Author Topic: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?  (Read 24402 times)

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Offline BleedGreen1989

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So me and my fiancé are looking into moving down to the Boston area in maybe a year from Maine. Not looking to move into the city but probably within an hour or so.

Still in the very early stages of scouting and researching towns to live in. Both in our mid-20's but not real "party animals" so a fantastic night life is not a big priority. We do not have kids and have no intentions of having kids as of now so schools are not a large priority. Things that are a big priority would be safety and affordability. We both come from small towns of around 20k people or so and enjoy that feel. Also, I suppose jobs would be nice LOL.

Any advice from people in the area would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2013, 09:28:21 AM »

Offline Rondo2287

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So me and my fiancé are looking into moving down to the Boston area in maybe a year from Maine. Not looking to move into the city but probably within an hour or so.

Still in the very early stages of scouting and researching towns to live in. Both in our mid-20's but not real "party animals" so a fantastic night life is not a big priority. We do not have kids and have no intentions of having kids as of now so schools are not a large priority. Things that are a big priority would be safety and affordability. We both come from small towns of around 20k people or so and enjoy that feel. Also, I suppose jobs would be nice LOL.

Any advice from people in the area would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Do you want to work in the city or do you want to work along the 128 belt?  There are some affordable towns between 128-495 but those would be a pain if you were working in Boston.  If you wanted to work in Waltham, Burlington, Bedford, etc. somewhere between 128 and 495 would work niceley.

Currently I work in Burlington and my Fiance works in the city.  We live in an apartment in malden.  Its decent, I reverse commute, (going away from the city in the morning, towards the city and night) and she is able to take the orange line.
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #2 on: September 05, 2013, 09:31:07 AM »

Offline JSD

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Wilmington, Woburn, Burlington, Lexington, Bedford

All close access to every major highway and are nice.
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2013, 09:32:09 AM »

Offline Rondo2287

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Wilmington, Woburn, Burlington, Lexington, Bedford

All close access to every major highway and are nice.

Agreed but those are some expensive towns haha.  I was thinking maybe Billerica being a happy medium with safety, location and affordability.
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2013, 09:44:56 AM »

Offline pearljammer10

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So me and my fiancé are looking into moving down to the Boston area in maybe a year from Maine. Not looking to move into the city but probably within an hour or so.

Still in the very early stages of scouting and researching towns to live in. Both in our mid-20's but not real "party animals" so a fantastic night life is not a big priority. We do not have kids and have no intentions of having kids as of now so schools are not a large priority. Things that are a big priority would be safety and affordability. We both come from small towns of around 20k people or so and enjoy that feel. Also, I suppose jobs would be nice LOL.

Any advice from people in the area would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

If you're looking to be an hourish away from the city you could also move to most Southern part of New Hampshire. No sales tax and probably a bit lower cost of living which is nice. Im in a very small town (which doesnt fit your description) and its under an hour and a half away from the city and I'm 45 minutes away from the Mass line.

Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2013, 09:50:51 AM »

Offline BleedGreen1989

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Quote
Do you want to work in the city or do you want to work along the 128 belt

Tbh, I don't think I've given it enough thought either way. I think I would hate commuting in the city lol but there's obviously more job opportunities.

Quote
If you're looking to be an hourish away from the city you could also move to most Southern part of New Hampshire. No sales tax and probably a bit lower cost of living which is nice. Im in a very small town (which doesnt fit your description) and its under an hour and a half away from the city and I'm 45 minutes away from the Mass line.

That's actually not a bad idea either. I'll have to check that out. Thanks!

P.S. what town do you live in?
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2013, 10:07:47 AM »

Offline thirstyboots18

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Quote
Do you want to work in the city or do you want to work along the 128 belt

Tbh, I don't think I've given it enough thought either way. I think I would hate commuting in the city lol but there's obviously more job opportunities.

Quote
If you're looking to be an hourish away from the city you could also move to most Southern part of New Hampshire. No sales tax and probably a bit lower cost of living which is nice. Im in a very small town (which doesnt fit your description) and its under an hour and a half away from the city and I'm 45 minutes away from the Mass line.

That's actually not a bad idea either. I'll have to check that out. Thanks!

P.S. what town do you live in?
If you are thinking of NH, I am from Hampton.  You should check out the property taxes in the town you are looking at...there is a big difference because of the state tax code (richer towns are "donor towns" who help pay the way for poorer towns via larger property tax rates.)
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #7 on: September 05, 2013, 10:18:07 AM »

Offline pearljammer10

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Quote
Do you want to work in the city or do you want to work along the 128 belt

Tbh, I don't think I've given it enough thought either way. I think I would hate commuting in the city lol but there's obviously more job opportunities.

