Relocating from Texas for child with autism (Boston, Worcester: real estate, loans)

[Nerda]

Hello- we're a small family with a three year old who has autism. We live in the Hill Country, and she gets great therapy at a center in Austin- but long term we know that Texas isn't the best state to settle in for what she'll need.


Any information in regards to relocating would be MUCH appreciated. Our plan is brand new, and we've decided on MA because the consensus is that it is the best state to live in in regards to the provisions available to those with autism. The move won't be immediate, so I have time to take in as much info as possible.


Is it necessary to live close to Boston? Our budget will probably be under $400k, and we do love to live outside of cities. We currently live in a rural area and a 30 min commute to and from places doesn't sound impossible to us. Plus, we grew up in Texas and we're accustomed to long drives to anywhere. Lots of land would be a plus.


I just worry that ABA Centers become few and far between in rural areas? Is that so? In Texas it is, but I have no idea if that is the same for MA. It appears that MA has several decent sized cities and the state is not large at all. Where are the more rural areas that are completely cut off (if any)?


My husband will be working in software/web development, as well. Any information in regards to this would be appreciated, as well. Is there an industry for this in MA? I know we're leaving behind a bustling tech hub: Austin. But the healthcare here is just not up to par.


TIA

[Lampert]

Less than 400,000$ puts you below average statewide in term of median house price. Unfortunately you will have an extremely hard time finding anything close to Boston. The only person I know with an autistic child lives in Brookline exactly for the school system but their small-ish house is probably about 1 mil so this is kind of irrelevant for you.

MA has other large cities so I am sure you can find something around Worcester (and you husband could commute to metrowest where there is plenty of software companies) or Springfield.

[scorpio516]

$400 is kinda a problem, BUT if you want rural-ness it's fine.

Lots of tech in a few different places. There was a movement for tech to move to Seaport (just south of downtown Boston), don't know how much that is still happening or going on in the future... Examples: Amazon had a big presence there, AutoDesk in the drydock building downstairs from Reebok's HQ.
But there is a lot of tech along 128 between about 95 and 93: Oracle in Burlington to TripAdvisor in Needham.
There is some along 495 too. IBM is in Littleton. DellEMC in Hopkinton. etc.

It would be very, very difficult to live within 30 minutes of Seaport for less than $400k. It would be pretty hard to live within 30 minutes of 128 for under $400k. It would be fairly easy to live 30 minutes from Hopkinton or Littleton for under $400k.

Almost nothing inside 495 is rural.

Most the areas between Worcester and Quabbin reservoir is rural and can be pretty hard getting places - it's really the you can't get there from here area. But you could live in Barre and be at an ABA center in Worcester in about half an hour (or over an hour in a snow storm) - and it depends on where jobs can be found (Barre to Boston is REALLY tough).

I don't know enough about west of Springfield to comment about living up in the hills

[MikePRU]

My oldest child has an ASD diagnosis and I can tell you (at least between Boston and Worcester) there are autism centers sprinkled around the area. The New England Center for Children (NECC) is one of the pre-eminent Autism centers in the country and that's located in Southborough. However, you'd need to get an outplacement from your town to send your child there because private pay would be cost prohibitive. My point though is Southborough is a ways out from Boston yet you have one of the best Autism centers in the country located there.

[Nerda]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Less than 400,000$ puts you below average statewide in term of median house price. Unfortunately you will have an extremely hard time finding anything close to Boston. The only person I know with an autistic child lives in Brookline exactly for the school system but their small-ish house is probably about 1 mil so this is kind of irrelevant for you.

MA has other large cities so I am sure you can find something around Worcester (and you husband could commute to metrowest where there is plenty of software companies) or Springfield.

Thanks so much. I probably should have stressed (and might edit my post to reflect this) that that's only the amount we'd probably be approved to here in Texas, and it might be different in MA. I'm completely ignorant in regards to the real estate process there.

[Nerda]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

$400 is kinda a problem, BUT if you want rural-ness it's fine.

Lots of tech in a few different places. There was a movement for tech to move to Seaport (just south of downtown Boston), don't know how much that is still happening or going on in the future... Examples: Amazon had a big presence there, AutoDesk in the drydock building downstairs from Reebok's HQ.
But there is a lot of tech along 128 between about 95 and 93: Oracle in Burlington to TripAdvisor in Needham.
There is some along 495 too. IBM is in Littleton. DellEMC in Hopkinton. etc.

It would be very, very difficult to live within 30 minutes of Seaport for less than $400k. It would be pretty hard to live within 30 minutes of 128 for under $400k. It would be fairly easy to live 30 minutes from Hopkinton or Littleton for under $400k.

Almost nothing inside 495 is rural.

Most the areas between Worcester and Quabbin reservoir is rural and can be pretty hard getting places - it's really the you can't get there from here area. But you could live in Barre and be at an ABA center in Worcester in about half an hour (or over an hour in a snow storm) - and it depends on where jobs can be found (Barre to Boston is REALLY tough).

