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I am sure those towns are ok and maybe a little on the cheaper side. But I would still stay closer to Boston. Why not consider living in Natick? I know there are some really expensive towns around there... Dover, sherborn, wellesley, ect. but I think you could do well in Natick.
I have to agree with just about everything flycessna has posted.
In the end, the decision is yours and hinges on what YOU see to be the most ideal situation for you and your family. If taking a financial hit to move to Maine is that decision, than go for it. For the record, Gray's schools have improved... they may not be the best, but they're hardly bad.
That being said, given your situation, I think Natick may be the right choice. I'm also from Massachusetts (lived in Maine for nearly 5 years and recently moved back) and would agree that the quality of life (if you can get the job and afford the house) in those metro Boston suburbs cannot be beat. Portland and Maine are pretty safe areas, no doubt. But Newton, MA (just west of Boston) is the safest city in the United States. The schools in towns like Brookline, Wellesley, Weston, Westwood, Lexington, Lincoln, etc are among the best in the nation. The safety is excellent, and they are wonderfully community oriented. Sure, the housing is expensive, but if your husband's job in Natick can afford you that opportunity, it would be difficult to turn down. There's a reason that area is in such high demand. You'd also be close enough to Maine to visit when you see fit. It's not as if you'd be thousands of miles away.
If there's an opportunity, it's hard to find a better family area than the metro west area of Boston, it truly is.
Flycessna, I do have Natick on my list of towns that I check...I have been using Redfin. I am not finding many properties in Natick in the price range we are looking at. Thank you for the input on other towns to check. I'm curious as to why you would choose to stay on the Boston side of natick?
Irfox, you are the second person who has mentioned that the Gray school system has improved...I am wondering how you have learned that? I do have a friend in New Gloucester that I may get in touch with to hear her input too. I do check the Greatschools.com website as well. It scores the schools 1-10; there are also parent comments. Not sure how accurate/reliable that site is.
It seems you both really favor the Boston side of Natick; I will have to check those towns more!! :-) Thanks again for all the feedback!
If you guys are young and raising a family, I would vote for the MA job. You can always visit ME and do the tourist thing, until you want to retire. It's only a couple of hours away. Your income potential in MA is greater. The difference could be hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on your lifestyle.
Thanks dmyankee...that was short, sweet and made great sense! We do realize how close MA is to ME...I was born in MA, so I have family/friends there. My husband and my folks live in Maine, so that may be the bigger draw, but absolutely, we need to be able to support our family at the same time :-) Thank you for your input!
Flycessna, I do have Natick on my list of towns that I check...I have been using Redfin. I am not finding many properties in Natick in the price range we are looking at. Thank you for the input on other towns to check. I'm curious as to why you would choose to stay on the Boston side of natick?
I'am obviously a little biased to those towns and to that part of Mass. I truly feel it's a beauritful area to live and they all share a similiar feel to them. Could be one side is a suburb of Boston and the other a Suburb of Worcester?? IDK I just think they are the better choices...
try not to get caught up into the size of the home ect... its always tempting to go for the bigger and better home that is more affordable but remember your buying into a community and a lifestyle.. location,location,location I'd take a samller home in Natick then a bigger home in Ashland anyday..
Trust me, Worcester is NOT really any place I would go to for an outing...never really liked the feel of that city (even just driving through as a child to visit my grandparents in Brookfield). I did check a few of those towns on the other side of Natick and I can't quite swallow the price tags! For instance, I am seeing run down 1970's homes on a quarter acre lot for the mid $500's...YIKES! We certainly don't need a huge house, but we want one that's a bit on the newer side (or at least not a fixer upper) and able to fit a family of 5 comfortably. Just as importantly, a decent chunk of property would be nice...tired of living elbow to elbow with neighbors (because some of them don't end up being so nice...as we have unfortunately found out the hard way!).
I guess another reason we are looking to the west of Natick is the easy commute to Maine on 495.
You pose a tough question when it comes to other people making a decision based on something that is totally subjective.
I will share this with you. I grew up in Ma (not far from Natick) and moved to DC?VA out of college. I lived in both DC and northern VA. I have family in Ashland Va and spend a lot of time visiting down there. I now live in Auburn Maine and have been here for the past 15 years, my son goes to Gray and my favorite town is Yarmouth.... geeze strange...huh
Well let me say a few things about Ma. Ma is a beautiful state. Yes there are some rough and tough areas when you get into "some" of the bigger cities ect. but you cannot beat the quality of life offered in some of the smaller wealthier towns outside of the Boston. I am talking about great schools, quiet neighborhood streets tree lined with sidewalks, nice town centers, huge community spirit with excellent sports and extracurricular opportunities.
I grew up in Walpole and loved it. 25 thousand people and it probably has less crime than gray Maine (little exaggerating I know but really.. its like Mayberry there.) natic is a little bigger and more of a city feel but I have friends there who love it.. they have great football there.
There is a lot of bias about Ma from Mainers who have never lived there or from those who lived in crappy areas...sure there are some cities and even towns I wouldn't want to be apart of. But Maine has a LOT of poor run down towns too that I wouldn’t want to be a part of, also crime here is getting worse.
