Concord - why did you choose to live there? Pros and cons (Boston: apartment, rentals)
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For C-D users that live in Concord, MA:
- Why did you choose Concord? What were you looking for?
- Did/do you have children in the school system and were/are you happy with it?
- If you commute to Boston, public or drive?
- Community - do you find the residents welcoming? Are there 'friendlier' parts of town/neighborhoods?
- Recreation/sports - does that town have options for things like gymnastics, ballet, music, etc. And how are the school sports?
- Finally, are you happy you chose Concord?
I appreciate I've asked some general questions so any insight on why you are happy with your choice of Concord would be great.
Our family of 5, with 3 kids under age 6 is still on our search for where to move from Manhattan and Concord has come up quite a bit. Thanks so much.
When available, $800k gets you a house in West Concord, but likely on a main road or in old condition. Concord is a $1M+ town, through and through.
Because I'm from the immediate area, and again now live close by, here's my perspective that should address some of your questions:
Concord is a historic, beautiful, quaint, progressive town with boatloads of mass appeal. Very few suburbs like it to me here, or anywhere. So well preserved, so well maintained, two nice little downtowns, bodies of water, bikers and runner everywhere.
I have found Concord to be fairly welcoming- It's far more transient than it used to be, so that's to be expected. I don't think there are nearly as many kids in the school system as compared to surrounding towns like Acton and Westford, and I'm sure the numbers would back that up. It tends to be a feeder for local private schools like Fenn and Middlesex to name a few. Yet, it's still very much a family oriented town, and i'm not sure that would deter me from living there.
As far as youth experience, recreation, town facilities, athletics.. Top flight. K-12 is highly competitive is most sports, especially considering size of the school. I know of at least two town pools, plenty of parks, plenty of local golf courses, and a ton of nature for kayaking, pond hockey, etc. I'm not sure there is a town around Boston that punches further above it's weight than Concord in arts/theatre. The Umbrella CAC is fantastic, Center for visual arts is cool, and ditto 51 Walden. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the gene pool, and the long history of philanthropy, poetry, etc.
In terms of commute, it could be worse. 45-50 minutes via the train into North Station. As you'd imagine, a lot of folks in Concord work remote, own their own business, travel, or work along 95. But, I'm sure the majority, or near majority, still commutes into Boston on a semi-regular basis. Truth is, if you want the look and feel of Concord, there won't be a better or closer option to Boston less maybe Lincoln (which is essentially a small version of the remote parts of Concord.. no thanks, for me).
Agree, mwj119. We are not going to get much (if anything) with current budget. But we've found that across board on the town we've been looking at so we are discussing options.
Can you buy a decent house for a family of 5 in Concord for under $800K?
Absolutely not. Which is why we're exploring.
Whatever town we choose, since we need to move quickly, we will rent in. We aren't able to buy quickly as one of us is changing jobs.
We've also been looking at Newtonville and think there are more options for renting (for a while) until we find our home...it's two different towns but we believe we can find something one day in Newton as there more options than in Concord...
Whatever town we choose, since we need to move quickly, we will rent in. We aren't able to buy quickly as one of us is changing jobs.
We've also been looking at Newtonville and think there are more options for renting (for a while) until we find our home...it's two different towns but we believe we can find something one day in Newton as there more options than in Concord...
Newtonville is one of the many areas that make up Newton. Concord and Newton, as you likely know, are very different. Newton's a diverse city- Areas of high density, areas of low density, triple deckers, large estates. Each and every area is very different from one another.
Concord, of course, is exclusively SFH on larger lots and country roads.
Depending on where you work in Boston, there are other areas that should offer what you're looking for North-West-South.
Other towns that are commonly suggested to fit your criteria (nice, train access to Boston, family friendly, and rent prices aside) are places like Brookline, Belmont, Needham, Winchester, Wellesley, Lexington, Arlington, Lincoln. Next "tier" could be Natick, Melrose, Milton, Reading.
Much like Concord, if you are OK with the 40 minute train ride, and want/are looking for the commuter to go to North Station, look in Andover. Further form Boston in terms of miles, but the same commute as Concord. Downtown Andover heading south is very Concordesque, both in price and in features. Great main street, Phillips Academy built right off of downtown, large estates, walkable neighborhoods around the core, and schools/train built right into downtown. And, you should be able to find more variety in your price range- for purchase and for rent- than most within 95. Added bonus is that you can get to Newburyport in like 20-25 minutes.. Might be the nicest coastal town for a family on weekends.
Newton is a MUCH better commute into Boston than Concord is. They are different towns, albeit both very nice. I'd expect there would be more rentals available in Newton than in Concord.
I live in Newton and I love it, although my husband and I have PTSD from living in far-out suburb of Philadelphia where it got to the point that it regularly took 2 hours to commute into the city so when we moved here, priority #1 was easy access to the city.
Newton is a MUCH better commute into Boston than Concord is. They are different towns, albeit both very nice. I'd expect there would be more rentals available in Newton than in Concord.
I live in Newton and I love it, although my husband and I have PTSD from living in far-out suburb of Philadelphia where it got to the point that it regularly took 2 hours to commute into the city so when we moved here, priority #1 was easy access to the city.
What if the OP is working around North Station?
Regardless, commute was one of the 6 criteria they asked about.
You are not wrong about Newton being a far better commute to Boston, but again, some people are OK with the 40 minute train ride. Otherwise, a place like Concord would have fizzled post recession. Sometimes, the additional 20 minutes in commute time is worth it for a house (as opposed to a duplex/apartment), or a premium neighborhood, or a community that "feels" like the right fit for kids.
All things equal - which they are not - I would rather live in Concord than Newton. There are plenty of people who feel that way.
Newton is a MUCH better commute into Boston than Concord is. They are different towns, albeit both very nice. I'd expect there would be more rentals available in Newton than in Concord.
I live in Newton and I love it, although my husband and I have PTSD from living in far-out suburb of Philadelphia where it got to the point that it regularly took 2 hours to commute into the city so when we moved here, priority #1 was easy access to the city.
Yes, coming from Manhattan where I can get home (in a cab ofcourse) in 20 minutes if needed has spoiled us. There will be a shock no matter what.
We have a lot of benefits if we choose Newton apart from obvious (schools, commute, etc.), our in-laws live in Waban and since we have full-time childcare now, we may need to lean on them as we figure out our new way of living once we move. Lucky them.
Thanks for this!
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