Relocating from Raleigh

[alidmc]

I think Acton and Westford are both good choices. The commute will be long (1+ hour each way). OP, I am not certain how much you looked at transportation costs in the area, but I want to bring them up because they are considerable. It is a 45 minute ride from South Acton or Lowell to North Station, according to the schedule, though there may be an express train that saves some time. In reality, I would add 5 or 10 minutes to the schedule time. From N Station, your husband would have to either transfer to a subway line or walk (depending on location of office). Both Lowell and South Acton are zone 6 stops on the commuter rail at a cost of $318.00 per month for a pass (plus a daily parking fee).
Driving into Boston would take over an hour or so as well, and parking costs are high. The cheapest I have seen near the downtown lately is $400 per month.
Living closer to downtown may save you some money in train pass costs (a zone 3, for example, is $244).

[mwj119]

If you do like the idea of being a bit closer to the city, and are ok with "sacrificing" some square footage and test scores (still going to be good schools), I'd recommend Reading on top of Natick which was already mentioned. We are currently looking at Reading with a similar budget. It's foundation feels middle class but it makes it feel very homie and neighborhood centric. It's fairly walkable, has a decent little downtown, and as more money pours in, many of the homes are being redone. It's not a tear-down community as it's priced too expensive, so instead it's being cleaned up very nicely. I'd say the feel of Natick is similar, although we looked there and ultimately much prefer Reading- both the town and the location.

Quite frankly, I'm ok with my kids attending a top 50 high school in the state as opposed to a top 10 high school. You'll find many kids heading to Ivy League schools in both tiers- I just think it's more the expectation in a Acton/Lincoln/Sudbury/Lexington/Westford as opposed to the exception in Reading.

Melrose is a great town, but if you want a single family, you will be out of luck at $500k and the schools aren't that desirable by MA standards.

[495neighbor]

More info from the OP please

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

More info from the OP please

Absolutely. Without more from OP, we're talking in circles. Acton might be exactly what she wants, or it might be totally off the mark. We just don't know.