Moving MA boston area????? (Weymouth, Plymouth: condo, how much, townhome)

[jzmpf]

[FONT=Verdana]We currently live in Morrisville, NC (near Raleigh/Cary) we live in a beautiful townhome and we are accustomed to new. We are relocating for my husband’s job as an airline pilot based out of Logan. We need to have quick convenience to the T and or the airport. It will be a hard move because we really like our house in NC. I am a teacher so I need a good school system. I would really like to build new. I would sacrifice new for old quintessential New England, though. We have a budget depending on how much remodeling we need to do from $350-$450. Our max would have to be perfect. We would love a single home, with a yard in a good school system, near the T line. I know we may be asking a ton, but would love advice.[/FONT]

[ogre]

It's going to be tough to find a nice place within your budget anywhere near Logan. In the past I've seen people recommend locations north of Boston to those wanting access to Logan. However, given your housing budget, one town I'd suggest giving a close look is Braintree. You'd need to be okay with suburban living, as Braintree is very suburban in character. Nice pleasant town that does not have quite the exorbitant housing prices of many Boston suburbs, and it's on the T, though there would be a transfer involved in a trip to Logan.

[Susana Murphy]

Hello jzmpf,

Ogre is right, as someone that relocated from St Louis to MA 11 years ago also looking for New construction I was shocked to see the difference in price. The North shore is generally more expensive that the South Shore, so if $450,000 is tops and you are looking for something New I would definatelly go for the South Shore. Braintree and Weymouth both have T they are very close to the city but not a lot of New developments there, still they might be a possibility. If you move a bit further south to towns like Norwell, highham, marshfield, scituate great schools but no T and higher in Price, Kingston and Plymouth both have the schools, the T and the price point but they are the furthest south, about a 50 min T commute.
You'll have to figure out whats more important, location, schools, distance, size/condition of the home.
I hope this helps, let me know if I can help with anything else

[gf2020]

Plenty of newer condo developments in the Peabody/Salem/Danvers area that will meet your price requirements and offer your husband easy access to Logan Airport.

[wivenhoe]

A lot of airport workers live north of Boston. Revere, Winthrop, Peabody, Saugus, Salem, Nahant, Marblehead, Swampscott, Danvers, Beverly, etc. are all accessible to Logan and allows you to avoid crossing the Charles River and through Boston. The airport employee parking garage is located in Chelsea. From the Boston-Rockport or Boston-Newburyport MBTA commuter rail, you can take the commuter rail to Chelsea and then walk to the employee parking garage before taking the employee bus to Logan.

Braintree and the South Shore may be cheaper, but I don't know how easy it is to commute now. Many years ago, a co-worker at Air Lingus lived in the Marshfield area and commuted to Logan. However he scheduled his shifts to avoid the rush hour and the horrendous traffic on the Southeast Expressway and Rte 3, which are notoriously tied-up with traffic. Braintree does have a Logan express bus, which I think some airport workers use.

With your budget, you're probably going to have to make some trade-offs. Generally, the closer you live to Boston, the more expensive the housing. However, you may find something within your budget in Winthrop or Revere, which is much closer to the airport, but not in a more desirable community like Marblehead or Swampscott.

The other aspect you're probably going to have to make some trade-offs with the type of housing and your budget. There's not much 'new' with your budget in terms of single-family housing. You may find newer condo developments in Peabody/Salem/Danvers, though, as gf2020 pointed out.