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)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 08-05-2017, 10:38 PM
 
175 posts, read 223,082 times
Reputation: 115

Advertisements

Hi, I'm considering a long overdue move back east from NJ, to be closer to family and for future job prospects. I am originally from Mass, and lived near Boston a while back. I am most familiar with areas south and west of the city, not very familiar with the North Shore.

I currently am able to work from home, so location is fairly flexible. I would ideally like to find a walkable town or small city that I can move move to and rent in for the short term as I figure out my next steps in life.

It doesn't have to be too bustling, as I am not much of a city person in general. I really do appreciate walkability and the positive community vibe it fosters, though. Nearby parks or bike trails would be an added perk, though I realize no place is perfect Something similar to Plymouth, MA or Portsmouth, NH would be great.

To save money, I am trying to steer clear of pricey areas in and around Boston which fit the above description (Brookline, Newton, Somerville, etc.) as I do not currently require daily access to the area for work. That said, I would prefer to be within reasonable driving distance to the Boston area, as I may try to interview for new jobs in the down the line.

Any suggestions for towns/small cities to look into? Thanks in advance for the help!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 08-06-2017, 06:33 AM
 
Location: North of Boston
3,686 posts, read 7,422,687 times
Reputation: 3663
Isn't New Jersey already "back east"?

At any rate, what's your budget for rent?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2017, 07:00 AM
 
636 posts, read 705,368 times
Reputation: 494
"Portsmouth, NH "

Drove thu Portsmouth, NH last week for the first time, saw thousands of people going to the many establishments selling alcohol. There are no subways in Portsmouth, NH, goes to say how they will drive home.
Also, went though a sobriety test safety checkpoint by the Portsmouth, NH Police Department. Passed of course. Keep up the good word Portsmouth, NH PD! Portland NH was the site of a POT oui driver crash earlier this year.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2017, 08:13 AM
 
175 posts, read 223,082 times
Reputation: 115
Quote:
Originally Posted by wror View Post
"Portsmouth, NH "

Drove thu Portsmouth, NH last week for the first time, saw thousands of people going to the many establishments selling alcohol. There are no subways in Portsmouth, NH, goes to say how they will drive home.
Also, went though a sobriety test safety checkpoint by the Portsmouth, NH Police Department. Passed of course. Keep up the good word Portsmouth, NH PD! Portland NH was the site of a POT oui driver crash earlier this year.
Not sure what your beef is with Portsmouth, NH. I just used it as an example of a walkable small city that most in the region had likely heard of. Obviously public transit is more limited around there compared to Boston, and I did not list that as a requirement in my initial post. So I don't really understand your point.


In any event, I am looking for housing in the $1500-2000 range. Obviously the cheaper the better, but I would prefer to be in a decent area, so willing to pay up to $2K.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2017, 08:23 AM
 
880 posts, read 818,567 times
Reputation: 907
How many bedrooms? If just 1BR, you may be surprised at some decent rental prices in Newton for 1Br/Studio as most of the demand is from families
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2017, 08:27 AM
 
317 posts, read 331,380 times
Reputation: 326
Newburyport
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2017, 08:30 AM
 
513 posts, read 646,225 times
Reputation: 703
I am not as familiar with the South Shore, but some areas to look at up north are Salem (near the downtown) and Beverly.
The old town section of Marblehead could work as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2017, 09:56 AM
 
Location: North Quabbin, MA
1,025 posts, read 1,528,212 times
Reputation: 2675
In MetroWest and melting over toward Central Mass: Natick has a nice traditional walkable core with real downtown bones. Old mill towns Hudson and Maynard have been consumed by the suburban Cost-of-Living outward exodus and revived their town centers nicely in the process of receiving new residents desiring amenities. Clinton and Ayer will probably follow, though they're currently still pretty depressed.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-06-2017, 12:58 PM
 
Location: New England
2,190 posts, read 2,230,657 times
Reputation: 1969
Newburyport is the first place to come to mind.

I think the north shore tends to have more cute walkable town centers then the South Shore imho.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-07-2017, 07:02 AM
 
18,323 posts, read 10,648,066 times
Reputation: 8602
Quote:
Originally Posted by goeagles77 View Post
Hi, I'm considering a long overdue move back east from NJ, to be closer to family and for future job prospects. I am originally from Mass, and lived near Boston a while back. I am most familiar with areas south and west of the city, not very familiar with the North Shore!
New Jersey ..."back east"?????

With all due respect you say you are from MA and have family there one would make the assumption they would be a better source of information,correct?
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

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