Within an hour of Marlborough (Worcester, Salem: apartment, to rent, low crime)

[ThinkingThinking]

Please tell me about the towns within an hour from Marlborough!

I would like to find a home on a few acres, near a town with a nice quaint walkable area, Somewhere we could go and spend a day puttering around, having coffee, etc. Farmers markets, good schools, low crime, and a healthy arts and music culture.

Ideally we wanted to move to Shelburne Falls, but were informed by his boss, that it was too far out for my husband to commute.

Towns we have found homes we like are: Barre, Charlton, Pepperell, Grafton, Sudbury, Sterling, Uxbridge, Hopedale, New Salem and Oxford

[Lowerdeck]

That is quite a bit of range there.

Barre is way up in the hills. Bad enough of a commute just to get to Worcester, all back roads and Route 122 mostly. Then in the winter - have fun. Most parts of town (if not all of them) are not within an hour of Marlboro, without traffic.

I had to look up New Salem on a map. This is too far out also.

I know where places like Pepperell, Hopedale, Sterling, and Uxbridge are. They probably aren't the greatest of commutes, Hopedale being the closest at roughly a half hour. I can't say much for the towns though, haven't even been to Pepperell and have not seen much of anything of Sterling or Hopedale.

Charlton is a nice town. So is Oxford. Charlton is on Route 20, Oxford is on 395. They're both about 10-15 minutes from Worcester, plus another half hour or so to Marlboro. Oxford has a nice town center area. Charlton is quite rural and up in the hills. With these two, you're close enough to Worcester to get a part of the culture scene there.

[Xenos]

You have a bit of a dilemma there. The logical thing would be to cleave closely to 495, as such highways are usually the top priority to keep clear in bad weather. Unfortunately, the housing bubble of the last decade has penetrated the middle section of 495, so you really have to go a ways north or south, toward Milford or Bellingham to the south, or Westford to the north. I can't think of anywhere that has the cultural vibe you were looking for, though.

IMO everything, and I mean everything, east of Worcester is still overpriced by at least 30% or so. A house you can rent in Westford, for example, for $1200 per month will cost $350,000 to buy. The nicer the town, the more extreme the discrepancy. I strongly suggest finding the town that you want to live in and renting until prices for buying a place become relatively sane. You might even want to rent a small apartment in Marlboro for daily life and go ahead and buy the house you really like in Shelburne Falls for your weekends and vacations.

[ogre]

You didn't say what your approximate housing budget is. If Concord is within your price range it's a town you might consider. Much of the town has open land where it might be possible to find some acreage, but the center of town and the West Cocord area are more dense and "walkable," so locations close to these areas would put you within easy reach of the more "walkable" kinds of commercial areas.

Other places you might consider would be Stow, and the South Acton section of Acton. These are some low-density, exurban areas which are next door to the more urban small town of Maynard.

[brightdoglover]

I can't think of anything that offers "a few acres, good schools and a music/art scene." I think it just doesn't exist, especially "a few acres." Sorry.

[ThinkingThinking]

Our budget is *probably* going to be around the 200-300k range, I think... unless I can get a job lined up before we move. We're not looking for hundreds of acres of land. Around 2 is fine. Enough for the dogs and kids, and some space between neighbors. Driving to arts and nice town areas is fine, I just want it to be a convenient option, and not an hour long excursion just to buy a gallon of milk or have coffee at a cafe.

[lawmom]

Oh, boy, in MA finding what you are looking for in that price range is not going to be easy...

[ThinkingThinking]

Really? I've found quite a list of places today... I was rather surprised. Its going to be difficult because we're coming from Houston, and even if we sell our current home at a profit, the disparity in home prices very large. We currently have a 1600 sq ft home in a very nice neighborhood which we bought 4 years ago for only 90k. We hope to make a profit when we sell, but I think we'll be lucky to break even. Houston didn't have the bubble like other cities did.

[lawmom]

I could be wrong -- I guess it depends on what size house and how nice a house you're looking at. And what towns -- I think you could find a house but not the stuff you want access to nearby. But I hope I am wrong! I'll be the first to admit that I know the Berkshires more than the areas you're talking about.

[Lowerdeck]

You're more likely going to be looking at central Mass., meaning the 395 or 190 corridors, and then driving inward towards Marlboro. Along 495 will likely be out of your price range.