Where to move?

[Shrewsburried]

Since you husband works remotely, one thing to note is whether towns/homes have reasonable internet access. Once you get out in the 190 belt and west internet speeds and reliability can vary greatly.

[Neednewplace]

That’s a good point about Internet. Thank you. It’s hard to imagine I can’t find something in central MA for mid 400’s, when I am planning to sell my own small cape in a good district and much closer to Boston/RI for somewhere close to that. I am definitely not expecting anything large....we just want 3 bedrooms, 1.5/2 baths and a decent yard. We have a small cape now, but the yard is really a bummer. It’s weird that the I am not seeing the price drop as much as I would expect as I look further west. I wish we could sell and wait it out somewhere, because I feel like there will be a major price adjustment in the next year or so. Market is so overinflated.

I thought about Holden....prices seem higher than expected. What are your thoughts on Plymouth? I know it’s huge. I like that there is more income diversity....I would like to be in a more middle class town, but of course I want above average schools. Makes it challenging....

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Neednewplace

It’s hard to imagine I can’t find something in central MA for mid 400’s,

The median house price in Worcester county in September was something like 320,000. So you can most definitely find something in central MA for less than 400,000.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Lampert

The median house price in Worcester county in September was something like 320,000. So you can most definitely find something in central MA for less than 400,000.

Again, the poster needs to clarify her wants’.

Selecting a 3bd/2ba 2000+ sqft SFH in an above average school district with a denser suburban feel gets much much closer to her max budget in Worcester county. Shrewsbury? Holden? Northborough?

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Neednewplace

Can anyone suggest a town that might be good. Not too small, safe, not overly cliquey atmosphere (is that possible anywhere)? Can only afford a small house in the 400-450 k range. We will consider almost any area in the state. Ideally we’d like to get a bigger house, which seems unlikely in this area.

Am I wrong in wanting to exclude more small towns? If we go central or western MA it seems like we will end up with small towns again. Thought about Lancaster and the nashoba valley district..thought about Plymouth, because I love being near the ocean, the downtown and the prices are better, but worried about the schools. We will consider central ma, or further, but our families are on the south shore and north shore. I also thought about RI, because we love the Narragansett area. Trying to brainstorm......

Thanks so much.

I'll make the case for Dartmouth, MA since you're saying "we love the Narragansett area".


Population 32,000. Socioeconomically mixed. The school ratings reflect the "socioeconomically mixed". I think it's GreatSchools 6 at the moment. That's a Massachusetts 6 which is probably better than a RI South County 6. The valedictorian went to Harvard. The top-10 mostly went to top schools. Because it's mixed, a chunk also opt out of college track and AP classes.


The inventory is lousy at the moment but you can find a $450k house. You can also find a 1,300 sf 1970s ranch on a slab for a bit below $300k.




You're on the coast. The town has a good town beach at Round Hill. There's a good harbor with a town landing where you can launch a boat if you want to do that. Geographically, the town is very large. 64 square miles. About 10 square miles of it is green space as land trust, conservation land, or with property tax treatment that would make it cost prohibitive to subdivide. You can live rural. The rural part of town is the beginning of the Dartmouth/Westport/Little Compton/Tiverton "Farm Coast" region. You can live suburban. You can live in a working class neighborhood near the New Bedford line with older multifamily homes. You can live the life of the rich and famous in a gated summer community. "Mall Hell" has all the big box stores. The crime rate other than mall-related property crime is low. Boston is an hour on a Saturday. Providence is 30 minutes. Downtown New Bedford has a pulse. In theory, South Coast Rail shows up by the end of 2023 so you have a train to Boston. The property tax rate is low. Counting fire department, the mill rate is around $10 per thousand. Town tax assessments have been about 70% to 80% of market value. You can probably afford a bigger mortgage than many places. UMass-Dartmouth is in town with 6,000+ undergrads. The fast ferry to Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket is a couple miles away at the New Bedford waterfront.



I think this is true of most towns but sports is a thing. The band is also a thing and the band has been doing the national competition thing for 50+ years. The town is quite split between professional bedroom town areas, summer community areas, and more working class areas. It's always rippled into the school system though I have no sense for it now. You're living next to New Bedford which has some very bad neighborhoods and the issues that come with those places.



The area is heavily Portuguese-Azores. Middle class people who moved from New Bedford. New Bedford is more Hispanic now but that first generation isn't moving to the suburbs yet. Black is mostly Cape Verdean and many of the families have been around forever. New Bedford has always been an economically depressed city. That very much limits the local job options and the highway infrastructure getting to the Boston job market is congested beyond belief at rush hour. Phase 1 of South Coast Rail is going to be a very long train ride and there's no assurance that Phase 2 will ever happen. There's a reason why houses are affordable.



Round Hill town beach



Padanaram Harbor

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Again, the poster needs to clarify her wants’.

Selecting a 3bd/2ba 2000+ sqft SFH in an above average school district with a denser suburban feel gets much much closer to her max budget in Worcester county. Shrewsbury? Holden? Northborough?

I agree, that was what I was trying to say. I believe Berkshire county is the cheapest =in MA in term of median house price. But if you are looking in Williamstown (maybe the best school district in the county) right now (according to zillow) there is only 1 house <500,000 and the vast majority are more than 1 mil, if you are restricting for a relatively large lot. So it really depends what you are looking for.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Lampert

I agree, that was what I was trying to say. I believe Berkshire county is the cheapest =in MA in term of median house price. But if you are looking in Williamstown (maybe the best school district in the county) right now (according to zillow) there is only 1 house <500,000 and the vast majority are more than 1 mil.

Agreed, but given the poster's interest in Pymouth I don't think either Berkshire or Worcester county are the a great fit.