The schools in ma are better funded and the family values a LOT stronger overall. Better sports and extracurricular opportunities.. and once you get past the cost of a home, providing you have a good paying job everything else in life comes easier...more money for vacations, more money for retirement, kids college... your job will be safer, you will continue to climb the ladder at a faster pace then here in Maine. If I was to do it over again or if I ever had the chance to go back I would in a heart beat!!
Maine is a relatively poor state. The schools need a lot of work. The overall caliber of students here is much lower than in those affluent middle class towns like Walpole, Westwood, Sharon, Norfolk, Wrentham, ect. ect. The quality of teachers here overall are lower and the opportunities less. The expectations are just not as high here for them... I still believe that its up to the individual to put something into it to get something out but I this is the way i see.. my opinion
The only thing I would say is that I find people like where they grew up. I am sure I didn’t make many friends with my biasness….its not that I hate Maine… But I think Ma is much better for the right people.
I do realize that at the end of the day life cannot be Just about money and keeping up with the joneses. In the end will you be saying I wish I spent more time at work??? or with family.. I think in Mass you can have both. good luck
PS. I just checked on sperlings crime rate... Natick mass is a TOWN 14 miles west of boston and 33 thousand people.. it has the same crime rate as Gray Maine..compared to south portland with 24 thousand people...southportlands PROPERTY crime rate was 5 times higher than naticks.
But it seems the overall crime rate per city-data in South Portland is 235.4 when compared to the national rate of 320.9. South Portland is not exactly crime-ridden, and is indeed a very low crime area.
And Natick is even lower, though not anywhere near 5 times overall with a rate of 149.1.
And in South Portland I am 150 yards from the beautiful ocean in a cheaper house. Is Natick on the ocean? :-)
Our issue is that we have been away for over 6 years and to move back there (from VA) my husband would have to take a sustantial pay cut and the cost of living is higher there. I am a nurse and certainly will be looking to work more as our littlest one gets older. I remember the chunk of money that came out of our paychecks for income taxes... The area we would love to move to is North Yarmouth/Freeport area. We moved from New Gloucester, but we know that the Gray/New Gloucester school system is not that great. I guess I am just looking for any feedback regarding cost of living and whether we would be making a wise move. .
Hi nene. I'm thinking you must be living in southern Virginia. We lived in Fairfax for ten years, and with the exception of real estate taxes (which were low compared to most other places we've lived) it was one of the most expensive areas we've lived in. There's no way that we would consider Freeport more expensive than Fairfax.
Having moved around alot for corporate transfers, I encourage our friends and famly members contemplating moves to personalize cost-of-living comparisons. Some people spend more and/or prioritize housing differently than others; some spend more money on hobbies that cost more or less in one area than another, (skiing for example) etc. IME, cost of living is more personal than most people think.
If more house would make you happy for your family of 5 then you should factor that and adjust accordingly. We've always chosen the suburb (of whatever city we worked in) that had the best schools. After that, we let the house dictate where we landed. The one time we chose location over house, we were not happy and within six months, couldn't wait to move. We stayed for three years, but were constantly thinking about moving.
So I really believe cost-of-living analyses need to be specific and personal.
And personally, since you mentioned Freeport/North Yarmouth - I love Freeport! I can't tell you about the schools as we are now empty-nesters, but it's beautiful and safe and the people are friendly and helpful. On Saturday, the shops in the village hosted trick-or-treaters and its the kind of place where if people are out, they leave the lights on and a big bowl of candy out -- knowing that the children will take one and leave the rest.
Sounds really corny, but I've never lived in a place like that before. It's impressive.
Trust me, Worcester is NOT really any place I would go to for an outing...never really liked the feel of that city (even just driving through as a child to visit my grandparents in Brookfield). I did check a few of those towns on the other side of Natick and I can't quite swallow the price tags! For instance, I am seeing run down 1970's homes on a quarter acre lot for the mid $500's...YIKES! We certainly don't need a huge house, but we want one that's a bit on the newer side (or at least not a fixer upper) and able to fit a family of 5 comfortably. Just as importantly, a decent chunk of property would be nice...tired of living elbow to elbow with neighbors (because some of them don't end up being so nice...as we have unfortunately found out the hard way!).
I guess another reason we are looking to the west of Natick is the easy commute to Maine on 495.
After looking for 3 months I bought a 4-year old 2000 sf house for 246 on a nice lot, and we walk to the ocean almost every day(it is a beautiful walk, too). I am sure Mass is nice, but that is unattainable at anywhere near this price point. Depending on ones job situation, Mass is not necessarily better. I could have lived there on a government salary of about 6 K more, but the cost of living did not make up for the discrepency, and I would have been commuting an hour each way.
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I'd take a samller home in Natick then a bigger home in Ashland anyday..
I am a nurse and certainly will be looking to work more as our littlest one gets older. I remember the chunk of money that came out of our paychecks for income taxes... The area we would love to move to is North Yarmouth/Freeport area. We moved from New Gloucester, but we know that the Gray/New Gloucester school system is not that great. I guess I am just looking for any feedback regarding cost of living and whether we would be making a wise move. .
