Quintessential New England towns commutable to Lowell, MA? (Amherst, Westford: rent, homeowners insurance)

[Twellman]

Expert opinions needed:
I have a job prospect at UMass Lowell. It is my understanding that the city of Lowell itself is on the mend. My impression is that working in Lowell is not a problem from an environmental standpoint. Is this a fair assessment? In addition, I am curious whether there are any quintessential New England towns within a 30 minute drive North or West of Lowell that are safe and community oriented, and which have good primary and secondary school systems? We are open to living in either MA or NH. The key is living in a quality community. Our housing budget is 500K as an absolute maximum. We love outdoor recreation, arts and crafts, and small community events. We treat ourselves to big city activities once in awhile, but prefer to live in a small town environment. Any suggestions on towns fitting our criteria that are commutable to Lowell? Thank you in advance.

[gf2020]

There are plenty of towns within a 30 minute commute to Lowell that meet those requirements and will offer good value in the sub-$500K range.

In MA I suggest Westford, Littleton and Acton.

In NH I suggest Hollis and Amherst.

[Valerie C]

Twellman, have you had the opportunity to visit Lowell and the surrounding area? You've heard correctly that Lowell is 'on the mend' but keep in mind that it's a city with much more diversity (not just race, but age, economics, etc) than many of its surrounding towns.

gf suggested a couple of very nice 'near the border' NH towns to you (which I would agree with, especially Acton, which has great schools, nearby conveniences, but not city-like at all), but keep the following in mind when considering property in either state:

Residents of NH who work in Mass generally have a higher tax burden. NH property taxes are significantly higher than MA property taxes on a similar property. Property values are lower in New Hampshire (allowing more house for the $$) but this may or may not be offset by property tax.

Towns of NH generally provide less 'services' to residents. For example, not all towns have public trash pick-ups (residents travel to the dump/transfer station). Smaller towns will generally have private wells (vs. public water) and private septic systems (vs. public sewer). The trade-off is more personal responsibility vs. mandated (and payable) services.

All Mass employees will pay MA income taxes (currently 5.3%). Unfortunately there is no benefit to this for a NH resident. Assuming that your child(ren) continue their education in one of MA's many fine college or universities, they would pay non-resident rates.

New Hampshire residents generally pay less for car insurance & homeowners insurance, partially due to less overall crime, traffic & (government) corruption in general.

I wish you all the best in obtaining this position at U Lowell, and be sure to come back with more questions. Lots of folks probably away for this holiday weekend and unable to post Take care...

[amason53]

Look at Groton MA...very community oriented, great schools, excellent public library, and only 20 - 25 minutes to Lowell.

[scrabblesavant]

Carlisle & Concord. Gorgeous, fantastic schools. You'll get more for your money if you rent ...