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)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-30-2014, 10:48 AM
 
10 posts, read 17,486 times
Reputation: 13

Advertisements

Moving to Massachusetts next year. We lived in Boston 15 years ago and my husband's work brought us to NJ. I cried and cried when we had to leave our little condo. But after living in Norther NJ, I've grown to appreciate it here as well. We have top notch schools, are in a train town (45 min into the city) and only an hour from some beautiful beaches.

We are really excited to have the opportunity to go back to Massachusetts, and I've learned you can't have everything.

We have three kids. One will be a sophomore, he is in all honors classes this year so schools ratings really matter to us b/c of this, we feel bad moving him at this age (that is why my husband will move ahead of us, so that our kids can finish out the school year) My middle schooler and grade schooler are a lot more flexible and are actually excited, but my almost fifteen year old is upset.

We are originally from Florida, and it would be my dream to live by the coast. It wasn't possible here in NJ, the commute into NYC was just too long for a shore house. But it could be a possibility in Massachusetts. We love having a town center (downtown), we love having access to the water and the city.

In fact, I've been completely obsessed with looking at all of the shore towns. I'm posting this to see what a real commute would be. I read through old posts first...but want to know if anyone knows anyone who does the commute? Or has done it? Swampscott seemed to be closer than other water towns and has great school ratings.

I guess I want to rule it in or out so I can be excited or move on !! Do you think it would be do-able?

If not a shore town, I guess one last question would be this. Which commute would be better into east Cambridge...Winchester/Arlington/even Stoneham OR coming from the West (towns like Sudbury or Wayland)

Right now I'm focused on distance, and do think Concord and Belmont, etc are probably too pricey. And I'm okay with renting for a year or two...so that's why I'm not overly concerned with prices...I keep hearing there might be a big drop next year so I'd rather not buy quite yet, but would if the timing was just right.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-30-2014, 11:13 AM
 
Location: North of Boston
3,669 posts, read 7,358,553 times
Reputation: 3634
I commuted from Lynn to Central Square, Cambridge for 2 years. It's a slow drive but not a problem. Swampscott to East Cambridge would be similar. I can PM you the exact route. I would recommend Marblehead over Swampscott, however, even if it adds 10 minutes each way to your commute.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-30-2014, 11:18 AM
 
10 posts, read 17,486 times
Reputation: 13
Yes, that would be great. I would definitely consider Marblehead, was just trying to compromise for proximity. Please include your reasons for that in your pmessage, thanks so much! Any info is much appreciated.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-30-2014, 12:18 PM
 
188 posts, read 280,710 times
Reputation: 259
Welcome to the area! Swampscott is great. You would love the amazing shore. Realistically, to commute to Cambridge, I would say that the most viable and sustainable option is commuter rail and then EZ shuttle... If it happens that you work in one of the participating Institutions/companies that provide free pass for EZ shuttle, then your commute from North Station to Cambridge is free.
Basically:
Swampscott to North Station= 22-26 minutes
Walk to EZ shuttle stop = 5 minutes
EZ shuttle to Cambridge = 10-15 minutes
This is not bad at all for Boston/MA...
I agree with gf2020 that you might like Marblehead more for your family. Schools are better and in general, it is a more family-oriented town. However, you are looking at a $150K (at least) difference in terms of house prices, BUT the tax rate is about $11/SF in Marblehead and $18/SF in Swampscott. Also, Marblehead has cheaper electricity because the town has its own company... However, it is about 10-15 minutes further away from major highways and commuter rail.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-30-2014, 02:56 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
4,882 posts, read 13,750,571 times
Reputation: 6947
This is one of those things which shouldn't matter but still sometimes does: The population of Swampscott is heavily Jewish, and in Marblehead this holds true to the extent that its pejorative nickname is "Marbleberg." Due to its higher affluence, Marblehead is also somewhat notorious for snobbery. (When a town has its own yacht club this is inevitable.) If these factors are irrelevant - as the "ethnic" one certainly ought to be - you should be all set.

My heart goes out to the teen in the OP's family - I, too, had to start high school in a new place. It will be particularly rough if he's found some romantic interests and/or has been part of a long-lived group of buddies. But the Internet provides lots of ways for making the transition smoother. Since there are online interest groups for everything under the sun, he's undoubtedly networked into some already. (Hopefully they aren't time-wasting "RPG" or other "gaming" groups!) Suggest that he put out a few virtual feelers along the lines of, "Need an intermediate-level chess adversary, MA North Shore" or "Looking to join a fantasy football group in the Boston area," in the appropriate places. Facebook, Instagram, et al are what they are but could also reel in new real-life friends with an edited "status."
BTW Marblehead and Swampscott have separate school systems, both well-regarded, but for some of the less popular sports they join forces in order to field complete teams.

