Can't find a town (half-acre, some diversity, things to do)

[konfetka]

I used to live in Swampscott, and I liked it. There is a two mile boardwalk going from Swampscott to Nahant beach, and the views are great. You can have an al fresco dinner with ocean view at Red Rock. The Blue line is only 20 minutes away in Revere. I would say it would be more friendly and down-to-earth then Marblehead next door, which is more like Newton. 19th cetury Victorian architecture is very common, as well as early 20th century. Diversity exists on a small scale. There is a Target and a Home Depot in Salem, the next town over. There are not that many restaurants, because it's such a small town, but there is more in Marblehead and Salem, the restaurant mecca. Walkability between the neighborhoods is good, and if you are close to the ocean, you can walk there, which is where people tend to congregate. You can find plenty of houses in your budget, but you will get a nicer house for your money in Beverly. Schools are not the best, but pretty good, and there is a train that goes to North Station.

[donewithpretty]

Konfetka, if you don't sell real estate in the North Shore already, you certainly could! I've always thought of that area as being too inconvenient/insular, but it sounds like there are some great options other than the obvious Marblehead, Manchester, Rockport choices.

[konfetka]

It crossed my mind

I am just pretty familiar with the area, having lived in quite a few towns, and did house hunting everywhere, looking at all pros and cons. When I lived in Melrose, I found myself coming to the North Shore for fun, beaches, farms and restaurants, so I was always drawn to this area.

[alpha_beta]

Thanks for the line on Swampscott! I'll definitely have to look there as well.

[alpha_beta]

Just wanted to report back on visiting North Shore towns this weekend with my wife. The views in Swampscott were beautiful but the parts of the town we looked at seemed a little too tightly packed and hilly. That gave my wife terrible motion sickness as we navigated the neighborhoods. The same thing happens to her in Arlington.

We thought Swampscott would be more convenient than Beverly, but actually because of the proximity to Route 128, Beverly is much more accessible. We drove through Beverly and I think we'll definitely have to give it a closer look. The town center was very appealing and we loved nearby Salem. Salem actually reminded us a lot of Portland, ME -- a town we've loved when we've been on vacation.

One thing that did surprise was the prevalence of shopping and other amenities on the North Shore compared to the Metro-West towns we've looked at previously. It was quite a nice surprise.

[konfetka]

Thanks for the update, keep us posted! Glad you liked the North Shore. Actually the hills is what gives Swampscott a Californian or Mediterranean feel and gives a lot of those houses on the hills their ocean views, but they wouldn't be fun in an ice storm - that was a big negative for my husband, as were the smaller lots and accessibility.