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Having to travel 20minutes from rural Acton to Westford to get the nearest Chipotle is pretty lousy. I would not call that convenient.
All of these little trips you take for coffee, lunch, shopping, etc. Take inventory of them they add up. If you are in a more urban suburb like Burlington, Newton, Needham, Natick, etc. you are just closer to civilization and these little trips turn into 5 minute trips vs the 15-20mins of a rural suburb like Acton.
For example, from my home in Natick i am < 8min from 7 different grocery stores, 2 large town centers with numerous non-chain local establishments, 2 commuter rail stops, and the second largest retail district in the state. Its super convenient compared to Acton. Lots of those little trips become so small that they virtually disappear. And I can get into Boston on the weekend in 24min. that would be 45min from Acton. The numbers and convenience is similar in Burlington.
IMO Burlington and Natick are the sweet spots right now. Good location, amenities, schools, less expensive than neighboring 1%er towns, and you still feel like you are part of the boston metro area.
In acton you just don't feel like you are part of Boston. It's just too far.
You are the Natick outlier. Not one friend of mine in Natick has recently moved there for Chipotle or Starbucks. They are there for TCAN, Cafe on the Common, etc.
You are the Natick outlier. Not one friend of mine in Natick has recently moved there for Chipotle or Starbucks. They are there for TCAN, Cafe on the Common, etc.
Are you sure you are from Acton with reading comprehension that bad?
Show me where i said that i moved to Natick FOR these reasons? I didn't say that. What a weak attempt at an insult.
This is not true. People from acton work all over. Lowell, 495, 128, boston, cambridge, etc.
Boston/Cambridge is likely the minority employment location for Acton dwellers. Even with the train it really isn't very convenient from Acton.
I'm discussing what helps drives desirability, not what people are currently living out. The fact that Acton A) has a commuter rail station, and B) that line has an express train, does indeed make it more desirable to many buyers, even if those buyers aren't currently commuting into Cambridge/North Station. It's insurance against future commutes/job access.
I know you choose to ignore facts which fail to satisfy your thesis, but to paint the South Acton station as non-factor is ridiculous.
And I can get into Boston on the weekend in 24min. that would be 45min from Acton. The numbers and convenience is similar in Burlington.
You take rail on weekends? For someone who hates the poor, you sure differ to plebeian modes of transit. You can drive from Acton to Cambridge in 30-35min on the weekend, which is quite tolerable by most standards.
You take rail on weekends? For someone who hates the poor, you sure differ to plebeian modes of transit. You can drive from Acton to Cambridge in 30-35min on the weekend, which is quite tolerable by most standards.
I'm discussing what helps drives desirability, not what people are currently living out. The fact that Acton A) has a commuter rail station, and B) that line has an express train, does indeed make it more desirable to many buyers, even if those buyers aren't currently commuting into Cambridge/North Station. It's insurance against future commutes/job access.
I know you choose to ignore facts which fail to satisfy your thesis, but to paint the South Acton station as non-factor is ridiculous.
You made a bogus claim that Acton and Chelmsford buyers don't cross shop those towns. This is false.
Acton is in direct competition with nearby towns like Chelmsford and Burlington.
You made a bogus claim that Acton and Chelmsford buyers don't cross shop those towns. This is false.
Acton is in direct competition with nearby towns like Chelmsford and Burlington.
I'm sure some do, but most don't. Ask a realtor, or just search this forum ... Acton, Boxborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Concord + maybe Littleton, Westford are more or less the sphere.
I'm sure some do, but most don't. Ask a realtor, or just search this forum ... Acton, Boxborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Concord + maybe Littleton, Westford are more or less the sphere.
It depends on what you mean by competition and what phase of the town selection process you are in. For instance, Chicagoliz who ended up in Newton told us that she considered Acton but quickly threw it out of contention for commuting reasons. In other words, Acton was in direct competition with Newton! But if you go strictly by her final decision process of Newton vs Wellesley or wherever that wouldn't tell the true story. Im sure there were a lot of towns that were filtered out early in the process.
I see it as 2 phases in town selection:
1) initial town filtering
2) selecting among handful of towns. (final selection)
Maybe Burlington vs Acton isn't as common in phase 2 but they end up in phase 1 against one another. There are lots of Burlington buyers who initially considered Acton but threw it out early in the process for commute reasons. They might have narrowed their towns to a more common Burlington vs Woburn, for instance, but as with that doesn't tell the full story since they DID consider Acton just very early in the process.
This is probably why Burlington has been out appreciating Acton. It tends to cater to a wider swath of buyers and is therefore filtered out less. Acton is filtered out TIME AND TIME again citing commute concerns. You know this. Acton is continually in competition with towns all over greater boston but this is happening at an early phase so you have to dig a little deeper to see it. It's less obvious.
I think thats the key: buy in a town that minimizes the chance that it is filtered in phase 1.
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