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Old 10-03-2011, 12:54 PM
 
5 posts, read 10,620 times
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My husband and I (plus two small children who are one and three years old) have recently been exploring the north shore as a possible place to call home following our move north from Washington DC. We seem again and again to gravitate towards Swampscott. As far as we can tell, it seems to have many of the things we are looking for... Train access to Boston, house prices within our range, walkability, cute restaurants, shops, etc., needed goods and services (grocery store options), family friendly, good schools...

So my questions are... What else can you tell me about this community and its people? Is what I seem to be seeing true? Should we consider a move to Swampscott? And if so, why Swampscott over some place else?

Thanks all!
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Old 10-04-2011, 01:01 PM
 
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Swampscott is between Lynn and Marblehead.
Swampscott is as good a choice as any.
But so is Lynnfield, Saugus, Peabody, Salem, and Beverly. And more.
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Old 10-04-2011, 01:45 PM
 
Location: Princeton, NJ
244 posts, read 644,144 times
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I grew up on the north shore (Andover) went to college in Boston and then bought my first house in Swampscott. I love Swampscott. I lived there for 5 years. I think the north shore has the most character - the most "new england" feel - and it has great proximity to Boston and trains. The highway access is poor though. Home prices are up there - I wouldn't think of Swampscott as a reasonably priced town - plus it's right on the coast. There is also a Whole Foods and Trader Joe's in Swampcott.
I am stuck in the southeast right now and have been having dreams about taking a weekend drive along Route 1A to Ipswich...seeing the glorious foliage...then taking a walk along Crane Beach... it's gorgeous up there!

I can't really speak to the people, though. I lived there as a young professional so all my friends were elsewhere (all over the greater Boston area). I did notice that Swampscott seemed like a tight community. If your kids go to public school there I would think you'd get to know a lot of people easily.
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Old 10-04-2011, 07:26 PM
 
Location: North of Boston
3,689 posts, read 7,432,032 times
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I can tell you that there was some serious flooding in Swampscott today after the town was hit with 6" of rain in 2 hours! I just spent a few hours cleaning out my father-in-law's basement. He's been flooded before but not in a long time.
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Old 10-05-2011, 03:01 PM
 
Location: Beverly, Mass
940 posts, read 1,936,661 times
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The flooding was pretty bad, but it was a very unusual event, and all the surrounding towns on the North Shore received up to 5 inches from one band of rain in a couple hours. In 16 years that I have lived here it has never been this bad - some low-lying areas in Salem, Lynn, Swampscott, Beverly and Peabody all got flooded.

I lived in Swampscott twice. One of my favorite things about it is the 2 mile strech of Lynn-Nahant beach, great for walking with a stroller or biking. That's how I lost all my baby weight!

It is closer to Boston than Marblehead, and it has a train station (Marblehead doesn't).

You might also want to consider Nahant. It has it's own elementary school, but it shares the middle school and high school with Swampscott. The house prices might be higher, but it has a beautiful rocky shoreline, beaches and lots of ocean views, because it's a peninsula.

Swampscott is also pretty small, more desirable, and more expensive that some other North Shore towns (except Marblehead).

We ended up buying a house in Beverly, a couple towns north of Swampscott, also a coastal town, but here you can get a nicer house for your money.

The downside about Swampscott is you have to drive through two other towns to get to the highway, the malls and major shopping areas, or you will have to stick to Marshalls, TJ Max and Target nearby. It can take from about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the traffic.

Beverly does have highway access, and is 5 minutes away from the malls and other shopping (plus it has a lot more options in-town).

Last edited by konfetka; 10-05-2011 at 04:06 PM..
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Old 10-22-2011, 06:50 PM
 
1,203 posts, read 1,813,566 times
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I'm a 10 year current Swampscott resident.

Upsides include...
Good school system, though no better than neighboring Marblehead
Good proximity to Boston
Oceanfront (our favorite thing about Swampscott)
Safe
Good access to public transportation (commuter rail, bus, and easy drive to Wonderland blue line)
Plenty of shopping nearby. Fyi, Trader Joe's closed and moved to Saugus.
Easy access to Logan Airport


Downsides:
Taxes higher than many neighboring towns, including Marblehead.
Services have slipped the past several years. Plowing was atrocious last year in town while the roads were very good in Lynn, Salem, and Marblehead.
So-so road maintinance (pot holes, etc.)
Highway access not great, I.e. 128, Route 1. Not really an issue if you're heading into Boston.

Feel free to PM with any other questions. Sorry for the late reply, missed this thread.
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Old 10-23-2011, 06:49 AM
 
42 posts, read 133,817 times
Reputation: 55
I don't know much about Swampscott, but apparently you're not allowed to protect your property there:

The Daily Item: Car break foiled in Swampscott
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Old 10-23-2011, 10:35 AM
 
1,203 posts, read 1,813,566 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Carefully View Post
I don't know much about Swampscott, but apparently you're not allowed to protect your property there:

The Daily Item: Car break foiled in Swampscott
All I can say is this is not a common occurrence around here.
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Old 10-23-2011, 11:14 AM
 
Location: Beverly, Mass
940 posts, read 1,936,661 times
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Looks like it happened at low-income housing.
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Old 10-23-2011, 11:26 AM
 
42 posts, read 133,817 times
Reputation: 55
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruins_Fan View Post
All I can say is this is not a common occurrence around here.
Which? Getting your car jacked, or getting arrested for punching someone who was stealing you car?
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