Is 700k the new 300k? (Boston, Fall River: houses, neighborhood, buy)

[bricka]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Curious how he would know who the absolute dead last kid in his class was.

simple - there are 100 kids in each class. the school publishes a matriculation list (most elite private schools do this, it's all they care about).

Gettysburg was the lowest rank school on the list.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Good. The people who pay a lot to live here deserve some trees and space.

A very valid opinion to have!

Just don’t turn around and then say we’re “running out of space”. Boston has some of the least densely populated suburbs in the country. If we woke up one morning and Hamilton, Boxford, Carlisle, Sherborn, etc. all looked like this* or this* then we’d suddenly have A Lot more housing.

*Apologies if it opens up staring at the sky. Streetview never seems to work right on my phone and I’m away from my laptop for the next hour.

[Remy11]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

A very valid opinion to have!

Just don’t turn around and then say we’re “running out of space”. Boston has some of the least densely populated suburbs in the country. If we woke up one morning and Hamilton, Boxford, Carlisle, Sherborn, etc. all looked like this* or this* then we’d suddenly have A Lot more housing.

*Apologies if it opens up staring at the sky. Streetview never seems to work right on my phone and I’m away from my laptop for the next hour.

Funny, we looked at 15 Olive a few years ago when we were thinking of buying a house with in-law potential.

We're all pretty on of each other here, but we had little interest in a large yard since we don't have kids. A garage would have been nice tho. Oh well.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by Remy11

Funny, we looked at 15 Olive a few years ago when we were thinking of buying a house with in-law potential.

We're all pretty on of each other here, but we had little interest in a large yard since we don't have kids. A garage would have been nice tho. Oh well.

Funny coincidence! I really just picked two streets at random that were walking-distance to Market Square.

There are times when I feel people hear “dense community” and it immediately brings to mind places like Dorchester or Everett, full of triple deckers and lacking trees.

But there are clear blueprints for walkable, gridded communities in New England like in Newburyport or Marblehead that are both “nice” (plenty of tree cover, near pristine parks and good schools, etc.) and still relatively dense. Adding people doesn’t need to be miserable so long as it’s done in a smart and well-planned way.

Even with smaller lot sizes, there are plenty of nice gardens and back yards in Newburyport. On the other hand, so many 1 acre homes in sparsely populated towns in the metro area seem to let most of their land go to waste (think bare front and back yards with maybe a deteriorating plastic play structure from when their teens were toddlers). And incorporating garages/driveways into homes on small lots isn’t impossible either.

[Jimbo21]

Originally Posted by Remy11

Do you guys think this is true or will we someday go back to the days of getting a decent home for 375-450k?

not inside of 128. maybe not inside of 495.

[Remy11]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

On the other hand, so many 1 acre homes in sparsely populated towns in the metro area seem to let most of their land go to waste (think bare front and back yards with maybe a deteriorating plastic play structure from when their teens were toddlers).

Absolutely true. The house I grew up in was on an acre of land that abutted conservation land and to your point, it really kind of went to waste. We had a decent-sized porch off the back of the house and then a metal swing set further back that was eventually tossed once us kids got older. We maybe went on five hikes total through the trails back there in the 30 years we lived in that house. That's why I just had no interest in having some huge yard. In my mind it just means maintenance and upkeep. There are so many other things I'd rather be doing than raking or mowing the lawn.

[bricka]

Originally Posted by Remy11

Absolutely true. The house I grew up in was on an acre of land that abutted conservation land and to your point, it really kind of went to waste. We had a decent-sized porch off the back of the house and then a metal swing set further back that was eventually tossed once us kids got older. We maybe went on five hikes total through the trails back there in the 30 years we lived in that house. That's why I just had no interest in having some huge yard. In my mind it just means maintenance and upkeep. There are so many other things I'd rather be doing than raking or mowing the lawn.

i think many people want big lots for the privacy

[msRB311]

People with large yards might not necessarily use the yard space but it doesn't mean they want another house right there in their backyard. If they did they'd have chosen a place like Dorchester or somerville as you mentioned. People like space and privacy and they should be allowed that. If someone can buy a 6k sq ft house why can't someone else have a small house on a large plot of land? People want different things. I think this has been debated before that people don't want every sq inch of the state covered with homes. This isn't India or China.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by msRB311

If they did they'd have chosen a place like Dorchester or somerville as you mentioned.

If you read my post more carefully, you’ll see I say that density doesn’t need to look like Dorchester or Somerville. There are plenty of homes in downtown Newburyport that are close together but with functional yards and without a direct line of sight between your first floor bathroom and the neighbor’s third floor bedroom!

[bricka]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

If you read my post more carefully, you’ll see I say that density doesn’t need to look like Dorchester or Somerville. There are plenty of homes in downtown Newburyport that are close together but with functional yards and without a direct line of sight between your first floor bathroom and the neighbor’s third floor bedroom!

what should someone do if they want more privacy and space than can be had in Newburyport?