I don't know enough about west of Springfield to comment about living up in the hills

This is really promising and helpful information, thank you.

[Nerda]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

My oldest child has an ASD diagnosis and I can tell you (at least between Boston and Worcester) there are autism centers sprinkled around the area. The New England Center for Children (NECC) is one of the pre-eminent Autism centers in the country and that's located in Southborough. However, you'd need to get an outplacement from your town to send your child there because private pay would be cost prohibitive. My point though is Southborough is a ways out from Boston yet you have one of the best Autism centers in the country located there.

This is definitely the news I wanted to hear. I know that the price I put out is what we would qualify for here in Texas, but I am not sure how that would translate in MA as I am unsure of how the vetting process for loan approvals in conducted there vs here.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by Nerda

I'm completely ignorant in regards to the real estate process there.

MA may rank high in autism resources but there are so many other factors in making such a huge move. As to real estate process, at least at high level I'd guess real estate in Texas is where Massachusetts was about 100 years ago, with few impediments to new housing, plenty of land available, lots of growth and new houses everywhere. Now in Mass most of the easily developed land in high demand areas is already built up. Many many places look old, justifiably so because they grew up in the real estate booms of the 1950s or the 1920s or earlier. The house you can afford may be in someplace like Leominster, where the population is about 41,000 now but was already 21,000 in 1930, 90 years ago, and most of the houses standing then are still there. There are numerous cities like Leominster around the state where a house built in the 1970s is a relatively new house. These cities are cheaper than the more suburban towns because they're older, more working class, and have less desirable schools. The industries that spurred their growth have faded away. Worcester itself is no Austin but has some economic growth and some nice neighborhoods. Central Mass west of Worcester is mostly rural and not expensive because it's pretty far from the big job centers in the eastern part of the state for daily commuting. The rural-seeming areas east of Worcester within commuting range of Boston are kept that way by wealthy residents which makes the price of entry too high for most. There are many nice suburban towns/communities within the I-495 belt and beyond, like Acton, Westford, Littleton, Shrewsbury, Natick, Westborough, Grafton, and so on but would be hard to find a house under $400K in any of those. The Springfield area and Connecticut Valley north of there is great in many ways except for availability of tech jobs.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by missionhill

Central Mass west of Worcester is mostly rural and not expensive because it's pretty far from the big job centers in the eastern part of the state for daily commuting.

I think this is the best bet. Looking for jobs between Worcester and Framingham.
But the commute could easily be more than 30 min. And also you need to accept to cons of being in a ruralish area.
Like staying out 1hr in the evening to go to a pharmacy to get your daughter cough syrup because your wife forgot to ask you on your way home from work.

[Nerda]

Originally Posted by missionhill

MA may rank high in autism resources but there are so many other factors in making such a huge move. As to real estate process, at least at high level I'd guess real estate in Texas is where Massachusetts was about 100 years ago, with few impediments to new housing, plenty of land available, lots of growth and new houses everywhere. Now in Mass most of the easily developed land in high demand areas is already built up. Many many places look old, justifiably so because they grew up in the real estate booms of the 1950s or the 1920s or earlier. The house you can afford may be in someplace like Leominster, where the population is about 41,000 now but was already 21,000 in 1930, 90 years ago, and most of the houses standing then are still there. There are numerous cities like Leominster around the state where a house built in the 1970s is a relatively new house. These cities are cheaper than the more suburban towns because they're older, more working class, and have less desirable schools. The industries that spurred their growth have faded away. Worcester itself is no Austin but has some economic growth and some nice neighborhoods. Central Mass west of Worcester is mostly rural and not expensive because it's pretty far from the big job centers in the eastern part of the state for daily commuting. The rural-seeming areas east of Worcester within commuting range of Boston are kept that way by wealthy residents which makes the price of entry too high for most. There are many nice suburban towns/communities within the I-495 belt and beyond, like Acton, Westford, Littleton, Shrewsbury, Natick, Westborough, Grafton, and so on but would be hard to find a house under $400K in any of those. The Springfield area and Connecticut Valley north of there is great in many ways except for availability of tech jobs.

I wonder if the average cost of housing has an affect on the home loans received? I know that the cost of living makes the pay higher in MA, which is why the average salary there could go quite a long way here in Texas (unless you're in the heart of some of our major cities, but that's the entire country at this point). I have briefly lived in the north east, in upstate new York, so I'm familiar with the climate change. And kind of miss it some days. However, I won't lie, I'm completely ignorant to what MA as whole has to offer us. But after what we have been through just to get our child the care she needs this last year in a state with the sort of provisions like Texas... having the proper resources is worth the trouble. She'll always need them, so we'd rather work extra hard to make sure they're there for her with as little hassle as possible. Literally, its insane the hoops one can go through when the care needed is just non-existent.