Towns with good schools (Boston, Lynn: real estate market, how much, houses)

[katacody]

I'm trying to get to know the towns listed at the bottom, and would love any input, any experience regarding them at all.

We're currently in Arlington, looking to possibly buy a home soon, struggling with the real estate market.

Here's what I'm envisioning: a community where there are tons of kids running around and neighbors get together regularly in a warm, friendly, active town.

It seems that towns that are close to the city have the most cutthroat real estate market I could ever imagine and people are overpaying by the hundreds of thousands.

This weekend we were outbid on a house in Arlington that had a pest problem and a (literally) falling down garage and people paid more than $100k over asking for it.

Towns farther away sometimes feel very far and isolated and also are kind of expensive too.

Our budget is $1mm, looking for a 4 bedroom (maybe would settle for 3). Husband commutes to Nashua, NH 5 days/week. I commute to the financial district 2 days/week, and can do so in off hours.

We have a kindergartner and care a lot about her being HAPPY at school, not getting the best test scores or into an Ivy.

We love outdoor activities especially on the water.

I'm considering Acton but terrified of delays on the Fitchburg line. And whew, that is quite a long commute to the financial district. Schools are great and housing is pretty great there comparatively. Worried it is too isolated.

Andover has appeal, but again I worry it's just so far away. What if my daughter has an emergency and both parents are an hour away?

Lynnfield and Bedford kind of freak me out because they seem so small (yes, I have been to Market Street). But they're cute and I can afford a decent home there. I grew up in the middle of Houston, and have lived in Paris and Madrid. When I lived in Austin I got frustrated because it felt so small and quaint, if that gives you any insight.

I definitely liked the Bedford vibe though, so friendly. That's my jam.

And it's cool that Lynnfield is 25 mins from the north shore, I love the ocean.

N. Reading to me is like being in the middle of nowhere (hope I am not stepping on toes here).

Newton, Arlington, Belmont, Winchester, Lexington, Wellesley... the affordability is ridiculous. $700/square foot is the average in my neighborhood right now. Get out of here with that, I'm no dummie (apologies to anyone who paid that...)

Any input you have on these towns is valuable. Is it boring? Are the people nice? Do you like the schools? What do you do for fun? Literally just want to hear your experiences and thoughts.


Maybe too expensive:
Arlington
Belmont
Lexington
Winchester
Wellesley
Newton

Maybe too far out/too rural?:
Concord
Bedford
Acton
Lynnfield
Andover
N. Reading

Thanks guys.

[brightdoglover]

Concord. Lovely community, lots of history, well educated population, off Rt. 2 and has the commuter line. I lived in Littleton and never felt too far out and visited Concord many times. I couldn't afford it but would have happily lived in Concord. Best wishes.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by katacody

Maybe too far out/too rural?:
Concord
Bedford
Acton
Lynnfield
Andover
N. Reading
.

I don't know if i would call those towns "rural".


Bedford might actually be a good choice for you due to location on Rt3. Easy drive to Nashua, and you have Rt2 or Rt93 to get into Boston. Just keep in mind that traffic everywhere in metro Boston can be horrendous. A couple snowflakes in early Dec will turn a 30 min commute into a 60 minute commute.

I personally am a big fan of Lynnfield due to it's location. It's quiet, but you can be on Rt1 or I95 in minutes and be where you need to be and have access to tons of shopping an other needs.

Problem is that $1mil doesn't seem to get you very far in those towns depending on what you are looking for.

[MtPleasantDream]

Have you checked Chelmsford and Westford?
They are considered "good towns" for kids, and are in the middle between Nashua and Boston.

If you are ok with the "traditionally white working class" towns, Billerica and Burlington are good too.
However, a good 4-bedroom will cost over 1m in Burlington already. In Billerica, probably 800k.

[Jimbo21]

might be worth looking at wakefield, reading, melrose, burlington. it all depends what you mean by "good schools" and how much land you might want. for whatever its worth, i bought in arlington 6 years ago. i was absolutely certain that i overpaid for my house. houses literally half the size of my own now sell for hundreds of thousands over what i paid. it's nuts. i don't think this is going to stop anytime soon, price increases will just moderate. we are on the same trajectory as san francisco. everything inside of 128 is going to be stupid expensive. i wonder how long it'll be before a tear down in arlington is $1m+. they're already like $700k.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by MtPleasantDream

Have you checked Chelmsford and Westford?
They are considered "good towns" for kids, and are in the middle between Nashua and Boston.

If you are ok with the "traditionally white working class" towns, Billerica and Burlington are good too.
However, a good 4-bedroom will cost over 1m in Burlington already. In Billerica, probably 800k.

While Billerica has long been very working class, Burlington has not been a traditionally white "working class" town in over 40 years. It is very middle class and very "white collar" since the early days of the 128 tech belt. While it remains predominantly White (70+%), the Asian population has been growing for decades and is at more than 15%.

[msRB311]

North Andover, Woburn, Wilmington, medway, Milton?

You seemed to say no way to the towns below but they’re still on your list ?

Maybe too expensive:
Arlington
Belmont
Lexington
Winchester
Wellesley
Newton

With a budget of a million I don’t think you would find much there. Those are the towns that everyone seems to want to live in these days hence the price tags.

[Remy11]

I’m not being facetious at all, but does the school matter as much as the student?! I went to Georgetown High and my other Mass roommates in college were from Lexington (Lexington High) and Peabody (Peabody High). Our guy friend down the hall in our freshman dorm went to Andover High and another went to Beverly High. So, my point is there we were all at the same exact college even though Lexington is about 50 steps ahead of any one of those towns (except maybe Andover) according to commenters on City-Data.

[Awalker34]

I’ll give a plug for my neighborhood here, Cedarwood in Waltham. Kids everywhere, two parks in the neighborhood, close to the city, everybody knows each other. Cheaper than Arlington because the schools aren’t as good ratings wise (because of more diversity) but everyone here seems to have good experiences. Right on Brandeis campus and you could probably get a four bed for under a million. I have family in Arlington and the neighborhood is nicer or as nice as all the neighborhoods I’ve seen there.

[Remy11]

It’s funny how perspectives can differ from person to person. To me, the middle of nowhere would be some little town up in NH, Maine or Vermont that has no downtown and isn’t at all close to any major highway. I wouldn’t say places like Andover and North Reading feel isolated or too far away, but, again, that’s just my perspective. During off-hours, you can hop on the highway and be in Boston in a half hour-ish from those places. And I definitely wouldn’t call Andover boring at all, quite the opposite, but North Reading might be kind of quiet for your liking. Unfortunately, as another commenter mentioned, traffic during rush hour is going to be pretty terrible no matter where you live in the Boston area as well as the surrounding suburbs. Plus, the closer you are to the city or any body of water, the prices are extremely steep. Not many towns north of Boston are really isolated IMO tho as most are close to one of the major highways and they’ve also all been developed by now. Even a small little town like Boxford that has no real downtown area is still right off of 95 and you can zip into Boston on the weekend in about a half hour. Plus, it’s bordered by towns that have stuff going on. Some towns certainly have a little more going on than others, but I wouldn’t say any come close to Boston in any way. They all kind of range from quaint/charming to somewhat happening, but again, nowhere near Boston-level happening.