Moving to MA from the South (Boston, Gloucester: fit in, apartment, for rent)

[Moxie]

Jobs are flexible and have enough to have small mortgage with 400k down.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by Moxie

We are expecting to pay 400-500k for a 3b/2b. Which of course buys us a mansion down South! My husband is in maintenance so we expect it won't be difficult to get a job or he can work for himself if worst came to worst. I'm a SAHM of four boys.

We are hoping to be within 2-3 hours of Portland by car to have access to elderly relatives.

Cold is less of an issue but snow has my husband a bit freaked. We get snow where we are but not month after month. I think as long as we aren't shovelling out a lot or slipping and falling on icy sidewalks hoping we'll be ok. And here you crash and kill yourself if it snows. I'm hopeful they clear up there fast enough it's not as much as an issue.

We want good schools but I'm not expecting prep-school level. Schools are crap here so I think anything may be better.

Backwards first: Even crap schools in Mass are average nation-wide, depending on the measure. Worcester, Lynn, Chelsea, Springfield, Lawrence, Haverhill - arguably the worst in the state - are on par with good Louisiana schools. I don't know how good Raleigh/Durham area is though. If they are as bad as you say they are, just about everywhere would be better. The best districts in the state are among the best in the country.

Cold isn't bad. It never gets COLD, midwest style. Usually stays in the high 20s/low 30s and partly sunny. It snows a lot. More away from the water. In Worcester, over the last 5 winters, 4 of them had over 100" of snow. Usually a couple big storms for the bulk of it, and some small (less than 6") storms. Ice isn't much of an issue though. Driving is dicy WHILE snowing. after a snow though, the state cleans up quite quickly - the day after a storm, major roads will be totally clear and dry. Get snow tires. Put them on late October/early November. Keep them on till April. Drive happy.

Portland in 2-3 hours. All of Eastern Mass and most of central Mass is that close. Right now, during rush hour, you can get from Springfield to Portland in about 3.25 hours. However, the south shore makes it harder - Plymouth is 45 miles closer to Portland than Springfield, but during rush hour it'll take the same amount of time. On a Sunday morning, you could do Plymouth-Portland in 2-ish hours though. Providence would be faster in rush hour (just over 3 hours right now).
Basically, SE Mass and South Shore are the places to avoid. West of Worcester would be bad too.

If you aren't going into Boston, there are a lot of options for good schools, good time, nice towns, under 500k. Towns between I-90 and Lawrence would be a good place to start. You won;t find great houses in Bolton or Harvard, but should in Littleton.

[SouthSota14]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

Backwards first: Even crap schools in Mass are average nation-wide, depending on the measure. Worcester, Lynn, Chelsea, Springfield, Lawrence, Haverhill - arguably the worst in the state - are on par with good Louisiana schools. I don't know how good Raleigh/Durham area is though. If they are as bad as you say they are, just about everywhere would be better. The best districts in the state are among the best in the country.

Cold isn't bad. It never gets COLD, midwest style. Usually stays in the high 20s/low 30s and partly sunny. It snows a lot. More away from the water. In Worcester, over the last 5 winters, 4 of them had over 100" of snow. Usually a couple big storms for the bulk of it, and some small (less than 6") storms. Ice isn't much of an issue though. Driving is dicy WHILE snowing. after a snow though, the state cleans up quite quickly - the day after a storm, major roads will be totally clear and dry. Get snow tires. Put them on late October/early November. Keep them on till April. Drive happy.

Portland in 2-3 hours. All of Eastern Mass and most of central Mass is that close. Right now, during rush hour, you can get from Springfield to Portland in about 3.25 hours. However, the south shore makes it harder - Plymouth is 45 miles closer to Portland than Springfield, but during rush hour it'll take the same amount of time. On a Sunday morning, you could do Plymouth-Portland in 2-ish hours though. Providence would be faster in rush hour (just over 3 hours right now).
Basically, SE Mass and South Shore are the places to avoid. West of Worcester would be bad too.

If you aren't going into Boston, there are a lot of options for good schools, good time, nice towns, under 500k. Towns between I-90 and Lawrence would be a good place to start. You won;t find great houses in Bolton or Harvard, but should in Littleton.

Wow that's pretty damn bad. David Duke is considered a Louisiana Grade A educated type too ranking in the higher IQ's and got his degree overseas like in Lithuania or something, but next to Harvard and MIT, even BU/BC types, they don't want to touch him with a 10 foot pole.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by SouthSota14

Wow that's pretty damn bad. David Duke is considered a Louisiana Grade A educated type too ranking in the higher IQ's and got his degree overseas like in Lithuania or something, but next to Harvard and MIT, even BU/BC types, they don't want to touch him with a 10 foot pole.

None of that is relevant to the discussion and according to Wikipedia, he graduated from LSU.

[mdovell]

The seasonality of snow is worse than the snow itself. What I mean by that is how much life slows down due to snow. If you have kids there is the possibility of snow days.

