Massachusetts or New Hampshire? From the midwest... (Boston, Worcester: renting, condo)

[nic012]

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

This was my thought exactly. Marlboro is already in the outer 'burbs, so there is cost savings there. I would not want to commute from NH.

I moved to the Boston 'burbs as a recent college grad with my long-term boyfriend and our dog. That was back in 2002. We're now married, have kids, still have a dog, and are only one town over from where we originally moved when we moved to Boston. And I'm from the midwest as well (Missouri). Good luck with the move and I hope you love it here!

Wow! We have a lot of parallels. Is there anything you wish you knew before moving across the country like that? I am assuming we probably lived in similar environments so I'm wondering how the change was for you. Thank you so much for your reply.

[nic012]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I worked at a tech startup in Marlboro in the industrial park just west of 495 back in the mid-1980s. I had a co-worker who commuted from Salem NH. Back then, 495 was an 80 mph road so it was do-able. No way I'd do that drive with today's 495 traffic. I was on it at 2:30pm on Thursday. It was 65 mph, a few full stops, heavy traffic, and full attention needed. 5pm on a summer Friday from Marlboro to NH is ugly.

Thank you for this information. Someone who used to live in RI told me at a bar to, no matter what, live in NH instead of MA and when I asked about the commute, he said it was painless and easy

[nic012]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

Marlborough is the outer burbs, but it's still gotten pricey. It's cheap for the region (which is why I moved here), but probably mind-boggling for someone from Oklahoma. I pay $1500 a month in an apartment complex with a small gym and heat/hot water included, and feel like that's a pretty good deal. I could have gone cheaper, but the quality of housing dramatically drops off from there.

Marlborough also looks nothing like Boston or the inner suburbs if you haven't been out here. It's very suburban. I joke with my friends that this is where all of Massachusetts' big box stores and Applebees live.

I agree with others - I'd stick near Marlborough itself. Driving from NH makes no sense - any tax benefit would be lost to commute time and cost. T

A few things to keep in mind with budgeting: electricity costs are fairly high in Marlborough. Not sure why - I pay more on my 1 bedroom with just me than my entire 3 bedroom with 2 roommates plus their partners visiting frequently when I lived 20 miles away. In the year I've lived here, I don't think I've paid less than $100 a month, even in winter when I don't have the AC going. Car insurance is cheaper than other parts of Mass, but I pay almost double what my parents pay for 2 newer SUVs in Georgia for a several-year-old Prius (with no accident history). You would do well to find an apartment that covers heat/hot water - the first few years I lived here after college, paying for oil every few months (they come and fill up the tank) really threw my finances!

I don't mind suburban living at all! It's definitely what I'm used to! I just could never live small-town without any chain restaurants or Walmart/Targets.

Do you have any other city recommendations around Marlborough. I am visiting the area later this summer to look around and I want to know what cities I should look into. We have a friend who might take a job in Tewksbury, so if he does that, there's a chance my boyfriend and I could live with him to save up some money from rent for a year or so. So maybe somewhere central to Marlborough and Tewks. But that's not neccessary - I've seen on this thread people mention the cities of Worchester and Hudson. Any others?

Thank you so much for these cost specifics. I had no idea that you would have to pay for oil for heat and hot water. Everywhere I rented back home has these things included.

[nic012]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Hudson > Marlborough if you're a 20-something who enjoys walking to a decent local bar/restaurant.

Thank you for this! I am flying up later this summer to look around the area and I definitely will make sure to check out Hudson. Does Hudson still have a lot of the chain amenities it seems Marlborough has?

[nic012]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

Rule out NH, just not a good commute situation.

Marlboro is commutable to Boston and to Worcester which gives your boyfriend some flexibility. If you are interested in urban living, you might want to take a hard look at Worcester which was recently ranked the number one up and coming small city in the country. (https://www.npr.org/2018/10/23/65826...he-new-it-town) Living there could give you a lot of the Boston/city living experience, with better housing, at a fraction of the cost of Boston. But still only an hour away by train or car.

Thank you so much. I am travelling up to the area later this summer and I will definitely have to check out the Worcester area. My boyfriend will graduate with an economics degree so I'd like to make sure wherever we end up living, there are ample job opportunities for him.

