Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think your statement would have been correct at one time, but that is no longer the case. The original poster actually sounds a lot like my wife. She's from a top 10, manicured town in NJ, we lived in Manhattan and Seaport post-college and make about $500k/yr AGI. We ultimately chose N. Reading because it's about as close as you can get to Cambridge with lots of space, the small town feel (15k pop vs 40k pop in Andover) and the better schools (the reason we backed out of Andover is that outside of High Plain, the k-8 schools are not as good, and I don't like how large the high school is). Also, once they bring sewer and clean up Route 28, plus add the rail trail, there will be another inflection point. Route 28 is a state road, and if you want a preview go take a look at how Rt 28 now looks in Reading.
The only town in the area I would consider over N. Reading is Lynnfield. Ultimately, unless you're living in-town Andover, N. Reading and Andover are closer than Andover and Lynnfield. I'm barely going to acknowledge the N. Andover vs N. Reading comparison - that alone shows how out of date that comparison is. With that being said, all the towns I've mention are great choices, but as with anything there are tradeoffs. I think the op would be happy in either town and hope this helps.
NR Member 10,
The towns I listed are the ones that I personally feel if you mention to someone you live in or grew up in, they might say, "Wow, beautiful town" or think to themselves, "Wow, big money there." N.Reading is certainly a very nice town and I would gladly live there, but I honestly can't say I've heard people swoon over N. Reading like the aforementioned wow-factor towns. Another reason I mentioned those towns is because those are the "goal" towns I've heard from people. I know someone who lives in Saugus, and he said they all aspire to live in Lynnfield. Someone I know grew up in North Andover and she always wanted to live in Andover. Friends in Georgetown said the town is forever in the shadow of wealthy Boxford and this particular couple dreams of living in Newburyport one day.
Again, I'm certainly not trying to offend anyone, but just providing my two cents on reputation perception from a local as the OP asked for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Anyone can look up the data and the statistics online pertaining to schools, real estate, per capita income, etc, but I always viewed this site as a place where locals provide their thoughts and insights on reputation and how towns stack up against one another.
Burlington is a town with a population smaller than many other towns around us. Yes, there is a heavy commercial development on one end of town but Lynnfield, Reading, North Andover, Andover, etc. all have the same.
thank you for the correction. it just seems so big.
I'm not offended just trying to shed some light on the where things stand today and offer my thoughts on the "good and bad" of North Reading, which is the original topic of this thread. From speaking with colleagues I would certainly add North Reading to a list of "goal" towns in line with Andover for this area. A lot of people derive their opinions of North Reading only from driving on Route 28 - this would be like judging Andover based on Rt 133/495 or Lynnfield based on Rt 1. As someone who lives in North Reading and viewed upwards of 100 homes between North Reading, Andover and surrounding towns, there is a reason we picked where we did. We all know that Route 28 needs updates, but our center of town is the town common and I've yet to find one as beautiful as our Meeting House up on the hill. Towns like Andover and Reading have more brick, high density town centers, which are also beautiful just a different vibe.
Also, to say that "North Reading is not on same level as North Andover" is simply not true. At a minimum they are equal in stature, however the schools, bucolic NE town center, and location for us made the difference. Unfortunately North Andover overbuilt and is a network of high density low-rise or cheap/cookie cutter developments now, which has had a negative impact on the schools. North Reading is also part of the Greater Boston / MAPC (most northern town) and should have more long-term value given the town's proximity to Boston/Cambridge/Burlington. If you need evidence, right now there are only 5 sfh on the market in NR, vs 22 in Andover and 17 in N. Andover.
Finally, let's keep these threads on topic. There's nothing wrong with saying "check out Andover", but the full court press and outdated statements were a little much. Cheers!
I think your statement would have been correct at one time, but that is no longer the case. The original poster actually sounds a lot like my wife. She's from a top 10, manicured town in NJ, we lived in Manhattan and Seaport post-college and make about $500k/yr AGI. We ultimately chose N. Reading because it's about as close as you can get to Cambridge with lots of space, the small town feel (15k pop vs 40k pop in Andover) and the better schools (the reason we backed out of Andover is that outside of High Plain, the k-8 schools are not as good, and I don't like how large the high school is). Also, once they bring sewer and clean up Route 28, plus add the rail trail, there will be another inflection point. Route 28 is a state road, and if you want a preview go take a look at how Rt 28 now looks in Reading.
The only town in the area I would consider over N. Reading is Lynnfield. Ultimately, unless you're living in-town Andover, N. Reading and Andover are closer than Andover and Lynnfield. I'm barely going to acknowledge the N. Andover vs N. Reading comparison - that alone shows how out of date that comparison is. With that being said, all the towns I've mention are great choices, but as with anything there are tradeoffs. I think the op would be happy in either town and hope this helps.
NR10member10,
FWIW, I was curious if my information was dated, so I asked a few friends and family members of varying ages (29 to 73) who all grew up in the area and still live here if they feel N.Reading is as prestigious as places like Andover, Newburyport, Lynnfield, and Boxford, and they all agreed that although it's a nice town, it does not have that same cachet. So, my information isn't dated at all according to quite a few locals who all know the area well.
Ask anyone who is from here and lives here and they will all agree that the posh towns/villages north of Boston are:
Boxford (closely followed by Topsfield)
Andover
Lynnfield
Marblehead (closely followed by Swampscott)
Newburyport
Magnolia
Manchester
Beverly Farms
Hamilton/Wenham
Also, not sure why you think calling out North Andover makes my comment dated because if you look at the list of Massachusetts locations by per capita income, N. Andover comes in at 24 and N. Reading comes in at 46, so there's that. The locals still consider Andover and North Andover "The Andovers", so N. Andover still has the "posh by proximity" thing going on.