Not sure what caused it but I think since about '05 snow has become worse. Growing up in the 80's inches was one thing but feet were another. I'd recommend nearly anyone in the suburbs to have a snowblower at this point, assuming you have a driveway that can fit a few cars.

The other divisions in the state though are the source of heat. It's much easier to get natural gas in central and western Mass vs oil. To note I would NOT recommend propane or electric heat.

[gf2020]

Sub $500K is tough anywhere in Eastern MA right now. With a family of six I assume you want a fairly big house. I might look at Plainville, MA. It is part of the King Philip Regional School District, which is pretty highly regarded, and the town has easy highway access. Call it 2.5 hours to Portland, Maine, on most days.

This house looks pretty good, but it is on a main road:

85 Messenger St, Plainville, MA 02762 - realtor.com®

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by SouthSota14

Wow that's pretty damn bad. David Duke is considered a Louisiana Grade A educated type too ranking in the higher IQ's and got his degree overseas like in Lithuania or something, but next to Harvard and MIT, even BU/BC types, they don't want to touch him with a 10 foot pole.

No. No. No. David Duke is not considered a "Louisiana Grade A educated type in the higher IQ's". He went to LSU, where literally thousands of people from Louisiana graduate every year. Even some of the football and basketball players.

Public schools in Louisiana are objectively bad, but no self-respecting parent with any amount of money sends their kids to a non-magnet public school. Up here, only the richest of the rich send their kids to private school. It's a vicious cycle in Louisiana--public schools are bad, so anyone who cares sends their kids to private school. So public schools get only the kids who don't have parents with the means to do better and get generally ignored by those with means. So the public schools stay bad. That's why it's nice people in Massachusetts care about having good public schools.

[sal1181]

lawrence with a $500k budget?? For $500k you can buy a house in the Andover area, Chelmsford, Dracut, and other towns

[Beachykeen917]

So, if ballet is a priority for your son/sons, I would give some thought to that. I am not familiar with any high schools where that is a program, but that just may be my limited knowledge. Boston Ballet has a range of classes for boys, but my general impression is that it would be harder to find older boys ballet classes the further away from Boston you go. It might be worth calling the youth ballet program there and talking with them to learn more if this is something that will really impact your decision making. They have school studios in Newton, Marblehead and I think the South End (of Boston) - I have only done classes in Newton with my (very young at the time) daughter...and now she just does rec level dance, so I don't know what other formal programs are available for older boys. But if you are envisioning ballet 2-3x a week, you would want to factor that in to your location or you will be sitting in a lot of traffic.

Sports for your boys would be easy in many towns. Littleton is popping to mind for me because I think it is more affordable than a lot of other towns near to it, but has a school system that is continually improving and is right on 495, so it might make going north to Portland easier, but it will be snowy. There is a dance performace company called Dance Prism in Concord that presents several ballets, so they may also be a good resource for ideas for programs for your boys. More likely something closer to Marblehead will give you the access to Boston Ballet on the north shore and also be closer to Portland, but my guess is that area may feel too congested for you.

The Newburyport area is probably your best bet for easy access to Portland. Towns like Newbury, Georgetown and Boxford (though Boxford is spendy) but not sure how the ballet plays out in that area.

[alidmc]

Originally Posted by Beachykeen917

So, if ballet is a priority for your son/sons, I would give some thought to that. I am not familiar with any high schools where that is a program, but that just may be my limited knowledge. Boston Ballet has a range of classes for boys, but my general impression is that it would be harder to find older boys ballet classes the further away from Boston you go. It might be worth calling the youth ballet program there and talking with them to learn more if this is something that will really impact your decision making. They have school studios in Newton, Marblehead and I think the South End (of Boston) - I have only done classes in Newton with my (very young at the time) daughter...and now she just does rec level dance, so I don't know what other formal programs are available for older boys. But if you are envisioning ballet 2-3x a week, you would want to factor that in to your location or you will be sitting in a lot of traffic.

Sports for your boys would be easy in many towns. Littleton is popping to mind for me because I think it is more affordable than a lot of other towns near to it, but has a school system that is continually improving and is right on 495, so it might make going north to Portland easier, but it will be snowy. There is a dance performace company called Dance Prism in Concord that presents several ballets, so they may also be a good resource for ideas for programs for your boys. More likely something closer to Marblehead will give you the access to Boston Ballet on the north shore and also be closer to Portland, but my guess is that area may feel too congested for you.

The Newburyport area is probably your best bet for easy access to Portland. Towns like Newbury, Georgetown and Boxford (though Boxford is spendy) but not sure how the ballet plays out in that area.

Rowley and Georgetown are both towns that should have something in your range. Both are considered somewhat rural by Mass. standards, but are right off 95. You could get to Portland in under 2 hours without traffic. Both are also very close to Newburyport, and not too far from Danvers. Newburyport/Portsmouth NH would be your places to go for dinner and any nightlife you have with kids. Danvers/Peabody are where the malls and large shopping centers are.