Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
 
Old 02-20-2013, 04:32 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,579,348 times
Reputation: 4797

Advertisements

Andover is a hilly town with a vibrant downtown and a more business vibe, better for mountain lovers. Newburyport is more bohemian, artsy, with conservation areas, better for water lovers.
Quick reply to this message

 
Old 02-26-2013, 04:35 PM
 
15,794 posts, read 6,856,651 times
Reputation: 8453
Quote:
Originally Posted by RelocationWannabe View Post
We are in the same boat with same criteria (not as many children though!) -- my husband works in oil and will be travelling to/from Logan twice a month; we're relocating from England.

I've just done a recce to Hamilton/Wenham, Newburyport, Topsfield, Boxford, Ipswich, .

Loved the spaces in Hamilton/Wenham but not much of downtowns in either; Ipswich, great downtown but a little off the beaten path (I know there's flooding around the Ipswich River); Topsfield, cutsie downtown, nice area but may be a little off the beaten path for ferrying kids around, good schools; Boxford, nothing there; Newburyport, loved it, great downtown, a lot of people say Newburyport is a lifestyle and may not be for everyone, schools are ranked 34th -- not the best but not the worst.

Haven't been to Andover but have been intrigued by the comments. We'll be checking out Marblehead in the summer due to its proximity to Logan and the very cute downtown, schools are also great. Also intrigued by Beverly (not due to its schooling) but from the comments in this post.

Any feedback from anyone would be great.
We have lived in Andover for 30+ years, our children went to school here, one graduated from the high school and the other from Phillips. it is a great town to raise children. the best thing about andover is the dedication the people have here to preserve green space. it is a tradition here and consequently there are great parks and trails for hiking, boating, winter sports. the development is also well managed and we have an organization that helps build houses for people with limited means. the senior center is active and the community activities are plentiful for children and adults. it is an easy commute to logan - 20 mts in good traffic.we have an excellent, beautiful library with many programs fro children and adults. it is a pretty town and there if focus now to attract more business to downtown. downtown has had a face lift and it is pretty.

i love newburyport and we visit often. i love the downtown area. but i know people who moved to andover because of the schools. if you want more information you can message me.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-06-2013, 07:38 AM
 
2 posts, read 3,935 times
Reputation: 10
RelocationWannaBe; endorse konfetka comments; re: BP I believe our friends still consult - they drove the entire coast of New England during home leaves before settling on Ipswich for their retirement. We have a downtown filled with old houses within walking distance of excellent schools. Ipswich High School music program is amongst the top programs in the country and travel internationally. Ipswich is the largest township in Massachusetts with a large portion that is preserved in state parks. The other side of Rte 1 we have executive subdivisions [see example at link herewith: http://www.ipswichareahomes.com/], and (2) high end Robert Trent Jones designed golf residential communities - if golf is your interest. Oh - and the beach...
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-06-2013, 08:40 AM
 
62 posts, read 134,749 times
Reputation: 39
Thanks SMiles9. Helpful info.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2013, 04:59 AM
 
Location: Mount Pleasant
2,624 posts, read 3,967,568 times
Reputation: 1264
Have lived in Newburyport for over 20 years -- love it. It's got a great "vibe" that Andover/North Andover just do not have. Great quality of life and beautiful homes. Vibrant culture and a really nice downtown. Maudsley for great walking/biking/open theatre, natural beauty, Plum Island, the boardwalk on the river, farmers market, festivals. Very family friendly.

Also surrounded by other great towns - Newbury for more "country" feel, farm stands (Tendercrop), Parker River for boating. West Newbury also has great farm stands, and is beautiful. Amesbury for a different vibe, more shopping, Cider Hill Farm for picking apples.

Easy access to highways to get anywhere quickly. We take the CJ Trailways bus to Logan all the time - always on time, fast - and lot of pilots who live in Newburyport are always on the bus.

Marblehead is cute but it's hard to get in/out of to anywhere else. Manchester by the Sea is cute, but small.
Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-10-2013, 04:21 PM
 
Location: Beverly, Mass
940 posts, read 1,926,297 times
Reputation: 541
Quote:
Originally Posted by macalan View Post
Have lived in Newburyport for over 20 years -- love it. It's got a great "vibe" that Andover/North Andover just do not have. Great quality of life and beautiful homes. Vibrant culture and a really nice downtown. Maudsley for great walking/biking/open theatre, natural beauty, Plum Island, the boardwalk on the river, farmers market, festivals. Very family friendly.

Also surrounded by other great towns - Newbury for more "country" feel, farm stands (Tendercrop), Parker River for boating. West Newbury also has great farm stands, and is beautiful. Amesbury for a different vibe, more shopping, Cider Hill Farm for picking apples.

Easy access to highways to get anywhere quickly. We take the CJ Trailways bus to Logan all the time - always on time, fast - and lot of pilots who live in Newburyport are always on the bus.

Marblehead is cute but it's hard to get in/out of to anywhere else. Manchester by the Sea is cute, but small.
I agree about Manchester by the sea being too small. May be great for someone who wants to run into the same people all day long.

Here is a story. As I was having a leisurely al-fresco lunch on a hot sunny day in MBS, there were a few older ladies killing time over lunch at a nearby table. Suddenly a little kid ran up to them to the delight of his unsuspected grandma.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hi, granma! We are going to the pharmacy with dad" - her grandson replied

Then the lady and the rest of the patrons noticed her son who was rushing towards a pharmacy next door.

Then everyone had to overhear their entire conversation about how their morning went and why they had to go to the pharmacy until dad and grandson got in the car and drove off.


Then on another occasion my mom's friend gave her a beach sticker for Manchester's Singing beach, because she doesn't go there so not to run into everyone she knows.


The point is - it's a very small town with a very compact downtown.
Could be a good thing or a bad thing, depends what you are looking for.
Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


 
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top