Living in New England...

[DMickey28]

I just changed the entire thought process of this thread and have to start over!! DH is trying for a new promotion at work. If it works out we would get to move back east!! Yippy.. Well his company is closing all their offices except Chicago and Vancouver and everyone will be working out of their homes. All of our family is in the suburbs of Boston and on the Cape. Dh needs to be within driving distance to an airport... preferably within 1 hour... except he'd be willing to drive extra to live on the Cape.

We are not sure if we would buy right off the bat, or if we would rent for a year first. Can you recommend areas that we should look at? For our first house we would not be looking to spend too much.. I know how expensive MA is... but are there any diamond in the rough towns that I am overlooking? We are not opposed to VT and New Hampshire or Western MA, as long as DH can get to an airport and we are close enough to drive to our families for a weekend or holiday.

Thanks..... I can think of many areas in MA, since we grew up there, but other's that have been there more recently may have better insight!

ETA: What about southern portion of Maine? As long as it is close enough to an airport... how are the prices up there?

 

[cynsaun]

How about any of the towns around Manchester, NH? We live just south (only about 15 minutes from the airport), and love it here! Plus, no income tax!

 

[mtemm]

I agree...head to NH. The COL is vastly different from MA. When we moved back to new england we hoped to move to southern nh, but dh's company was adament that he be in MA (he works from home so we hoped it wouldn't matter). we still tried to fight it, especially after comparing real estate prices. the manchester area (merrimack is a nice town) sounds perfect...easy in and out airport. sure beats logan!

 

[kpm76]

Almost anywhere in RI is within 45 minutes from TF Green airport.....Warwick and Cranston and super close and both cities have nice neighborhoods.....

 

[debaudrn]

I agree with KPM76 that anywhere in RI is close to TF Green airport. Some areas are also within one hour of Logan in Boston. The cost of living is higher than NH but it may be a shorter ride to visit family. I'm in RI and within 45 minutes of the Cape! Good luck house/home hunting.
Deb

 

[cynsaun]

We are only 45 minutes from Boston here in Southern New Hampshire.

 

[DMickey28]

What specific towns in Southern New Hampshire? Derry, Is that good?

 

[cynsaun]

I don't know much about Derry, other than the taxes are high. The towns that I know of are Bedford, Amherst, New Boston, and Goffstown. These are all nice towns right around Manchester.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[monarchsfan16]

What specific towns in Southern New Hampshire? Derry, Is that good?

Derry is a very good town. Good location to the airport (15 minutes from most places), and most of the town is very nice. Hooksett and Auburn are also good towns, although Auburn is very expensive, and I'm not sure that there are any rental opportunities there. I believe Hooksett may have some rental areas. Again, both have very good locations.

 

[palmtreegirl]

My SIL lives in Londonderry, NH and loves it. Great schools too.

http://www.londonderrynh.org/

 

[luvflorida]

ETA: What about southern portion of Maine? As long as it is close enough to an airport... how are the prices up there?

I live in southern coastal Maine. We're about a twenty minute drive to the Portland Jetport and about an hour and a half, (longer if there's traffic), to Logan Airport in Boston. A lot of the time we fly out of Logan though because it can be cheaper and they have more flights to pick from. Portland Jetport isn't a huge airport.

Housing prices in our area, Kennebunk/Kennebunkport/Wells, are more expensive than in many other Maine towns, but less expensive than in Mass. We like being in a small town, yet close to big cities like Portland and Boston.

Maine is a beautiful state, but the weather certainly isn't ideal. We're ready to leave the winters behind and spend them in Florida.

 

[Kahana-ri]

My vote is for RI. TF Green airport is only a hop-skip away from anywhere in this state. People from MA are starting to catch on and leaving from TF Green instead of Logan. So much easier.

 

[CPM]

We lived in Merrimack, NH for awhile. It was very nice, but I didn't like being that far from the city and ended up moving back to Watertown, Ma. after a year up there. I hated the commute. Wherever you decide to live, try your commute first & see how you think you can handle it. Bedofrd and Amherts are also very nice NH towns to live in that aren't too far from Ma.

After all that moving, we finally moved to Florida! LOL My poor daughter moved five times before she started kindergarten.

 

[lunchmomd]

I have to throw out a vote for Western Mass. We live in West Springfield, which is only about 20 minutes from Bradley Airport in Connecticut. My parents live in Quincy, which is only about and hour and a half up the Pike, and I drive to Plymouth every weekend in the summer and even with summer traffic, I usually make it in 2 hours or so. Real estate prices are MUCH lower out here, as is the overall cost of living (groceries, gas, etc.).

 

[Jen_in_NH]

I'll vote for central NH. It really depends what kind of town you're looking for. If you want a town where everything is close by, southern NH is a better choice. If you want a smaller town, and don't mind driving to get to things, then central NH is a good choice. For smaller towns, try looking at Bow, Hopkinton, Henniker, or Canterbury. They're all really nice, small-town New England type places.

Jen