[nic012]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Haverhill to Chelmsford is murder, at any time. There are problem spots south of there as well, but that is the absolute worst. Entire road needs to be demolished and rebuilt from scratch.

Thank you for this. I think I was previously given inaccurate info from someone who lived in RI...he made it seem like the commute from southern NH was a walk in the park

[nic012]

Originally Posted by Louisville Slugger

If you like bike riding there's a nice paved trail that goes from Marlborough to Hudson. It's a little over 10 miles round trip.

Thank you! Does this area also have any dog-friendly walking trails? I think that would be nice to be able to take our husky out on walks. I'm sure he would like a more of a nature trail type of scene than his cookie-cutter neighborhood walks back home

[nic012]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

I cut $1K off my car insurance premium as well when I moved from Revere to outside 128.

Hi. Could you do me a favor and expain inside/outside 128 means? I've seen it said a couple times in the thread but when I pulled up a MA map real quick, I didn't see a major highway called 128 that was my guess that that phrase meant.

[nic012]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

I'd rent a place in Marlborough for a year, so you can live and work in Marlborough and you can really learn the area to see what you like. Also it will be better once you know where your boyfriend will be working.

Hard for me to say what sort of premium you'd need to move here. How badly do you really want to stay in northern OK? It will certainly be a change. I think MA is one of the best states in the country to live, although it certainly has its drawbacks. It is expensive and the weather is not the best. Spring is nonexistent, although Summer is usually pretty nice. There is a lot of traffic. But, there is a lot here in terms of employment opportunities and education. Lots of different places to visit easily, and lots of accessibility to other parts of the east coast. Quite a bit of good food. A lot going on in general.

Yes we hope to rent for the first year at least while making sure it's where we want to stay for more of a long-term. Do you have any other city recommendations around Marlborough. I am visiting the area later this summer to look around and I want to know what cities I should look into. We have a friend who might take a job in Tewksbury, so if he does that, there's a chance my boyfriend and I could live with him to save up some money from rent for a year or so. My boyfriend is going to have an economics degree so Id imagine he'd have to work in a suburban/urban city for his job opportunities. So maybe somewhere central to Marlborough and Tewks. But that's not neccessary - I've seen on this thread people mention the cities of Worchester and Hudson. Any others?

I've lived my whole life in Oklahoma, spending some summers in Texas and Kansas. Where I'm currently working in Wichita, KS, I expect my offer to be $15,000-$10,000 less than my offer in MA. It's just hard for me to know if Wichita, while less, is a better deal when you factor in cost of living. I've utilized some online cost of living categories, but I'm unsure of how complete of a picture that paints.

Part of my thinking was, if I was going to move across the country, now would be the time to do so. No kids to uproot and really just us starting off our careers. I feel like if I stayed closer to home right after college, I would have no realistic chance of the future of relocating that far away. So, starting a new chapter of our lives, MA seems like so much more of a draw through food, entertainment, travel, etc. But I just want to make sure my decision is a fiscally smart decision as well as one that would make us happy.

[nic012]

Originally Posted by ECPCVC

True..but not many towns have two Targets lol. Between Apex, the mall (with 3 department stores and a movie theater), 2 targets, Home Depot, however many Marshall’s/TK Maxx, ocean state job lot, dsw, pharmacies, many a dollar store, every fast food chain imaginable I can’t think of anything Marlborough doesn’t have. I guess if you really needed a Walmart you could go next door to Hudson. Btw I think of it as a positive to have so much in town. You can live in a very residential, leafy green neighborhood but with many conveniences close by. I live in the town over and I’m there all the time because my town doesn’t have much.

Yes I like the idea of a residential area with a lot of amenities and shopping. Do you have any other city recommendations around Marlborough? I am visiting the area later this summer to look around and I want to know what cities I should look into. We have a friend who might take a job in Tewksbury, so if he does that, there's a chance my boyfriend and I could live with him to save up some money from rent for a year or so. So maybe somewhere central to Marlborough and Tewks. But that's not neccessary - I've seen on this thread people mention the cities of Worchester and Hudson. Any others?