Some questions about housing in Northern MA / southern NH (Boston: 2015, rent)

[WoodyWW]

Originally Posted by Leo58

Looks like I'll be moving from St Louis to Boston soon for a job in the Andover area. I've been all over real estate websites and, aside from the sky high prices, had a few surprises.

For one thing, I was surprised at the number of homes, some not that old, that have no garage. Why would anyone in a northern climate build a house without a garage? Don't you end up scraping ice off your windshield every morning?

Finally, I'm looking at New Hampshire because its close to Andover but prices are lower. I realize that is offset in large part by the extremely high property taxes. But anyway, what is Salem, NH like? Is that a desirable place to live?

No garage often means a lot more than just "scraping ice off your windshield every morning". If you get a foot of snow, there's that as well, on top of shoveling it off your driveway which often can be brutal. Once I left my car out of the garage & there was a big sleet & ice storm that night, that left about 2 inches of ice all over the car. I needed to get into the trunk, but it was frozen solid to the 2 inches of ice on the bumper. I would've needed a hammer & chisel to get it off; not just a scraper. So I agree it's nuts not to have a garage in New England, if you have a choice.

I 2nd the idea to look in S. NH. I moved to the "Seacoast Region" a couple of years ago, partly b/c of the increasingly insane prices in any nice town closer to Boston. You get way more house for your $$ up here, & it's way less hectic, & the people less crazed ......

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by WoodyWW

So I agree it's nuts not to have a garage in New England, if you have a choice.

I agree, but most people don't utilize the garage for cars. When I drive around my neighborhood and see people with garage doors open, what I see inside is rarely their main, everyday cars, and more along the lines of motorcycles, jet skis, junk, lawnmowers, snowblowers, seldom driven antique cars, etc.


I'm guilty of this myself as well. We have a 2-car garage, and in the winter, our main everyday cars sit outside in the snow.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

I agree, but most people don't utilize the garage for cars. When I drive around my neighborhood and see people with garage doors open, what I see inside is rarely their main, everyday cars, and more along the lines of motorcycles, jet skis, junk, lawnmowers, snowblowers, seldom driven antique cars, etc.


I'm guilty of this myself as well. We have a 2-car garage, and in the winter, our main everyday cars sit outside in the snow.

Bingo. I can't recall the last time saw someone using their garage for an actual car. Perhaps one they never drive, but not their main vehicle.


Maybe it happens with those palatial houses with double or triple garages on 1 acre lots, or something.

[massnative71]

I use mine all winter long. Sleep is valuable to me, and I just can't find the motivation to wake up THAT much earlier to clean the vehicles off. To the those who enjoy it, well more power to you...

[Leo58]

So i started this thread back in July, have now been living in Mass for about 1 month and still puzzling over where to buy a house. Besides the no-garage issue I mentioned before, I just don't get this place. Right now I am renting in North Reading, which is supposed to be a desirable town. All I can say is, what a dump! The business district on Rte 28 can only be described as trashy. Walking through some neighborhoods the other day, I felt like I was in Appalachia. Yet I know they have good schools, nice parks and some nice housing.

Not picking on North Reading; it's like every other town I've been through here. Run down old houses and poor infrastructure. Is this just the price you pay for living in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country? Never thought I'd pay >$700k for a house, but that apparently is not enough in this area.

PS, the people here have been great. New Englanders have a reputation for being cold and unfriendly - not true in the least.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by Leo58

So i started this thread back in July, have now been living in Mass for about 1 month and still puzzling over where to buy a house. Besides the no-garage issue I mentioned before, I just don't get this place. Right now I am renting in North Reading, which is supposed to be a desirable town. All I can say is, what a dump! The business district on Rte 28 can only be described as trashy. Walking through some neighborhoods the other day, I felt like I was in Appalachia. Yet I know they have good schools, nice parks and some nice housing.

Not picking on North Reading; it's like every other town I've been through here. Run down old houses and poor infrastructure. Is this just the price you pay for living in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country? Never thought I'd pay >$700k for a house, but that apparently is not enough in this area.

PS, the people here have been great. New Englanders have a reputation for being cold and unfriendly - not true in the least.

Have you been to Concord? Marblehead? Winchester? Wellesley? Weston? Manchester-by-the-Sea? Lexington? Are you prepared to call those a dump- or is if that you simply can't afford a nice(r) town in Massachusetts? I'd argue that outside of a few suburbs in NY, San Fran, and Chicago, Boston has some of the most aesthetically pleasing suburbs in North America.

What you are seeing in North Reading is a decade long shift from blue-collar to white-collar. It's the same across the majority of Massachusetts. On a wealth scale, I'd bet North Reading is not in the top 75 towns in Massachusetts as far as median-income. Show me the 75th most affluent town in greater St. Louis... Yikes...

Now, back to productive conversation. Take your $600k and buy a small house in nice neighborhood in Andover, or use that money for a nice colonial in Westford. If you want a nicer town closer to the city, you're going to pay for it. I personally think North Reading is just fine, but it's certainly not going to blow you away (especially for the price). It's very much a normal, every day, second-tier suburb.

[scorpio516]

What got me when I first moved here is how rural the suburbs are!

But otherwise I can't help you. I almost never go East of 93. You could look at Chelmsford or Tewksbury. Again a lot of garage-free houses lol.

[Boston_Burbs]

I think the OP prefers the type of towns where a developer comes in, puts in a Panera, Cheese Cake factory, and other chains and calls the complex "downtown" surrounded by xxl SUV parking spots.

[tamajane]

Originally Posted by Leo58

So i started this thread back in July, have now been living in Mass for about 1 month and still puzzling over where to buy a house. Besides the no-garage issue I mentioned before, I just don't get this place. Right now I am renting in North Reading, which is supposed to be a desirable town. All I can say is, what a dump! The business district on Rte 28 can only be described as trashy. Walking through some neighborhoods the other day, I felt like I was in Appalachia. Yet I know they have good schools, nice parks and some nice housing.

You haven't been through Appalachia lately.

[Leo58]

Originally Posted by Boston_Burbs

I think the OP prefers the type of towns where a developer comes in, puts in a Panera, Cheese Cake factory, and other chains and calls the complex "downtown" surrounded by xxl SUV parking spots.

You don't need chain restaurants to be aesthetically pleasing. Downtown Andover for example, is quite nice. Lexington also. But those seem like the exceptions.