There are no "ideal" commutes into Cambridge, but the 'burbs to the north, northeast, and northwest have an edge over those in other directions. In towns such as Melrose and Reading you'd also be near commuter rail to North Station, thence to the same "EZ Ride" shuttle.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-30-2014, 03:46 PM
 
1,768 posts, read 3,218,934 times
Reputation: 1592
If you are renting, stick to Arlington or Belmont. Belmont has excellent schools and it is welcoming community with lots to do and see. Kids of middle school age and older can be very independent, and walk to school and friends, as it is safe with plenty of sidewalks. It might appeal to your oldest one.

Arlington is very attractive and walkable. Very easy commute into Cambridge, and booming because of it. It has great schools, but not as high preforming as Belmont, Newton, or Lexington. Catching up and on the upswing.

Acton has fast train into Cambridge, it is more rural, with high performing school district, and much better prices. It's better option IMHO than North Shore, commute vise.

If you are stuck on coastal living, then check also Hingham and Cohasset to the south on the Greenbush line. Hingham has fantastic town center, great shopping, beautiful homes, walkability, two train stops, as well as boat going into Boston (people love boat for commuting to Boston). Cohasset is smaller and quieter neighboring town with train stop as well.

I do understand craving to live close to the ocean, but commute will be tougher than staying closer to Cambridge. Often, door to door commute will be much longer than an hour. MBTA does not offer stellar service, and there will be days it is maddening to deal with it.

Also, I would avoid Marblehead which is tucked away, and really geared toward people who are wealthy enough not to commute daily, or can work from home. Traffic is tough there. Swampscott is little better positioned. If you do end up there, try to rent first to give yourself some flexibility.

Word of warning: in metro Boston every year we are getting more and more congested, and stuck with longer and longer commute times all over the place. Infrastructure, public transport, and roads are sub-par for the booming economy and number of people that we have here. Take that to heart when deciding on a place to live, as Cambridge commute is more complicated than commute to Boston. And more complicated commute, more often you have an opportunity to get stuck and wait. Not to mention needing to pay parking fees, finding parking space, cost of commuter passes etc.

Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-30-2014, 09:58 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,749,866 times
Reputation: 2961
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarascout View Post
In fact, I've been completely obsessed with looking at all of the shore towns. I'm posting this to see what a real commute would be. I read through old posts first...but want to know if anyone knows anyone who does the commute? Or has done it? Swampscott seemed to be closer than other water towns and has great school ratings.

If not a shore town, I guess one last question would be this. Which commute would be better into east Cambridge...Winchester/Arlington/even Stoneham OR coming from the West (towns like Sudbury or Wayland)

Right now I'm focused on distance, and do think Concord and Belmont, etc are probably too pricey. And I'm okay with renting for a year or two...so that's why I'm not overly concerned with prices...I keep hearing there might be a big drop next year so I'd rather not buy quite yet, but would if the timing was just right.
I don't have any comments on shore towns, but I do know the western suburbs very well. Particularly on commuting times. Here is a post I wrote last year about the Sudbury to Kendall commute:

"I was in Sudbury on the corner of Union Ave & Concord Rd at 7:50am. I drove to Lincoln station, parked and was on the outbound platform by 8:12. Waited 3 minutes for the 8:15 train. Arrived at Porter Square at 8:43 and boarded the inbound red line train at 8:45. Got to Kendall Station at 8:58AM. That's 1 hour 8 minutes plus the walk to your office. You can shave 7 minutes off your commute if you take the express train to Porter (leaves Lincoln at 7:50am). I know this is probably slightly longer than driving, but you will save money on gas/parking and sitting for 30 min on the commuter rail is very relaxing. It's all chaos after you get off at Porter though."

From Wayland town center (corner of Rt-20 and Rt-27) it would be about 5-7 minutes faster than from Sudbury town center. However, neither town has a real walkable town center. Sudbury town center is a little strip mall with 2 restaurants, a barber, a nail salon and a small grocer that hasn't even opened yet. There is a commercial district on Rt-20 with a lot of independently owned shops and eateries, but it's not walkable. Wayland town center is a lot better, but still on the small side and not considered a true "town center" because it's a planned development with its own parking lot in the middle of the complex. It's a walkable outdoor mall with 1 supermarket, a package store, bank, gym (BSC), medical clinic, 3 restaurants and about 20 shops. There are also new construction high-end townhomes on the site. Neither Sudbury or Wayland have train service; you need to catch the train in neighboring Lincoln.

