Living well. Try west of Boston
Today’s Living Well column is brought to you by Mike Berry. He’s an exclusive buyer’s agent in the area west of Boston bounded by these roads: West of 128, East of 495, South of 2, North of 9 and the Mass Pike.
Looking for a single family house with 6 rooms, 3 bedrooms, and 1.5 baths for around $350,000? Check out these cities & towns west of Boston in Middlesex County. Maynard, Acton, Hudson, Marlborough, Framingham and Ashland are located inside route 495 and are 30-50 minutes from Boston as the crow flies.
There are numerous recreational areas close by including the Nashoba Valley Ski Area in Bedford (corrected: Westford), and the New England Sports Center, Ice Skating Rinks in Marlborough. Fresh Water sport enthusiasts enjoy Walden Pond State Reservation in Concord and Hopkinton State Park. Local area farms produce fresh foods as well as pick your own apples, blueberries and pumpkins stands. There’s easy access north on route 495 to New Hampshire’s Green Mountains or south on 495 to our Cape Cod Shores.
Most families in this area are huge supporters of sport activities. Football, baseball, and soccer fields abound. Most of these towns even have a golf course. Communities have gotten together to establish a 12.5-mile bike and pedestrian path on a long-abandoned railroad right-of-way paralleling the Assabet River through Hudson, Stow, and Maynard, with connections to Marlborough and the MBTA commuter rail station in South Acton.
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Ashland is south of Route 9 -- if you are going to throw that in, you should include Holliston, Hopkinton, Northborough, Westborough, Natick....
Green Mountains in Vermont. White Mountains in NH
Um, the Nashoba Valley Ski Area is in Westford, not Bedford.
Chloe: The $350,000 criteria for a target property in those towns would be hard to find. And if found would most likely be fixer uppers at best.
Sean: You're right. I've never been to the White Mountains in the winter so picture them green. Sorry. I've never been to Vermont but I wonder if their cheese is less expensive-on site?
Cremmins: You're right also. Carlisle seperate the two towns. You ski? There are many ski areas avaliable that offer cross country and down hill in Mass.
Why aren't buyers making offers on properties? It seems that even in the nicest towns, there is reluctance to buy right now. The market is getting flooded with too many homes and not enough people to buy them.
... and the headline could use some punctuation
e.g. Iowa's well west of Boston
(And I second the motion of suggesting geography lessons :) )
Paul,
The title choice is on me. I will change it now. For those reading later, the original was "Living well west of Boston." Paul is right that Iowa is west of Boston.
Locals refer to that area as OUTSIDE 128, INSIDE 495. That way we don't have to deal with those pesky "east" and "west" thingies.
Liz: Which nicest towns are you referring to?
Paul and Local: I’ve lived in Hudson for 49 years minus the dozen years I lived in Boston’s Back Bay, Beacon Hill and South End. My family has lived in Massachusetts for 14 generations so I guess I’m a local.
How about in and around the 128 and 495 belts and Route 2 and The Mass Pike? When looking on a map it’s a rectangle shape and makes more sense.
Rona,
Glad to help - But I must point out the other poster's (Sean's) observation that it is the WHITE mountains that are in New Hampshire, the GREEN mountains are in Vermont.
(BTW Vermont is likely from Vert (green) Mont ( mountain))
By coincidence, Iowa's real estate suddenly seems more interesting.
30-35 minutes by the way the crow flies
!.5-2 hours in the rael world.
That's each way...........
Mike,
Holliston and Hopkinton are at least as affordable as Ashland right now, with excellent schools -- take a look at the listings. I have been in most of the houses under 400K in Holliston, and most of the houses are NOT fixer-uppers (are they perfect? no, but not junk either) and are for the most part in "neighborhoods".
And Ashland is still south of Route 9.
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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