Philly to Boston relocation - do or don't (Lynn, Woburn: condo, townhouse)

[sunguy13]

Hello Bostonians,
I currently work with a small company in Woburn and commute 3 weeks/month. Have been doing it for a couple months and we have started realizing it's taking a toll on my little kids (especially as we don't have any family around in Philadelphia).
One option we have is to move to Boston and live near Woburn (Where elementary schools are good). What areas would you recommend I look at?


Honestly, we would rather not move from Philly to Boston as Philly is less crowded, affordable and people are nicer (At least to me)...But Boston has a bigger economy and we realize it will be much better for both mine and my wife's career. Currently, she can work from home in Boston.

So, what area would you recommend we look at? SO far, I have been told to look at Westford and Andover. Lexington schools are great but it's crazily expensive housing..
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks
AJ

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by sunguy13

people are nicer (Yes, I said it)...

It’s rarely a good idea to insult someone and ask for advice in the same breath.

[sunguy13]

Originally Posted by iAMtheVVALRUS

It’s rarely a good idea to insult someone and ask for advice in the same breath.

Agreed. Changed it.

[jayrandom]

Move or find a different job. What is your budget? Without that any advise could be a waste of time.

My parents live in the outskirts of Philly and Massachusetts is more expensive but it’s also generally nicer.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by sunguy13

Agreed. Changed it.

Wow, that’s actually really nice. Thank you!

Burlington is right by Woburn and iirc it’s both not terribly expensive and has a pretty good school system. Other posters can confirm or deny, but it might be worth a look.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by iAMtheVVALRUS

Wow, that’s actually really nice. Thank you!

Burlington is right by Woburn and iirc it’s both not terribly expensive and has a pretty good school system. Other posters can confirm or deny, but it might be worth a look.

I live there. Schools are good and getting better as more million dollar homes are built in town and million dollar home buyers have high expectations. Taxes are reasonable to due the commercial tax base.

To the OP, $650-700 is the sweet spot for an updated home on a quit street. $400-450 is what a tear down goes for, and anything new is in the 7 figure area even on more heavily traveled streets.

[bjimmy24]

If you don't really want to move, don't move.

[chicagoliz]

We moved from Philly to Boston a couple years back. We like it much better, although part of the problem was that we were so far from Philadelphia that going down there was a freakin nightmare. We are very close to the city (i.e. Boston) now, and we LOVE it.

Part of the reason for the move was my husband's industry -- a lot of it was moving out of Philadelphia and to Boston. So, for his career, it was much better to be up here. We weren't that jazzed about moving but the idea of a PHL-BOS commute, especially with school age kids was extremely unpalatable.

The biggest issue is that housing is much more expensive up here. Where to look depends on your budget, the type of town you're looking for, and what sort of housing you're willing to accept (i.e. would you accept a condo? A townhouse/duplex? An old house that needs work? A house smaller than what you have now?) I loved my house in the Philly area, although I hated the location. My current house was MUCH MUCH more expensive, 75 years older, with a one car garage instead of a large 2 car garage, and a significantly smaller kitchen and bedroom. But I am much happier in it.

Also, schools in MA are better than they are in PA, where the legislature has had a war on education for quite some time.

[mwj119]

Budget and preferences will obviously play the biggest factor in anyone’s reccomendation.

Andover is an awesome town with a varying degree of everything depending on area.. $3M mansions on large lost south of downtown, pre war capes and Dutch colonials on tree lined streets north in Shawsheen, old Victorians and colonials around downtown, etc. not a terrible train ride to the city, and not a bad commute to Woburn at all. I’ve heard a lot about the ongoing deterioration of the schools there, and that’s coming directly from folks that work there. I’d take it with a grain of salt- Any town of that caliber likely offers students an exceptional experience even by MA standards.

Westford doesn’t have a typical walkable downtown, though it has a very aesthetically nice stretch of commercial activity along 110 including restaraunts, grocers includingWhole Foods, IBM, Red Hat, Puma HQ, Junioer, Netscout, etc. Though Westford will not offer that walkable core, it’s very very pretty. The housing stock is really nice, and even in the lake area (Nabnasset) everything is beginning to update. There is a ton to do in the town, all geared towards families- Westford swim and tennis, three power boatable lakes with beaches, a new recreation center called Millworks complete with indoor turf fields, multiple apples orchards, Nashoba ski area, the farmers markets, the Apple blossom parade and fair, etc. And, by every measure, Westford is one of the very best school districts in the state. When considering value, it may be the best. It’s pretty high income much like Andover, though we have family there, and the people we’ve met are extremely low key.

Depending on your style, I’d add (west) Reading, Lynnfield, and Bedford to the list. Burlington is worth a consideration too, though I don’t like it as much as the others.. Something about it the towns feels off. Can’t seem to find an area I really love.. Kind of feels like one big 60s/70s sprawling neighborhood separated by a lot of main roads. If you want value, it’d be silly to ignore Chelmsford. Good schools, and really affordable home prices for the area.

[life4orce]

Originally Posted by sunguy13

Honestly, we would rather not move from Philly to Boston as Philly is less crowded, affordable and people are nicer (At least to me)...

You've already have a prejudiced opinion, so it's unlikely that things will get better from your point of view. You sound like you really don't want to do it, so trust your gut. If you happen to move on from this job, do you really want to get stuck in an area you didn't want to be to begin with?

The housing market is very competitive in this area, so you're going to have to fight for a house you like. I had a relative that lived in Woburn and relocated to another part of the country. Listed their house at market value and ended up selling in 2 weeks, 3 people bidding against each other and got 40k over listed price.