Good place to live between Acton, MA and Portsmouth, NH? (Boston: apartments, rental)

[bdyoungd2000]

My fiancée and I currently live in Charlestown, MA and are planning a move. She works in Acton, MA and I just got a job in Portsmouth, NH. We were looking to move somewhere in between the two to minimize our commutes a bit and would like to pay between 1500-2000 for a 2BR.

- Andover is an option but haven't had much luck finding an apartment that isn't in one of those giant gated community condo places. Anyone know anything about Haverhill? Amesbury?

- Thinking about North shore potentially. Maybe Danvers? Peabody? Beverly?

Any thoughts??

THANKS!

[Bostonmania]

Geographically, Haverhill would probably be the best option. It's not a bad place and I bet you could find some apartments there. I know you probably wouldn't want to move to Lawrence, but It would be convenient, and it definitely has some cheap 2 BR apartments.

[bdyoungd2000]

Thanks.

Would rather not be in Lawrence. But what is the low down on Haverhill??

[Bostonmania]

Well it has lots of access to 495 which would take you to both places easily, I think it has like 5 exits. It has a lot of apartments, I look on rent.com to find apartments, so there should be listings for Haverhill. It's a fairly nice city but I've only been there a couple of times. Someone who lives there should tell you more about it. You definitely get the feeling it was once a milltown, but that's not a bad thing. Apartments are cheap.

[Valerie C]

Haverhill has quite a variety of rental options available. Cool loft apartments (the old mill buildings that were empty with broken windows when I was growing up are finally being put to good use. Some of them are pretty amazing! There is so much going on downtown these days, and weekend nights, it's sometimes hard to get a parking place. Quite a varetiy of restaurants and it's very walkable. Love the old-fashioned streetlights in the downtown--quite the ambiance.

Bostonmania is correct--there are 5 exits to Haverhill. One is to Bradford (Ward Hill) which is just one section of Haverhill (south side of the Merrimack River)

The thing about Haverhill is that (like most cities) you really have to watch your neighborhood. Some areas can be quite run-down, with lots of multi-family houses, absentee landlords, etc. You'll find everything out there from big-box housing to old Victorians that have been turned into multi's or condos, to lofts in the downtown area, or the cheapest option-the triple-decker multifamily.

I know Haverhill like the back of my hand, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask

OH, just had a thought: if you move to the NH side of the border (Plaistow might have some rental options) then you wouldn't be paying MA taxes on YOUR income (you'll pay if you live in MA/work in NH and you'll pay if you work in MA/live in NH) That's just over 5% of your pay going to taxes, so it may be substantial for you. Of course Plaistow has nowhere near the vibe that Haverhill or Amesbury (higher rental prices) has.