Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
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.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 07-19-2008, 10:37 PM
 
2 posts, read 5,219 times
Reputation: 11

Advertisements

Hello,

My wife and I have been scrolling through many posts and websites in hopes to find out if Framingham is the place for us.

We found a home that is just North of the 9. (Warren place)
Can anyone tell us about the surrounding area? We hear that the downtown area is not the most desirable and possibly dangerous?

Anyone that lives there give us some insider information? Do you find it safe?

Or if there are any other areas that are good for families that you can suggest that would be great. What about Salem?

We would like to stay in a 500-525k budget for a home.
I am self employed, therefore commuting is not an issue for either one of us. We have two children 3 and 5.

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-20-2008, 01:14 AM
 
5,816 posts, read 15,868,623 times
Reputation: 4735
Default I'm not a fan of Framingham.

I lived in Framingham for about 4-1/2 years, and did not care for it. Framingham is not all bad, but overall I'd give it a thumbs down. This is not because of feeling unsafe downtown. Downtown Framingham is kind of seedy, but I never felt unsafe there, though of course other people's personal perceptions may be different. At the least, I'm sure downtown is safe during the daytime.

Mostly, though, downtown Framingham is largely irrelevant, except for those residents who live in and very close to downtown. Downtown has two establishments where you might need to conduct business once in a great while, these being town hall and a Registry of Motor Vehicles office. Downtown places you might visit more often, depending on your activities, would be the library and the local commuter rail station. Otherwise, downtown Framingham is mostly a collection of cheap small businesses that offer little attraction except maybe to those who live in the neighborhood. Framingham's prime commercial center is a stretch of maybe about two miles or so of strip malls and big-box stores, located in a completely different part of town than downtown. This is one reason I'm not thrilled with Framingham. The town has little or no character. It's pretty much just a generic large suburban town, a bunch of houses and a bunch of malls.

Physically, there's a wide range of quality in the neighborhoods and the housing. I'm not familiar with the area you're looking at specifically, but if it's north of Route 9, it's likely to be in a decent neighborhood. Most neighborhoods north of Rt. 9 are nice clean middle-class areas, and a few sections are fairly upper-crust. So you can find some nice housing in Framingham, and the town overall is a safe place.

However, one other feature of Framingham I'll warn you about is that the town--everything from town government to the local PD--seems to be run by a good ol' boy network of longtime residents who turn things to the advantage of other longtime residents in that local yokel network, to the detriment of those who move in from outside. Of course there will be individual exceptions, but generally the attitude of those who really run the town toward those who weren't born and raised in Framingham is quite unfriendly. Moving in from outside as a suburbanite, you would run the risk of mistreatment at the hands of local officials, if it were to the advantage of some longtime local type for you to be mistreated. I don't want to make Framingham out to be some small-town dictatorship where the local officials rule through fear. It's not like that, but it can be an uncomfortable place for those not born and raised there.

If you're interested in the vicinity where Framingham is located, I'd suggest checking out Natick, the next town to the east. Natick's housing prices will likely be somewhat higher than Framingham's on average, but you'd most likely be able to find something good within your budget. Natick has about half the population of Framingham, is generally a nice clean town, and is closer to being a middle-class kind of town across the board, rather than having the seedy neighborhoods in some areas and somewhat upper-crust sections in others that you find in Framingham. Like Framingham, Natick has a very suburban character, and is another town where malls rule when it comes to commercial activity, but Natick actually has a nice clean downtown. Downtown Natick pretty much closes up by very early evening, but when stores are open during the daytime, you'd actually find downtown Natick to be rather pleasant. I have relatives who have lived in Natick for about two years, and as far as I've heard from them, Natick also doesn't have so much of the kind of local government designed to favor old-timers over more recent arrivals as you find in Framingham.

