Relocating to MA from Orange County CA (Boston, Marlborough: apartment complex, to rent)

[Jkmia111]

A new job in Marborough, brought us to Massachusetts. My wife works from home. We are looking for a place that is 30 minutes or less to Marlborough. Our children are grown but we want some thing that has higher odds of retaining property value, so good school districts are still preferred. We do not want anything that is very rural. We’ve looked at Concord which is pretty expensive but we can go up to 2 million there. We are also very open to townhomes in a new development in Sudbury. Any other communities we should consider? Would love to have things to do in the nearby vicinity such as farmers markets and community events. For that reason we assume Lincoln and Acton would not be a fit. Not sure if there are parts of Needham we should come sitter or Wayland? We heard the traffic can be quite tough for Wellesley.

[yesmaybe]

If you are not opposed to renting you might want to consider one of those faux luxury apartment complexes in the outskirts of Marlborough near the Sudbury border. Partially to give you more time to understand what you really want, and partially because if you are from the OC, the culture shock of having to drive in the snow to work might be problematic so being close to work isn't the worst idea.

[massnative71]

Any reason why you are looking at those towns further east towards Boston? Plenty of desirable towns right around Marlborough (Sudbury is one of them). Also consider Northborough and Westborough, both bedroom suburbs but they have a little more going on than the more rural towns like Berlin. I just don't recommend commuting any further than you have to. And while Marlborough is OK, I do not believe it's going to retain it's value as well as most of the surrounding towns that are significantly nicer but really not priced all that much higher at the moment.

[Jkmia111]

Thank you! Totally agree and we renting in a nice apartment complex until summer. Just wanted to start exploring towns and neighborhoods now. Regarding looking further east, I think we love the idea of being closer to the city, because we lived in a much more dense/urban location previously. The towns you mentioned are definitely beautiful as we've visited Westborough and Northborough.

[brightdoglover]

If I had that budget, I'd run and leave smoke to get to Concord. A generally liberal community-minded beautiful town, train to the city and right by Rt. 2. Good schools and a good hospital (Emerson).

[Jkmia111]

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

If I had that budget, I'd run and leave smoke to get to Concord. A generally liberal community-minded beautiful town, train to the city and right by Rt. 2. Good schools and a good hospital (Emerson).

Concord isn't dense at all though. It's limited on the amenities it provides. If OP wants nearer to Boston, I'd guess Natick, Wellesley or Needham would be closer to what they want. And outbound on the Pike to Marlborough seems like a preferable commute to Rte. 2.

[Ansonex]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Concord isn't dense at all though. It's limited on the amenities it provides. If OP wants nearer to Boston, I'd guess Natick, Wellesley or Needham would be closer to what they want. And outbound on the Pike to Marlborough seems like a preferable commute to Rte. 2.

Completely agree. It seems like OP is looking for a bit more to do, and $2 million will give a ton of options in all those towns.

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

If I had that budget, I'd run and leave smoke to get to Concord. A generally liberal community-minded beautiful town, train to the city and right by Rt. 2. Good schools and a good hospital (Emerson).

Limousine liberal is more like it.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by WestieWhitie

Limousine liberal is more like it.

Well, a $2 mil. budget isn't exactly Kia money.