Ideal affordable town that has good proximity to Boston and NH?

[iDothisoften]

Haverhill. Urban-ish but not unsafe. Close to NH and about 30 miles north of Boston. There should also be plenty of places in your price range. Mass is pricy and gets pricier the closer you are to Boston. I'd say maybe Dracut if you wanted more on the suburban side but Dracut is a snooze fest

[Bruins3445]

Originally Posted by iDothisoften

Haverhill. Urban-ish but not unsafe. Close to NH and about 30 miles north of Boston. There should also be plenty of places in your price range. Mass is pricy and gets pricier the closer you are to Boston. I'd say maybe Dracut if you wanted more on the suburban side but Dracut is a snooze fest

My wife's family swears that Haverhill is horrendous. Multiple family members said its laden with heroin and crime. Said it is a mini Lowell. Haven't researched stats myself but did search these forums prior to asking this question and saw people saying things not in favor of Haverhill so I assumed what we had heard was true. Is this a misconception or any truth to it?

[sal1181]

Haverhill is a big city. It depends on what part you are in. My brother purchased a townhouse a year and a half ago in the Bradford section of the city. He is one street away from North Andover. Bradford long ago use to be its own town but it merged with Haverhill to take advantage of the utilities. I had another client purchase her first place on M street which is a very quiet family oriented neighborhood also in Bradford. Try renting first before you buy.

[gf2020]

Originally Posted by Bruins3445

My wife's family swears that Haverhill is horrendous. Multiple family members said its laden with heroin and crime. Said it is a mini Lowell. Haven't researched stats myself but did search these forums prior to asking this question and saw people saying things not in favor of Haverhill so I assumed what we had heard was true. Is this a misconception or any truth to it?

Heroin use can happen in any community. With a population of 61,000, is Haverhill more likely to have a problem than North Andover, with 28,000 people? Maybe, but how does that actually affect you?

You have Heineken tastes on a Carling Black Label budget. It can be a tough pill to swallow, but people who can only afford a $250K house buy in communities like Lowell and Haverhill. And even in those communities, $250K is well below the average single family house price.

Something like this house in north Haverhill would be a great first home:

40 Edgehill Rd, Haverhill, MA 01830 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

It's important to note that most people only stay in a first house for less than 7 years. The house you may buy today is most likely not the house you will be living in 10-15 years from now. My wife and I bought our first house in Lynn, over 20 years ago, for $154,000. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $250,000 in today's dollars, the same as your budget. Over the years, we have bought and sold a couple other houses and now live in Lynnfield in a house worth over $600,000. The point is, don't always worry about buying the best the first time, it's not a lifetime commitment.

Your current job requires commuting in to Boston. Is there an opportunity to find comparable or better employment in a suburban location? Where does your wife work? Working somewhere out on the 128 or 495 belt could make living in a less costly northern MA or southern NH town more appealing and not be saddled with a difficult commute.

Happy New Year and good luck with your search!

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Bruins3445

My wife's family swears that Haverhill is horrendous. Multiple family members said its laden with heroin and crime. Said it is a mini Lowell. Haven't researched stats myself but did search these forums prior to asking this question and saw people saying things not in favor of Haverhill so I assumed what we had heard was true. Is this a misconception or any truth to it?

Well maybe, but Lowell is pretty good now. A lot going on there. Being a mini Lowell is a nice thing.

[pennyone]

Originally Posted by gf2020

Heroin use can happen in any community. With a population of 61,000, is Haverhill more likely to have a problem than North Andover, with 28,000 people? Maybe, but how does that actually affect you?

You have Heineken tastes on a Carling Black Label budget. It can be a tough pill to swallow, but people who can only afford a $250K house buy in communities like Lowell and Haverhill. And even in those communities, $250K is well below the average single family house price.

