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I grew up in the northern suburbs; would echo that they’re a great place to start. You’ll likely be priced out of the top school systems (Lexington), but MA schools are in general excellent, and there are many gems up there that are <1hr to BOS. Reading, North Reading, Andover, Billerica, Bedford, Carlisle are all great; you’re likely priced out of Winchester. Westfield and Chelmsford are great as well, but those are further (may be >1hr in rush hour).
Wherever you look, I would try to be pretty close to a major highway. The drive to the highway can be deceptively long (20+ min sometimes!).
There are some good options north of Boston. We're in Melrose and we're happy with the city and the schools, but prices are getting above $700k now (maybe for a fixer upper).
Hamilton-Wenham is a good area - their schools are great and it's really beautifully up there. Maybe look at Beverly too.
I’m from Hamilton-Wenham. Strongly agree with Ham-Wen or Bev. Similar to Melrose, the prices are rising, but Beverly is becoming a very cool “city”. Great new restaurants, bars, live music, theater, etc. Might be a little bit far for your airport drive though…
Come to Woburn! It's Lexington's ratchet cousin, but it's quiet here.
Seriously, though, look at the West side of Woburn. This is the next up and coming suburb in Boston. It's affordable right now, but it's close to all the tech in Burlington and all the pharma in Lexington, so the house prices are going to keep going up.
I bought my 3 bed 2 bath house for $500k 3 years ago, and it's appraised at $600k now.
Airport is 45 minutes away with heavy traffic and 30 minutes without. Alewife station is 20 minutes away, so I can take the Red Line anywhere in Boston. And downtown Winchester, Lexington, Arlington, even Newton are just minutes away with great restaurants and shops.
Actually it’s perfect if you don’t have kids yet, that way you are not paying extremely high property taxes as you would pay in good school districts until you have a kid
My friend moved to Acton when his wife was pregnant and then he regretted paying high property taxes for like 6 years when his kid was not even going to school
You and literally everyone else want this. Good luck- I’m a fan of North of Boston towns: Melrose, Wakefield, Winchester, Reading, North Reading…or starting to look way West like Bedford, Woburn, Billerica, Carlisle.
Andover is still reasonable.
There are a few houses in Lexington for 750k, but they aren't in good shape.
This house is on Main Street, Reading. It may not work for you, but thought I’d share it. Good luck with your search.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/881-Main-St-Reading-MA-01867/57103140_zpid/
House isn't bad, location sucks - Route 28 out your front door. That was the primary north-south route to Boston before they built I-93. It still gets a ton of traffic.
Bee hives out front are cool, though.
How many beds / bath? If you only needed airport proximity and that price point, you’d have some decent options, wanting it in a good school district is what will make it really tough with your price point
Lynnfield and North Reading have good schools and single family homes in your price range.
Sudbury, MA? Good schools
Looking for a 3 bed 3.5 bath and keen on North of Boston, unfortunately all the better towns (wth good schools) have a few options to pick from and prices go beyond reach fairly quickly with even a smidge of luxury on offer. May have to give up hopes of a single family and explore other options.
3.5 bath is a very tall order for eastern Massachusetts, unless you're talking new construction (which is out of your price range in a good school district). Most of our housing stock was built prior to 1930 and originally had 1 bathroom - many still only have 1 bath. You can usually find 1.5 or 2 baths, as people have renovated over the years. Our house was built in 1888 and was gut renovated in 2012, and we have 2.5 baths (one en-suite!) in a 1,500 sf home, but it is super rare.
I think you can find a single family amongst the towns others have suggested here, but go into it with the expectation that it's not going to be the nicest home in town (but not a dump, either). Maybe select a home that has good potential for cosmetic upgrades in the future, and has good systems (plumbing, HVAC, structure, roof, etc).
Also, be wary of 2-unit and 3-unit condo associations that are common in converted buildings. I have so many friends and acquaintances that have had awful experiences with their co-owners fighting about upgrades, maintenance, shoveling, etc. Even if you get lucky and get a good neighbor, they can sell and you get a lousy person moving in. Larger condo boards (like 20+ units) are better as it waters down the influence of the "jerks".
Malden and Melrose are fantastic, but you'll need to do some serious searching to find something around 700k
Go for Pulte Homes at Sudbury or Hopkinton
Hi there!
Given the current market, do you think an asking price of ~750k is too high? Seriously considering buying a new construction for my first home to avoid all the hassles.
I know it’s a 15 weeks old post but would appreciate your thoughts/ response
Grew up in the towns close to Lowell (Chelmsford, Billerica, Westford, Carlisle) - seems far but has never been more than 45 mins into Boston. Schools are average, but can definitely make the best out of it and end up in just as good of a situation (if not better) than someone who went to one of the “better” MA school districts. Remember - your child’s education is dependent on so much more than just their teachers / school district quality. And you can definitely find a ~$700k 3 bed (not likely more than 2, 2.5 bath tho) here.
Small pro that you’re definitely close enough to NH to save quite a bit on sales tax for furnishing your new home which, while often left out, is a big factor in buying a house.