As for other possibilities, you asked about Salem, and I'm not familiar enough with that town's details to give good advice. If you provide some additional info about the kind of town you'd like (suburban, a little city, a little rural, whatever character you'd prefer), your preferred length of commute and where you'd be commuting to and whether you'd like to use public transit, whether you've got school-aged children so school quality is important, etc., people could most likely narrow down the towns best suited to your needs.

So, a little info to get you started. Best of luck with your search.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-20-2008, 01:22 AM
 
5,816 posts, read 15,868,623 times
Reputation: 4735
Oops, okay, I went back to your original post, and see that commuting is not an issue, though schools might become an issue in a year or two. The more info you could provide on the general character you'd prefer in a town, and whether it matters how close you are to Boston, the better people could narrow this down to the best choices to suit your needs.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-20-2008, 06:55 AM
 
967 posts, read 4,775,713 times
Reputation: 263
Oh my gosh are you looking at that antique on Warren Place? I love that home! Have you seen it yet or just online? It's very charming inside. There is some road noise there but it's a pretty yard and area, you can walk to the common and a few restaurants and aren't far from a nice park. Framingham doesn't have bad schools but lots of the surrounding towns have better ones (except Marlboro). Pls feel free to PM me if you have other questions. Oh, and yes, I would steer clear of downtown Framingham also (just an fyi, Framingham Center - that large green near Warren Place isn't downtown. The downtown area is where the train station is.)

Best of luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-20-2008, 06:57 AM
 
967 posts, read 4,775,713 times
Reputation: 263
Also Salem has nice parts as well. There are some communities in that area with stronger school systems - Manchester by the Sea is lovely. So are Lynnfield, Marblehead, Wenham & Hamilton.

Around the metrowest, Holliston and Hopkinton would be in your price range and nice towns to live in.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-20-2008, 04:01 PM
 
Location: Cary, NC
2,135 posts, read 7,641,881 times
Reputation: 1610
With your price range I say neither! I am not crazy about either place -- especially the traffic and the schools. I had a 2 br house in Swampscott that was $350ish a few years ago. I'm sure you could find something with your budget. I was wondering how you picked Framingham or Salem since they are not anywhere near each other.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-20-2008, 04:26 PM
 
5,816 posts, read 15,868,623 times
Reputation: 4735
Good suggestion by Scarletfire with Holliston and Hopkinton. Not so many years ago, both were genuine small towns, not too suburban. They're more suburban now, but are still somewhat woodsy suburbs, and still maintain a small-town sense of community. Both are nice clean and safe towns, with good schools and downtown areas where you can do your basic everyday shopping. If this kind of town sounds interesting, and if you're open to any section within the Boston metro area, you might also consider Littleton, which is northwest of Boston, another formerly independent small town which is now exurban/suburban, sort of in the country, and maintains some small-town feel. Littleton also has the advantage of being on a commuter rail line, though it's farther from malls and large shopping areas than Holliston or Hopkinton. Also, you'd want to check on the schools in Littleton. I haven't heard much one way or the other on their quality.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-20-2008, 06:26 PM
 
2 posts, read 5,219 times
Reputation: 11
Default Thank you everyone

Thanks for all your input.
Our ideal area would be small, quaint and have great schools. We are not interested in newer construction, as we enjoy the personalities of an older home.
We have really enjoyed vacationing to Newton, Concord and Lincoln. We would enjoy living in one of those areas, however wanting a 4 bedroom home with minimum of 2000 sq ft, and staying within a 500-525k budget, needless to say they are out of our current price range.

As I said before, commuting is not really an issue, but we do not really want to be further than 45 minutes from Boston, as we love what the city has to offer. If anyone can chime in on other areas that fit the bill, please do.

Thanks again for your help.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-20-2008, 08:57 PM
 
Location: Cary, NC
2,135 posts, read 7,641,881 times
Reputation: 1610
For the North Shore I like Swampscott, Ipswich, and Newburyport. West of Boston I think that places like Natick, Ashland and Westborough would be good picks for that price range.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
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.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top