They all agreed N.Reading would be grouped with places like Wilmington and Wakefield and maybe even Georgetown, Rowley, Groveland, and Middleton. Not top-tier and in the upper echelon, but still considered a nicer mid-tier town north of Boston.
I'm not offended just trying to shed some light on the where things stand today and offer my thoughts on the "good and bad" of North Reading, which is the original topic of this thread. From speaking with colleagues I would certainly add North Reading to a list of "goal" towns in line with Andover for this area. A lot of people derive their opinions of North Reading only from driving on Route 28 - this would be like judging Andover based on Rt 133/495 or Lynnfield based on Rt 1. As someone who lives in North Reading and viewed upwards of 100 homes between North Reading, Andover and surrounding towns, there is a reason we picked where we did. We all know that Route 28 needs updates, but our center of town is the town common and I've yet to find one as beautiful as our Meeting House up on the hill. Towns like Andover and Reading have more brick, high density town centers, which are also beautiful just a different vibe.
Also, to say that "North Reading is not on same level as North Andover" is simply not true. At a minimum they are equal in stature, however the schools, bucolic NE town center, and location for us made the difference. Unfortunately North Andover overbuilt and is a network of high density low-rise or cheap/cookie cutter developments now, which has had a negative impact on the schools. North Reading is also part of the Greater Boston / MAPC (most northern town) and should have more long-term value given the town's proximity to Boston/Cambridge/Burlington. If you need evidence, right now there are only 5 sfh on the market in NR, vs 22 in Andover and 17 in N. Andover.
Finally, let's keep these threads on topic. There's nothing wrong with saying "check out Andover", but the full court press and outdated statements were a little much. Cheers!
Also, it's great you "talked to colleagues" but it's obvious you're not from here originally. I'm not judging these towns from the highway. I've lived here my entire life and only left Mass for 4 years for undergrad, so I know these towns in and out. I’ve never once heard N. Reading considered “goals” from a single person. N. Reading isn't posh. Get over it.
FWIW, I was curious if my information was dated, so I asked a few friends and family members of varying ages (29 to 73) who all grew up in the area and still live here if they feel N.Reading is as prestigious as places like Andover, Newburyport, Lynnfield, and Boxford, and they all agreed that although it's a nice town, it does not have that same cachet. So, my information isn't dated at all according to quite a few locals who all know the area well.
Ask anyone who is from here and lives here and they will all agree that the posh towns/villages north of Boston are:
Boxford (closely followed by Topsfield)
Andover
Lynnfield
Marblehead (closely followed by Swampscott)
Newburyport
Magnolia
Manchester
Beverly Farms
Hamilton/Wenham
Also, not sure why you think calling out North Andover makes my comment dated because if you look at the list of Massachusetts locations by per capita income, N. Andover comes in at 24 and N. Reading comes in at 46, so there's that. The locals still consider Andover and North Andover "The Andovers", so N. Andover still has the "posh by proximity" thing going on.
They all agreed N.Reading would be grouped with places like Wilmington and Wakefield and maybe even Georgetown, Rowley, Groveland, and Middleton. Not top-tier and in the upper echelon, but still considered a nicer mid-tier town north of Boston.
Anyone calling Andover and North Andover "The Andovers" is from North Andover........LOL
FWIW, I was curious if my information was dated, so I asked a few friends and family members of varying ages (29 to 73) who all grew up in the area and still live here if they feel N.Reading is as prestigious as places like Andover, Newburyport, Lynnfield, and Boxford, and they all agreed that although it's a nice town, it does not have that same cachet. So, my information isn't dated at all according to quite a few locals who all know the area well.
Ask anyone who is from here and lives here and they will all agree that the posh towns/villages north of Boston are:
Boxford (closely followed by Topsfield)
Andover
Lynnfield
Marblehead (closely followed by Swampscott)
Newburyport
Magnolia
Manchester
Beverly Farms
Hamilton/Wenham
Also, not sure why you think calling out North Andover makes my comment dated because if you look at the list of Massachusetts locations by per capita income, N. Andover comes in at 24 and N. Reading comes in at 46, so there's that. The locals still consider Andover and North Andover "The Andovers", so N. Andover still has the "posh by proximity" thing going on.
They all agreed N.Reading would be grouped with places like Wilmington and Wakefield and maybe even Georgetown, Rowley, Groveland, and Middleton. Not top-tier and in the upper echelon, but still considered a nicer mid-tier town north of Boston.
Boxford (closely followed by Topsfield)
Andover
Lynnfield
Marblehead (closely followed by Swampscott)
Newburyport
Magnolia
Manchester
Beverly Farms
Hamilton/Wenham
Though I grew up west/northwest of the city, this would have been my list. Obviously in the case of Magnolia and Beverly Farms, these are affluent enclaves in rather "normal" towns.
In fear of sounding like a classist, smug jerk, a town with 51% of residents that have a bachelor's degree, and median income of $128k is not generally going to be considered posh or considered top tier in Massachusetts. Quite frankly, even Reading is not known that way, and it has 65% of the population with at least a bachelor's degree and a slightly higher income level.
I understand that well located towns in Eastern Mass, especially those that can be gotten at a decent price, will all see steady rises in educational attainment and median income. But North Reading is far from the exception in that way.
While I think North Reading is a "step up" from Wilmington, the median income levels are the same. I'd put it in the same league, along with a town like Wakefield. But that's just me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
