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Old 02-09-2008, 05:47 PM
 
Location: S. New Hampshire
909 posts, read 3,352,121 times
Reputation: 541

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My Dh is concentrating his job search to include the area between Boston and Nashua. He is currently looking at a company in Lowell, and another in Chelmsford. Can anyone tell me where would be a good town to raise a family in? We are looking primarily for strong public schools, then affordable housing. Good city recreation services and infrastructure would be nice too Thanks!

ETA:
I have done a preliminary survey of Chelmsford, Lowell, Westford, Wilmington on City-Data and on Greatschools.net. It seems like Lowell ranks pretty dismally on the school front, and Westford pretty high, with the others in between. They seem to run consistently with the cost of housing. Do you find that to be the case?

Last edited by maestramommy; 02-09-2008 at 06:37 PM..
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Old 02-09-2008, 07:21 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts & Hilton Head, SC
9,901 posts, read 15,466,501 times
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Yes, your reasearch is right. You'd want to buy in either Westford or Chelmsford.
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Old 02-10-2008, 12:14 AM
 
Location: Southern New Hampshire
4,643 posts, read 13,890,997 times
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Westford would be a good bet, Chelmsford maybe just a little less so... but definitely better than Lowell. BUT I do have to say that Lowell is doing a great job with overcoming many problems of the last couple of decades, they have a great waterfront area, many festivals, including the cultural festival, jazz fest, etc. The mills and textile museums are a great peek into the past, but the schools just aren't up to snuff, in many people's opinion. The one neighborhood that you might want to consider is the Belvidiere area, very nice... You know, if you're coming to this area from somewhere else, you might want to consider renting, even if short term. When we relocated our family out to the St. Louis area, we rented for 6 months, and it allowed us to become acclimated to the area, and all it had to offer, and we were able to make a much better decision on a major purchase.
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Old 02-10-2008, 12:46 AM
 
Location: S. New Hampshire
909 posts, read 3,352,121 times
Reputation: 541
Quote:
Originally Posted by Valerie C View Post
You know, if you're coming to this area from somewhere else, you might want to consider renting, even if short term. When we relocated our family out to the St. Louis area, we rented for 6 months, and it allowed us to become acclimated to the area, and all it had to offer, and we were able to make a much better decision on a major purchase.
Yes, that is going to be our plan. We want to move quickly, but we don't want to buy a house quickly. Do the areas I mentioned (okay let's say Westford, or even Acton) have reasonable rental properties? Or would it make more sense to rent in Chelmsford or Lowell. Neither of our kids are in school yet, and probably won't be for another year.
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Old 02-10-2008, 04:25 AM
 
18,606 posts, read 33,173,132 times
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You don't want to or need to rent in Lowell. I do agree with the poster who mentioned the growing urban attractions there, but it's not a place to live. At all.
All of the towns you mention are nice towns. I don't know if there are many house rentals- there might be some, with the slowdown in sales. Don't forget to consider Littleton, next to Westford. A very nice and quiet town. There are sometimes modest rental houses near Long Lake, which is a very nice place to walk and take kids.
I recommend Cowley Associates for housing/rentals in Littleton. I'm not affiliated with them, was just happy with their work when I bought in Littleton.
Good luck- all of the non-Lowell places you mentioned are well located for your husband's work and are very nice places to live.
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Old 08-08-2008, 12:25 PM
 
3 posts, read 9,994 times
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Default Lowell

Quote:
Originally Posted by maestramommy View Post
My Dh is concentrating his job search to include the area between Boston and Nashua. He is currently looking at a company in Lowell, and another in Chelmsford. Can anyone tell me where would be a good town to raise a family in? We are looking primarily for strong public schools, then affordable housing. Good city recreation services and infrastructure would be nice too Thanks!

ETA:
I have done a preliminary survey of Chelmsford, Lowell, Westford, Wilmington on City-Data and on Greatschools.net. It seems like Lowell ranks pretty dismally on the school front, and Westford pretty high, with the others in between. They seem to run consistently with the cost of housing. Do you find that to be the case?
Lowell is not a place to raise a family. It is almost taken over by gangs. The school system is awful. I wouldn't send my dog to their schools. The schools are loaded with gang members. I hope i could help.
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Old 08-08-2008, 01:36 PM
 
19 posts, read 72,651 times
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> Lowell is not a place to raise a family. It is almost taken over by gangs.

Try living in Lowell, as I do. It's a great place with a lot to do, without paying over-inflated prices of other burbs with over-inflated reputations. Sure there are criminals, but it's not Camden NJ. I just don't see what you are talking about. I've also lived in DC, and I suppose I won't see you there because of all the gang activity. Please, lock yourself into your over-priced townhouse in your $5K/year tax Pottery-barn burb, and stay away from Lowell, where culture thrives, without the $100/ticket price.

That said, I moved here after my daughter was out of school, and probably concur with others about the less than stellar reputation of Lowell secondary schools.

On the other hand, you can rent in downtown Lowell or Belvidiere for a year while you put your considerable savings into the bank.

Last edited by CaseyB; 08-08-2008 at 01:49 PM.. Reason: personal attack
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Old 08-09-2008, 08:26 AM
 
3 posts, read 15,206 times
Reputation: 10
Default Try these towns.

If you haven't researched them already, try looking at these towns as well:

Littleton (I grew up in Littleton - great schools, great place to raise a family, small town feel to it, and you'll be within a five minute drive to major highways no matter where in town that you live)
Groton
Dunstable
Tyngsboro
Acton
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