Where to live near Tewksbury/Andover? (Boston, Lowell: apartment, rentals, lofts)

[Zobbb]

What type of salary do I need to live here comfortably? No kids, looking for a studio or 1 BR. My current rent where I’m from is below 1200. I know I’ll have to pay more but still would like to find the most affordable nice apartment. I’m willing to live up to 30 min away (with traffic) as well if that helps any. Preferably closer to the Boston side but it’s not a must.

Bonus: what’s the area like? Must do things? Must see? Must eat?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[BosYuppie]

First off, avoid Lawrence

Tewksbury, Andover, N Andover are all fine, boxford is good but more of a family town. If you can find a nice unit around Andover Centre, that’s the most walkable and best for catching the commuter rail to Boston.

Things to do - eat plenty of good food and check out boutique shops around Andover Centre, go into Boston in 40 minutes, shop tax free in New Hampshire, take in D1 college hockey and other sports at Merrimack College or Umass Lowell, head over to the Cape Ann beaches in the summer.. others will have plenty of suggestions.

Just winging it, I think you’d want to make at least 75k to be pretty comfortable up there.

[tysmith95]

Ehh, i'm not sure I would bother being closer to Boston if the commute doesn't require yet, especially since that budget isn't huge. Anything closer to Boston commands a premium.

I'd take a look at Lowell or Haverhill. Downtown Andover or parts of North Andover you could look at too. Andover is a very nice suburban town, North Andover too. Lawrence i'd avoid. Lowell is a city, with city problems but also amenities (lots of bars/restaurants etc). Haverhill is a little smaller than Lowell, and nothing fancy but a solid small city.

[grlwthprl]

Haverhill, North Andover, Lawrence, and Lowell have beautiful re-purposed lofts. Dh and I are considering Lowell, having lived in a tony coastal town for many years. Incredible food,cultural diversity, UMass Lowell, commuter rail to Boston in 30 minutes, a very rich environment if you don't mind living in a former mill town. Here's a link to what we're looking at, but there are plenty of choices: https://www.livejacksonstreet.com Lofts 71 and 109 are the newest in this group.

[darkone]

I think that Choosing Lowell is your best bet. I don’t see what Boston has that Lowell doesn’t. Cheaper and better ethnic food, real diversity, a river, parks, university etc. Ok Boston has an airport and more buildings etc but it is also much pricier. Tewksbury is a transition town between the city (Lowell) and Andover, which is a well-off and somewhat high-strung town with both old money and new money. All three are about 25 to 30 minutes north of the Boston metropolitan area (assuming no traffic, which is getting worse and worse). So I would choose to live in Greater Lowell / Merimack Valley area. You can always visit the Boston metro area on weekends as it is not too far away from Andover / Tewksbury / Lowell etc.

[BosYuppie]

I repeat, do not go to Lawrence. I hope it gets to where Lowell is, and beyond, but there’s still a long road to hoe.

Realistically it’s more like 45 minutes to Boston from this area, depending where you start. If you started at Ballardvale in Andover and could get right on 93 with no traffic, you could hit the city line in about 20 mins in no traffic, but that’s an edge case.

[polly2019]

First think to know is that 30 mintues as the crow flies is not the same thing as 30 minutes from work during commuting hours. A 45 min drive with no traffic is a 90 min commute for me to get into the city. One way.



Housing: you need to make 6 figures or you need to have 6 roommates.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by polly2019

Housing: you need to make 6 figures or you need to have 6 roommates.

Not if they're living in Lowell or Nashua - plenty of decent rentals in the the sub-1.5k/mo range.

[Zobbb]

If anyone can link me some sub 1500 rents i would greatly appreciate it. Having a hard time finding some that are decent honestly.

[grlwthprl]

I sent you a pm