Topsfield vs Marblehead vs Winchester (Boston, Lynn: for sale, how much, houses)

[t-mar]

We are moving to the Boston area and trying to figure out where to settle :-)
Schools are very important to us since we have two elementary kids. We are looking for a place with a nice community. Our kids are active in sports, and we love to run and go to the gym. We are looking at the following areas Winchester, Marblehead, and Topsfield. My husband will commute to the Woburn area. We like small towns, but not too sleepy. There needs to be a little village center, gym and decent grocery store in the area. We are open to other towns as well, but need to be on the North or northwest side of town.

Thank you!

[jan0105]

Out of those three, I'd choose Winchester. It has a nice downtown, has excellent schools, is close to Boston, and your husband's commute would be measured in minutes, not hours. It's really pricey, though. What kind of budget do you have?

[BostonMike7]

Budget would be a big factor. What sort of home are you looking for?

[MikePRU]

It seems to me you're comparing the Earth, Mars, and the Moon. Three very different towns on this list. As others have said, it would be very helpful to know what kind of budget you're looking to stick to.

[alidmc]

I agree with jan0105, Winchester is next door to Woburn and will meet all of your requirements. With that said, it is hard to find a 3 BR home in move in condition for under 800K-there are only 4 currently for sale between 700K and 800K and all are on the smaller side. I didn't see any homes for sale for less than 700K.
Topsfield is a nice town, but more rural. With traffic, I would expect a 40 minute commute to Woburn. You will definitely get a lot more house for your money and the Masconomet School District is highly ranked. The town does have a very small center with a small grocery store, a sub shop, a bakery and a sub shop. You will probably drive about the same amount to shopping as you would in Winchester. Danvers has a couple of malls and grocery stores, as does Ipswich.
Marblehead is a beautiful town, but I think the commute to Woburn would be painful. Being on the coast, there is only one way to Woburn-114 and it is pretty congested. Other than that, Marblehead hits all of your wants. It is expensive, though, and houses tend to be on pretty small lots.
As an alternate suggestion, you may want to consider Reading. It is next to Woburn, has good schools and a nice town center.
All Eastern Massachusetts towns have pretty good sports programs (football, hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball, etc.), unless your children are into niche sports or are very competitive players, I think you will be happy with any of these towns.

[495neighbor]

I would concentrate on Winchester, then expand your search to Melrose, Wakefield, Reading and possibly Andover if you don't find the home you are looking for in Winchester. In January, you will begin to see more homes available to buy for the start of the spring market.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

I would concentrate on Winchester, then expand your search to Melrose, Wakefield, Reading and possibly Andover if you don't find the home you are looking for in Winchester. In January, you will begin to see more homes available to buy for the start of the spring market.

The winter and early spring market is dependent on how much snow we get.

[johngolf]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

It seems to me you're comparing the Earth, Mars, and the Moon. Three very different towns on this list. As others have said, it would be very helpful to know what kind of budget you're looking to stick to.

Well said.

[t-mar]

We have picked three really different towns for a reason. It's hard for us to decide what is most worth (lifestyle wise) except a great school district. If I would had chosen between three exactly the same towns it wouldn't had been that much to think about. Our budget depends upon taxes as well. We would never pay more than a mil for a house.

[gf2020]

"We like small towns, but not too sleepy."

You can probably rule out Topsfield then. Lynnfield, where I live, is another possibility that falls in to the sleepy category.

Marblehead is great, I know it well, my sister-in-law has been there for 23 years, but that's not a great commute to Woburn.

Winchester is an excellent town but you won't get much change back from your $1 million.

I would look at Bedford. I am consistently impressed by what I see in that town.