Help! Moving to Boston area! (Lowell, Woburn: sales, rental, car insurance)

[Mumtosum]

My husband just got a job offer for a job in the Boston area. neither of us have actually been to MA. We are originally from NJ but have been in TN for 3 years now. His job is actually in- Burlington, MA. we'd like to stay within 30mins of it- though 45 mins would be doable if we needed to extend our search out further.

we are looking to rent for the next 1-2yrs.

We are a young couple with 2 small kids (1 toddler, 1 infant) so, tho it doesnt have to be incredible school systems for now (we will prob move into a more perm home before kids hit school aged so we can get a better feel for areas then)- an area where we can feel safe enough to take walks in/play outside- would be great. parks are a plus but not a must.

tough part- we are a living off 1 income right now bc I am home with babies. W/ limited pay we need as affordable of a home situation as possible without sacrificing safety in area too much. We *think* we could afford up to 1800 per month if we HAD to but are hoping for something closer to 1300-1500 per month (2 bedrooms needed but the place does not need to be huge or fancy, beyond that). Town suggesting would be great and if you even have a neighborhood/rental place suggestion- that be great as well!


other Q's: what can we expect for car insurance there? (we have 1, older chevy blazer- we are under age 25 but married couple with no accident records/1 minor ticket from 2yrs ago...so relatively good driving record).

Also, what are sales tax like? tax on food? clothing?

Thank you to anyone and everyone who can give us some info!

[gf2020]

I hope it's a substantial bump in pay for your husband, I would have to think living in MA is at least 1/3 more costly than TN.

If your husband is working in Burlington, then your best for a nice 2 BR rental place within 30-45 minutes will be in Burlington itself, plus I would look at Woburn, Stoneham, Wakefield and Lowell as communities with good sized rental communities. People will poo poo Lowell but your children aren't in school yet so it may be a good, affordable choice for a few years while you learn the area.

The sales tax is 6.25% but it does not apply to groceries or clothing, except clothing items over $175 (I think) and items that are considered sporting goods, like football cleats, for example.

The income tax rate is 5.3%.

Can't help you on the car insurance, both my wife and I are over 40 and for our 2 newer cars we pay about $1600. Depending on the town you live in, you could easily pay over $1200 even for an older car because you are under 25.

Good luck!

[CaseyB]

Burlington would suit you, if you can find something in your budget there. If not, you can look further west and north and you will most likely find something affordable. Most of the suburbs are very safe, so you need not worry about that.

Sales tax is currently 6.25% ( just raised this year). Hint: NH has no sales tax and lots of people north of Boston take advantage of that. There is no tax on groceries or most clothing items.

Your car insurance will be based on both your age and your driving record and what town you are residing in. It's not possible to give an estimate on that. If you plan on transfering your insurance from your present company, they should be able to give you quotes on specific areas.

[Mumtosum]

thanks so much! From reading around the forum I already started looking into some places in the wakefield area. DH is getting quite a bit more pay but it seems to just level out with the up in living cost. We live near no family in TN, though (closest family member to us is 900 miles away in NJ) so, we feel it is worth the budget adjustment to get closer to family again. We havent adjusted well to "southern life" at all. Thanks for you help!