Quote
If you're looking to be an hourish away from the city you could also move to most Southern part of New Hampshire. No sales tax and probably a bit lower cost of living which is nice. Im in a very small town (which doesnt fit your description) and its under an hour and a half away from the city and I'm 45 minutes away from the Mass line.

That's actually not a bad idea either. I'll have to check that out. Thanks!

P.S. what town do you live in?

I live in, ironically enough, New Boston. Great town to raise a family in. Incredible school system, voted best school in the state for 5 years in the 2000's, friendly people extremely safe. Very rural and country, 25 minutes from Manchester, 25 minutes from Concord 30 from Nashua, hour and fifteen to Portsmouth and the Ocean.

Only about 5,000 people in the town. One restaurant, tavern, and a country grocery store, hardware store, river going through the center. Nice but very small. If you like privacy of your home and family its greats. Not sure what type of place your looking for.

But a lot of the NH towns are like that. As you get closer to the MA border Amherst is a really nice area that certainly has more civilization (restaurants both chain and family owned, targets etc...) Nashua is one of the bigger cities, nice parts and sketchy parts. Going down 93 from Manchester you also have Derry, Londonderry (nice town), Windham, and Salem before you hit the mass border.


Edit: Just saw you aren't looking for schools. My bad. Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Salem would give you more activity, not necessarily nightlife.

Actually Portsmouth is probably the most amazing town in New Hampshire. Its where Id like to relocate and its actually only an hour from Boston. Expensive. But great for the mid 20 somethings (such as myself and you guys). Coffee shops, book stores, music shops, live music, outdoor movies, right on the water, 15 minutes from York Maine. Really great great small town city feel.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2013, 10:30:42 AM by pearljammer10 »

Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #8 on: September 05, 2013, 10:55:53 AM »

Offline JBcat

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Wilmington, Woburn, Burlington, Lexington, Bedford

All close access to every major highway and are nice.

Agreed but those are some expensive towns haha.  I was thinking maybe Billerica being a happy medium with safety, location and affordability.

I can vouch for Billerica as that is the town I grew up in.

Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #9 on: September 05, 2013, 11:01:18 AM »

Offline manl_lui

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There's a few places that are pretty good. Arlington, Lexington are two places that I really like. A bit pricey but it's very safe, public transportation are all within each other. (Arlington, you have access to the Red Line). All those places have great restaurants within 5 minute of each apartment.

Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #10 on: September 05, 2013, 11:15:00 AM »

Offline acieEarl

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Living in Wakefield and love it. 30 minutes to Boston. Small town but tons of stuff in and around Wakefield. Melrose is nice as well. Not exactly cheap, but anything in the 30-45 min range from Boston is going to be expensive.

Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #11 on: September 05, 2013, 12:11:08 PM »

Offline BigAlTheFuture

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Malden. 10-20 minutes away from Boston depending which part you live in. Relatively safe. Affordable. And probably the most diverse town in Massachusetts if you're into that stuff. Also has the orange line if you're looking for public transportation.

Malden, Everett, Medford, Somerville, Randolph, Quincy.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2013, 12:17:48 PM by BigAlTheFuture »
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #12 on: September 05, 2013, 12:31:51 PM »

Offline BleedGreen1989

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Awesome suggestions guys! Really like the small town feel and seems a lot of these towns are right in that ballpark.
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #13 on: September 05, 2013, 12:55:29 PM »

Offline PhoSita

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I went on a really long bike ride a couple weeks ago through the towns of Lexington, Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Sudbury, and Weston.

They all seemed really nice, not too over-settled but also reasonably close to major roads.

They also seemed like they might be on the more expensive side of things, though.

In any case, I'd suggest you look north, northwest, or west of Boston as opposed to northeast, south, or southeast.
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Re: Considering relocating to greater Boston area. Advice on safe/small towns?
« Reply #14 on: September 05, 2013, 02:31:35 PM »

Offline Quetzalcoatl

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Amherst and Northampton in Western MA sound the closest of what you're looking for, but they're about an hour and 45 min away from the City.  They're both beautiful places to live, though.  You may have trouble getting a job you like, although you could really hit the jackpot out there with the Universities, Springfield, etc.

If you don't end up living there, you will want to be on one of the subway lines in Boston.  Anywhere that is about an hour away is terrible with a few exceptions if you are specifically trying to raise a family (Duxbury, Norwell, etc can be ok).  There are a list of places that are more or less affordable to rent but outrageously expensive to buy in that I would recommend, like Jamaica Plain, Brighton, Brookline, Newton, Union Square and Cambridge Port.  Any of those are highly recommended if you're renting.