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Valerie - Thank you. That's the concern ... we want to buy something and settle down so badly but the job hunt is making it difficult. There is a 50/50 shot that he will find a job working out of the house and just need to be reasonable distance to an airport which makes area's a little further north in NH very desirable. Unfortunately due to his line of work, we can't wait until he find a job to buy a house because his base pay is only a 1/3 of his income. Nevermind the lack of stability that having just started a new job shows.
What about North Shore areas of MA? Some of his co-workers are pushing him in that direction ... Amesbury, Newburyport? There seems to be a lot of afford homes in Amesbury right now.
I also found some great stuff in Newton, NH but he thinks that is too far.
It's interesting. People from Mass always think NH is so far away, but in reality the drive from Newburyport or Amesbury is barely shorter than from the towns along 95 in NH - with no traffic it's about 40 minutes to Boston from the border.
Newburyport is a beautiful but expensive town. Amesbury is more of an up and comer, but the downtown is being revitalized and there are a good assortment of local restaurants. Newton, NH is ok and certainly less expensive, but there are nicer towns in that general vicinity.
Hope you go on the MLS cause house prices in most of these better Mass towns are still through the roof. You can get new construction in Londonderry around 300k or so. The school systems in any low-end Mass towns bite.
Have you had a chance to check out Amesbury for yourself? It's really got an awful lot to offer... a nice mix of neighborhoods, great downtown, of course the river is right there, and Newburyport/Plum Island just a short drive, as is the beach (Salisbury Reservation is nice, though the main beach can be sort of trashy...) I spent much of last Saturday touring homes in Amesbury, there are a couple that stand out as being good values... Actually Amesbury & Newton share a border, 495 is pretty easy from Newton (backroads, NOT down 125 to Haverhill!)
How are you doing your searches? check out www.NNEREN.com for the most accurate and up to date listings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMickey28
Valerie - Thank you. That's the concern ... we want to buy something and settle down so badly but the job hunt is making it difficult. There is a 50/50 shot that he will find a job working out of the house and just need to be reasonable distance to an airport which makes area's a little further north in NH very desirable. Unfortunately due to his line of work, we can't wait until he find a job to buy a house because his base pay is only a 1/3 of his income. Nevermind the lack of stability that having just started a new job shows.
What about North Shore areas of MA? Some of his co-workers are pushing him in that direction ... Amesbury, Newburyport? There seems to be a lot of afford homes in Amesbury right now.
I also found some great stuff in Newton, NH but he thinks that is too far.
I disagree about Woburn schools being called JUNK as you referred to it.
I know many people who live in Woburn who graduated from Woburn schools and went to college. and got good educations. - Woburn is a decent community to live in.
I live in Winchester, next to Woburn, While yes, Winchester is a nicer school system. The schools in Woburn are Not JUNK.
People still get good education from Public Schools in the Boston suburbs.
I would disagree with you labeling non-private schools in Mass. as JUNK.
And Woburn does have Commuter Rail into Boston -
It is also close to route 3. and your commute would be a reverse commute for the most part up route 3 into NH.
You might hit some morning traffic after Nashua - into Manchester, but it would only be about 20 min anyway to Manchester after that point.
If you are really against living in MA I would say look into a border town like Dunstable MA
though you wouldn't have the commuter rail access to Boston
you'd be about halfway from Woburn and Manchester
and could drive to the N Billerica MBTA station or Lowell if you needed to get into Boston
Tyngsboro Might be another option
or Chelmsford
Not sure how the schools are in Chelmsford.
I would suggest living closer to Woburn because you wouldn't have to drive as far in the AM (when everyone would be coming to Boston)
and could have a reverse commute to Manchester
which wouldn't be too bad
opposite the heaviest traffic
Not sure how the schools are in Chelmsford.
-jeff--
Winchester, MA
We checked out Chelmsford and its schools back when we were still looking at MA. It would've been a 30 minute commute to Manchester, so not bad, The schools there seemed to be pretty good, not bad. But the housing was much more than what we expected for what sounded like a "modest middle of the road" town. In the end it made more sense to spend about the same or less in NH for better schools. But that's because the job was in NH. If your Dh's job is going to stay in MA you may have different considerations. Coming from SoCal, I'll just say that the length and speed of your commute can have a great effect on qualify of life.
I disagree about Woburn schools being called JUNK as you referred to it.
I know many people who live in Woburn who graduated from Woburn schools and went to college. and got good educations. - Woburn is a decent community to live in.
I live in Winchester, next to Woburn, While yes, Winchester is a nicer school system. The schools in Woburn are Not JUNK.
People still get good education from Public Schools in the Boston suburbs.
I would disagree with you labeling non-private schools in Mass. as JUNK.
And Woburn does have Commuter Rail into Boston -
It is also close to route 3. and your commute would be a reverse commute for the most part up route 3 into NH.
You might hit some morning traffic after Nashua - into Manchester, but it would only be about 20 min anyway to Manchester after that point.
If you are really against living in MA I would say look into a border town like Dunstable MA
though you wouldn't have the commuter rail access to Boston
you'd be about halfway from Woburn and Manchester
and could drive to the N Billerica MBTA station or Lowell if you needed to get into Boston
Tyngsboro Might be another option
or Chelmsford
Not sure how the schools are in Chelmsford.
I would suggest living closer to Woburn because you wouldn't have to drive as far in the AM (when everyone would be coming to Boston)
and could have a reverse commute to Manchester
which wouldn't be too bad
opposite the heaviest traffic
-jeff--
Winchester, MA
I will be less colorful so as not to offend your Massachusetts sensibilities. Woburn schools rank low on any objective measure of educational attainment. They are third rate. I would never put a child in that school system. That's my opinion and I stand by it.
Interesting stats. Winchester's high school is in the top 10% in 10th grade math, science, and english. Woburn High is not even in the top 50% in any of those. What a difference a few miles can make...
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