Something like this house in north Haverhill would be a great first home:

40 Edgehill Rd, Haverhill, MA 01830 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

It's important to note that most people only stay in a first house for less than 7 years. The house you may buy today is most likely not the house you will be living in 10-15 years from now. My wife and I bought our first house in Lynn, over 20 years ago, for $154,000. Adjusted for inflation, that is about $250,000 in today's dollars, the same as your budget. Over the years, we have bought and sold a couple other houses and now live in Lynnfield in a house worth over $600,000. The point is, don't always worry about buying the best the first time, it's not a lifetime commitment.

Your current job requires commuting in to Boston. Is there an opportunity to find comparable or better employment in a suburban location? Where does your wife work? Working somewhere out on the 128 or 495 belt could make living in a less costly northern MA or southern NH town more appealing and not be saddled with a difficult commute.

Happy New Year and good luck with your search!

That 40 Edgehill looks great for the price. In Quincy, a house like that would easily get 475-500K and in Milton, 600K.

[Bruins3445]

That house in Haverhill does look nice. My concern more than anything is the schools. If I am going to be traveling all the way to Haverhill maybe I am better off going a bit further and up to Londonderry where the schools are better and not as much crime.

[iDothisoften]

Originally Posted by Bruins3445

My wife's family swears that Haverhill is horrendous. Multiple family members said its laden with heroin and crime. Said it is a mini Lowell. Haven't researched stats myself but did search these forums prior to asking this question and saw people saying things not in favor of Haverhill so I assumed what we had heard was true. Is this a misconception or any truth to it?

It is a misconception through and through. If someone were from a bedroom suburb like Bedford or Andover, Haverhill very well may seem horrendous. I can't even begin to stress how sheltered one must be to think this. Heroin is a problem all over mass, reaching into the burbs. But you won't walk down the street in Haverhill and get it offered to you. I lived in Lowell for a few years and while Lowell has a reputation, it's improved dramatically and I wouldn't even call Lowell horrendous. Lowell has some sketchy areas for sure, and can be a bit depressing at times, but it has it's perks, and nice areas as well. Haverhill is not horrendous in any sense of the word.

The only cities near Boston I think could possibly considered horrendous by anyone (not my personal opinion, but you'll find people who say Worcester is ghetto too- it's not) would be Brockton, Chelsea and Lawrence. I live in Chelsea now and enjoy it but it's not for everyone and I'm almost certain you'd probably hate it. Lawrence isn't super dangerous on the level of Springfield but it does have a lot of poverty- and along with Lowell- perhaps the most visible gang presence in the state. Brockton isn't all bad either but perhaps the only city within 30 miles of Boston that is deserving of its reputation. It has the most violent crime of any city in the area (within the immediate metro area) and it's a bit run down. Even if you were like me, who feels more comfortable in urban areas, even gritty ones, you just wouldn't find Brockton a good place to live. Not only because of crime, but simply because it's a boring, rather lackluster city.

Haverhill is fine. It's not Beverly Hills glitzy but I do think it would meet your needs and not bore you to death.

[notsobkcuf]

I've spent significant time in Andover, North Andover, and Lawrence. As soon as you get across the line to Andover or North Andover it's fine, very little crime. The only problem with buying a house on the Lawrence line if you're afraid of crime, is that you might be tempted to go into Lawrence from time to time for something since it is so close, but you wouldn't have to. But you should, Tripolis bakery is one of the best if not the best bakery in all of Massachusetts. It also has some of the best Pizza in the Boston area albeit a different style "bakery pizza" where you buy by the slice or tray and the sauce is slightly sweet, really outstanding unique pizza, it's just a fantstic bakery for sweets and pizza, and bread (though I've never tried the bread). I usually get a lobster tail, couple slices of cheesecake (one of the best anywhere), a couple sticks of biscotti to bring to my Mom, and 7 slices of pizza - 2 with provolone, 2 with american, 2 plain (sauce and a bit of mozzarella sprinkled on top) and one pepperoni and provolone. (you can choose what type of cheese you want and it's all very tasty). The only thing is there is not too many toppings aside form the different cheeses and pepperoni, maybe one or two more can't recall.