Moving to MA, tell me about Lowell.

In My Humble Opinion
21

Mapquest says that Marlborough to Lowell is 33 minutes. Now I know for sure that mapquest lies. It’s been ten years since I regularly traveled between the two points, but it was 45 minutes on a good day. Unfortunately, I never lived anywhere nice in MA, so I can’t really suggest an alternative. I think they exist, though. Out west.

But don’t listen to The Vorlon - Lawence isn’t that bad! I mean, don’t live there, but you don’t have to wear body armor to visit. I was there Sunday to see The Invisible, and I’m fine :slight_smile:

It does have a bad reputation, though. With just about everyone. This was a conversation I had not long ago with a friend:
Me:…no, I’m sure it was Newington [that we’d tried to see another movie at]. We walked from the theater to the mall while we waited for the next show. We couldn’t have if we’d been in Lawence because it’d of been too far.
Her: And we would have been stabbed.
Me: Hey! I lived in Lawence for the first ten years of my life, and I was never stabbed.
Her: That’s because you were little and cute then!
Me: Are you saying I’m not now?

22

I wouldn’t recommend Lowell to anyone. I still find it is a festering hive no matter how many people claim it has changed. There is a reason the housing prices have stayed lower then every town surrounding it. It is not a place most people would be comfortable walking around alone at night in. I will admit the food choices there have been improving.

While the sticker prices in other towns my be shocking many people are starting to realize their houses will sit on the market forever at the current prices. I’d look at nicer towns and throw low ball bids out, like insultingly low and you will be amazed at what you might find. A friend of mine had her mothers house(mother died) on the market for a year in Westford, the house was a beautify colonial with an in-law apartment. the house had appraised at close to 400k. A couple weeks ago she finally gave up holding out for a reasonable offer and dumped it for 250k.

23

Have you thought about areas on the north coastal part of MA? Ipswich, Swampscott, Salem, Peabody etc.? Have those gone insane as well?

One place that used to be relatively cheap but would be a slightly further drive for your husband is Waltham. Lots and lots of parks and the home of Brandeis university.

24

This is just a suggestion but you may be building too much of your plan around the shortest commutes. That often isn’t a great plan in this area these days. It badly limits you. My wife and I chose Holliston because we loved the house and thought the town was great as well. However, she has a 55 mile one-way commute and I have a 36 mile one-way commute (not the same area as her). It really isn’t that bad at least to me and I definitely prefer it compared to living in someplace crappier and picking up a few minutes during the day for something else.

I am not suggesting you need to live that far away from work but f you draw the circle a little bigger, you will pick up a much larger number of options. What about Marlboro itself (note both spellings are valid :))? I know it isn’t cheap but Marlboro is fairly big and there is some semi-affordable housing in that area. That general area south of Lowell on I-495 tends to be pretty nice and some of it is a little countryish.

Commuting into Marlboro is fairly easily attacked from almost all directions you could live. Andover is harder but you could pick up many options if you expanded your commuting time to, say, 45 minutes one-way. That amount of time (and often much more) would be closer to the norm than not for people working in many places in the Boston area these days.

25

light strand, as a Bostonian of 30 years, I can tell you that the people here are just trying to be encouraging in the face of the possible compromises you may have to face in this move.

Lowell is a renowned hole, and a Lowell to Marlborough commute, even only a day or two a week, is a fool’s errand, one that will make hubby want to slit his wrists. Sure, it’s not far by Texas standards, but what it lacks in distance it will more than make up for in congestion and inconvenience, although I-495 was not that bad when I lived in MA over ten years ago.

But if it has to be, it has to be. The towns I-495 passes through between Andover and Marlborough are: Berlin, Bolton, Harvard, Boxborough, Westfield, Chelmsford, Lowell and Tewksbury. The towns adjacent to those are: Hudson, Clinton, Stow, Shirley, Ayer, Acton, Groton, Tyngsboro, Carlisle, Billerica, Dracut, Wilmington, Methuen and Lawrence. There’s not much to do in any of them besides get drunk, and in some of them, you may need to drive to the next town to find a bar (certain towns in MA are “dry”, no alcohol sold within city limits). You will however, likely have plenty of green space to walk your dogs around in, park or no park.

The best MA real estate site (I have been anticipating a move back home myself) is CarpeDiemRealty.com. Unlike some real estate sites, which only show listings in the immediate area of the office, realtor Melody Bohl has listings for every single town in MA, as well as nearby parts of NH, RI, CT and I think even VT and ME. Even though I have made it clear each time that I am at least a few years away from moving, she has always been quick to answer e-mails I have sent regarding general questions.

Go there, plug in the towns I listed above, along with your price range and space/lot size needs, etc., and you will get a comprehensive list of what’s available. Updated daily in your e-mail, if you wish (you have to to sign up, but you can log on and get rid of that as well).