In general, Sudbury and Wayland are for people who are priced out of Concord and Lincoln. They are in the same general area, but take an extra 5-10 min to get to the highway. IMO all 4 have comparable school systems though - rankings change every year, but in general they are all well regarded and easily in the top 5% in MA. Sudbury and Lincoln share a regional high school, but since a single family is much cheaper in Sudbury it's often considered a good value for families who seek a large house in a good school system. The AVERAGE single family listed right now is over 2600sf which is much larger than most towns in the area. Out of the 4, Wayland is the one that has the most starter homes for a reasonable price (i.e. smaller 3 bed, 2 bath ranch homes).

Last edited by Parsec; 10-30-2014 at 10:14 PM.. Reason: Added some information
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2014, 06:24 AM
 
Location: Homeless
404 posts, read 522,962 times
Reputation: 392
Quote:
Originally Posted by goyguy View Post
This is one of those things which shouldn't matter but still sometimes does: The population of Swampscott is heavily Jewish, and in Marblehead this holds true to the extent that its pejorative nickname is "Marbleberg." Due to its higher affluence, Marblehead is also somewhat notorious for snobbery. (When a town has its own yacht club this is inevitable.) If these factors are irrelevant - as the "ethnic" one certainly ought to be - you should be all set.
I am an outsider that moved to marbehead 2.5 yrs ago.
1. I am not Jewish but never once did it occur to me that the town has any sort of religious undertone. Ie if ppl didn't keep telling me how Jewish it was I would have never noticed and its ridiculously irrelevant.
2. There's no snobbery in marblehead. It's more of a "me first" entitlement. And ppl drive like maniacs with no regard for pedestrians.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2014, 10:41 AM
 
Location: Massachusetts
1,359 posts, read 864,357 times
Reputation: 2123
Quote:
Originally Posted by goyguy View Post
This is one of those things which shouldn't matter but still sometimes does: The population of Swampscott is heavily Jewish, and in Marblehead this holds true to the extent that its pejorative nickname is "Marbleberg."
I think hearing the term "Marbleberg" says a lot more about the company you keep than anything else. This is a rather bizarre way to describe the Swampscott/Marblehead area when someone asks for information about the North Shore.

Quote:
Originally Posted by NS-GR View Post
I agree with gf2020 that you might like Marblehead more for your family. Schools are better and in general, it is a more family-oriented town. However, you are looking at a $150K (at least) difference in terms of house prices, BUT the tax rate is about $11/SF in Marblehead and $18/SF in Swampscott. Also, Marblehead has cheaper electricity because the town has its own company... However, it is about 10-15 minutes further away from major highways and commuter rail.
For what it's worth, the tax rate is based on assessed value, not size. So it's ≈$11/$1,000 and ≈$19/$1,000 of value, not square footage. That's a big difference, but the difference in the assessed value on which you pay taxes closes the gap a bit. That said, Marblehead is right out of a movie set, while Swampscott offers a more practical commute (particularly if close to the commuter rail station).

The North Shore is pretty amazing, in my opinion.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-31-2014, 01:22 PM
 
Location: North of Boston
3,669 posts, read 7,358,553 times
Reputation: 3634
Quote:
Originally Posted by goyguy View Post
This is one of those things which shouldn't matter but still sometimes does: The population of Swampscott is heavily Jewish, and in Marblehead this holds true to the extent that its pejorative nickname is "Marbleberg." Due to its higher affluence, Marblehead is also somewhat notorious for snobbery. (When a town has its own yacht club this is inevitable.)

I've lived on the North Shore for 24 years; in Swampscott, Lynn, Newbury & Lynnfield. My sister-in-law has lived in Marblehead for 22 years and I visit there at least 2X per month. I have never heard the expression "Marbleberg".

Marblehead actually has several yacht clubs, as do Lynn, Salem and Beverly. Does that make them even more prone to "snobbery"? Swampscott has a yacht club too. I keep my boat at East Boston Yacht Club, is East Boston considered snobby?

The point here is take all of the feedback with a grain of salt. If you find a house that you like - in any town - get out and talk to the neighbors, visit the neighborhood during the week and on the weekends, get a sense of what the place is really like. Don't just depend on the Internet for your research, you'll find it is often flawed.
Reply With Quote 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.


Reply
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
Similar Threads

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