Moving to MA from the west coast!!

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by Heyitsdanielle

I’m terrified to accidentally end up in a sleepy town with nothing to do.

That's possible but unlikely anywhere within commuting range of Boston unless you can't drive; in that case choose carefully. Otherwise there are plenty of things to do within a reasonable distance.

[Dadschum]

Where will your husband be working - in Boston proper? If so what area of Boston - for commuting it makes a difference. How would he like to commute - public transportation, car?

Will you be working?

What type of rental do you expect for $3800 max a month? sq feet, bedrooms etc.

[charolastra00]

On sleepy towns - eastern Mass is pretty packed together so even if the town you live in itself isn't super exciting, you're probably no more than 10-15 minutes from a downtown that is.

I'm not super familiar with the west coast, but I know that was a big difference from the South where I grew up. Towns were much further apart, but it was mostly sprawl. It also meant that even in relatively densely populated areas, you could be a 20 minute drive from your downtown. Many friends who I went to high school with (one of several in the town I lived in) were close to half an hour away - and we didn't even live on the furthest reaches of our high school's district.

If you lived in Georgetown or Rowley (two of my favorite towns), you wouldn't miss out at all diving an extra few minutes to get to Haverhill or Ipswich for instance. The same is true of Ashland or Sherborne getting to Framingham. I live in Marlborough but spend more of my social time in Hudson, and this weekend went to activities/festivals in Stow and Sudbury and all are within a 10 minute drive from my apartment.

The most important thing is convenience to work since for most people, even with hybrid work, that is what will impact their quality of life the most.

[Remy11]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

If you lived in Georgetown or Rowley (two of my favorite towns), you wouldn't miss out at all diving an extra few minutes to get to Haverhill or Ipswich for instance. The same is true of Ashland or Sherborne getting to Framingham. I live in Marlborough but spend more of my social time in Hudson, and this weekend went to activities/festivals in Stow and Sudbury and all are within a 10 minute drive from my apartment.

.

Funny, I’ve never heard anyone list Georgetown as a favorite anything. Usually when I tell people I’m from there, they get confused and assume I mean DC and then when I reiterate that it’s in MA, I usually have to explain that it’s near Haverhill and Newburyport and then it kind of clicks.