26

yeah, you need my site. It has 14 pictures of the place, and a link to map. There’s a park nearby, but you’re on a major thoroughfare, one with a route number even. I don’t know the area, but the park is about a quarter mile away, and you want to know if you’ll feel safe walking a busy street with them.

The layout of the neighborhood looks fairly dense, but perhaps not too much so, but you’re less than a half mile from the river, which, in a town with Lowell’s industrial history, might or might not be a liability.

27

I live in Lowell. I really like it here, although we’re moving soon to be closer to work. There are beautiful new condos everywhere. I’ve lived here off and one for four years and never had a problem. Sure, there are bad neighborhoods, but that’s true everywhere. I went to college in Lowell and used to walk home at one am without a problem (other than the occasional drunken frat boy on campus). Personally, I’ve never found anything remotely desirable about Tewksbury or Chelmsford. Dracut is too far off the highway for my taste. Lawrence is a hell hole.

Waltham isn’t a bad choice either, but the housing cost are higher. I grew up there and that’s where we are moving to.

If you move to either of those areas, feel free to drop me an email, the address is in the profile, if you need advice about the boring stuff like which grocery store had the best deals or what not.

28

The moody street area is so awesome now. If and when I move back to Boston I’d strongly consider waltham. The train even goes into Boston from there now doesn’t it?

But if I bought a house I’d be weak for either Carlisle (since I grew up in Lex but it’s too suburban-oogly for me) or Salem. I used to work in Peabody at the technology park and my boss lived in Salem. In a house on the ocean. It was a small cape but it was so classy and the backyard was the bloody OCEAN. Most of my co-workers lived in Swampscott or Gloucester or Marblehead. All historic beach communities.

29

I think Waltham is a bit far for me. I’ve actually thought about moving back to Haverhill, but my husband wielded his veto power on that one. Too far out. So that pretty much kills Salem (NH) too.

**gfloyd ** I really appreciate your input. It’s nice to hear from someone who actually lives there.

Thanks for all of the thoughts everyone. We might have to have a Lowell Dopefest when I get there!

30

For someone traveling to Andover, that wouldn’t be horrible for a drive, but it certainly wouldn’t be easy. Much of coastal North Shore is very hard to get in & out of. Limited access via highway.

I grew up in Ipswich, and would go insane trying to get to Marlboro on a regular basis from there. It’d be 35 minutes to Andover, and another 40 or so to Marlboro. I’d not even try to go down 128 (rt 95) to the MA pike (rt 90) during rush hour. From any of the towns listed above, it’d either be Rt133 (2 lanes, 1 each way, with slow speed limits, and agressive speed enforcment), or Rt 114 (similar issues, and lots of traffic at the stoplights).

Housing prices are certainly higher than you’d pay out on the 495 belt.

Salem NH or Nashua NH would be nice options, but heading down either Rt3 or Rt93 to Rt495 can be tough during the morning commute. (not horrible, but things happen that are out of your control). 495 is a FAST road, but can have major issues at the Rt 290 interchange on Fridays, and trouble exists regularly going through Littleton on 495.

I like Lowell, and if you’re an apartment/condo dweller, the downtown area is really undergoing a revolution. I went to U.Mass Lowell from 1988-1993, and upon my arrival, downtown was a scary place. I have no problem going there (it’s a regular meeting place for my friends) now.

From the Lowell advertising campaign, “There’s a lot to like about Lowell!”

Someone mentioned the Mapquest estimate on time from Lowell to Marlboro, and I’d say it’s about right. 35 minutes, if nothing horrible happens on 495. I currently live in Sandown NH (15 minutes NE of Salem), and the worst part of a drive to Marlboro (to one of the office of my company) is the trip from home to Lowell. Once south of Lowell, it’s not a bad drive at all.

If you do decide to move to Lowell, try to stay south of the Merrimack river, as the bridge access across the river can be tough during commuting hours. (only 4 bridges across in the Lowell city limits, then you need to go to Tyngsboro, or out to 495 to get across).

31

Hey, me too! (college of music)

Lowell’s gotten much nicer since then.

32

6 years ago, I was unemployed and had a couple offers up in Mass.

I too was looking at Lowell (because housing everywhere else was INSANE), and I thought it could have been cool. Didn’t seem any worse than Baltimore. I liked the long, thin houses. . .sort of like detached Baltimore row homes.

But, the wife didn’t like it, so we stayed in Baltimore even though I didn’t have a job, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

I had a friend who also went to college there. It seems like a good, blue collar New England town (which is also what I grew up in in Maine). I think I would have liked it.

33

Ewwww… South campus! (better looking girls than north campus though).

Fraternity/sorority type? If so, I’d bet we’ve met.