Should We Move to Maynard? (Boston, Framingham: low crime, houses, neighborhoods)

[otismom]

My husband and I are looking for our first home. We are expecting a baby soon. We have found some houses in Maynard that we like, but I've heard conflicting reports about the town's reputation. I know the schools aren't that great, compared to the surrounding towns. I might be willing to let that go, knowing we'd move before our baby is school-age. But, does the town still have a bad reputation? Is it a good place for a young family to live? Safe? Clean? Good sense of community?

[ogre]

In order to give you an idea whether Maynard fits the bad image you've apparently gotten of the town, it would help to know what specifically you have heard about Maynard that supposedly gives it a "bad reputation." Without details about what you've heard, I can't be sure what to say about this supposedly bad reputation, but I can make a guess about why you may have heard something negative. In the past, Maynard has been a manufacturing town with a good percentage of its population haveing been blue collar. Though it's a small town, Maynard is also a bit on the urban side, meaning that most neighborhoods have detached houses, but the houses are close to each other, and yards are small. The housing stock is kind of old, so some neighborhoods may have a somewhat faded appearance. Most other towns in Maynard's vicinity are semi-rural and woodsy, and are home to affluent professionals, so, by contrast Maynard appears to be a little rough around the edges.

Whether Maynard would be a good fit for you depends on what you want. Maynard has a fairly active downtown for a small town, with some revitalization in recent years that has brought some restuarants and such, the kinds of businesses that appeal to the young professional crowd. The town is also small enough in area so that it's convenient to walk downtown from many neighborhoods. The ready access to a reasonably lively little downtown has attracted some young professionals in recent years, so that now the town's population is a mix of blue collar, basic middle class, and some yuppies here and there.

I don't know Maynard well enough to know whether the town has a close community feel, or many community-centered activities, but it appears that crime is not much of a problem at all. The City Data front page for Maynard shows the town to be very, very safe. The crime rate shown in the chart on the front page is about one tenth the national average.

I'm pretty sure that Maynard has always had a low crime rate. It used to be a plain but friendly town with a population that was a mix of blue collar and broadly middle class. Now there are some yuppies in the population mix, and the downtown has become just a little bit hip. (A little. It's not exactly like a hipster haven neighborhood in a big city.) Picture that population mix and that downtown, a really low crime rate, residential neighborhoods that are clean and solid but look a little on the old side, with single-family houses and small yards, and semi-rural exurban apple orchard kinds of towns in the surrounding area, and that's Maynard.

[vogue]

I do not know much about Maynard, but would caution you not to buy with such a small window in mind. 4-5 years from now you may find that you will not be able to trade up so easily, or be able to sell well at all. Also, by that time your kid will make friends, and you will make friends too, and it it will be much more complicated to move than you imagine now.

So, my unsolicited advice is, that regardless in which community you will buy, allow at least 7-10 years in the same house, because I doubt you will be able to break even and/or trade up easily. Those times are gone for a while now, unless you can afford most prestigious school districts. (They always sell well, even if slower pace). Good luck.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by vogue

I do not know much about Maynard, but would caution you not to buy with such a small window in mind. 4-5 years from now you may find that you will not be able to trade up so easily, or be able to sell well at all. Also, by that time your kid will make friends, and you will make friends too, and it it will be much more complicated to move than you imagine now.

So, my unsolicited advice is, that regardless in which community you will buy, allow at least 7-10 years in the same house, because I doubt you will be able to break even and/or trade up easily. Those times are gone for a while now, unless you can afford most prestigious school districts. (They always sell well, even if slower pace). Good luck.

Agree. Being able to sell a house quickly at an almost certain profit, despite having lived there for a relatively short time, was a function of a RE market going up rapidly. Without that rapid increase in prices, what you'd get for the house, if you're able to sell it, may well not be enough to break even.

[LincolnDad]

Hello.
Maynard is a great little town with a vibrant Main St. It is one of the few afordable towns in the area yet does not have the issues like Marlborough or Framingham. 5 - 7 years is ath eaverage homeownership in Mass. and represents a good chunk of tax write-offs and equity so I woudl not worry about reselling in that span. Also, we have already seen a few years of downturn so historically we may be in an upturn in 5 more years. I think it is a great choice and woudl only consider (North) Waltham as an alternative because the schools are better. Though in 5-6 years you may have more options.
Good luck.

[TomDot]

Maynard, Mass., crime report for 2008 - MassFacts - Boston.com (http://www.boston.com/news/special/massfacts/crime/towns/maynard - broken link)

Apparently one of the safest towns in MA.

[Happy in Maynard]

Maynard continues to thrive with the hiring of a new Town Administrator Michael Sullivan. In addition, voters demonstrate overwhelming support for the building of a new State-of-the-art High School:

Moving Maynard Forward - Bing


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDwp1WfRKbA

Thumbs up for new Maynard High School - Maynard, MA - The Beacon-Villager