper, drink your coffee, snooze a bit, or get the last minutes of the report typed up :-) most commuter rail trains have wifi now too (free)

if you drive into Boston every day and evening you'll waste gas $$ and be frustrated half the time, not to mention it'll drive you crazy
trust me

Oh trust me, I know exactly what you are talking about. I live in Middlesex Co, NJ, Edison/New Brunswick area which is about 30/40 minutes from New York City. We have the same headaches when it comes to traffic on the NJ Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, Route 1, etc. We have the trains that run into the city in about 40 minutes so we take advantage of that very well. I will probably be taking advantage of the commuter trains up there as well, if we find work in Boston that is.

[scarletfire]

What age are your children? I know there's a very small but well regarded little private school in town - Eastern Point Day School, and tuitions are way less than the larger private schools. It's grades pre-K through 8.

For other nice north shore towns with good schools you can't beat Marblehead or Manchester by the Sea - both lovely areas. Marblehead does have the tourists in the summer and Manchester by the Sea is smaller.

[scarletfire]

I agree with Dreamworks that the drive to/from Cape Ann can be a hassle.

Here's info on the commuter rail schedule: MBTA > Schedules & Maps > Commuter Rail > Newburyport/Rockport Line