Where to live between Billerica and Boston? (Cambridge, Newton: neighborhoods, luxury)

[tysmith95]

Another option that hasn't been mentioned is North Reading. Can get decent bang for your buck there, and the schools are pretty good. Although there isn't a whole foods or cohesive town center (you could go to Reading or Andover for that).

As far as Tewksbury, i'd describe it as a middle of the road average suburb. Nothing special about it. Solidly middle class, unpretentious. Doesn't have the top rated schools or prestige of Andover/Westford/Acton, but it's not a bad place.

I'd say Wilmington is similar to Tewksbury, but slightly better located. Billerica too, middle class, unpretentious, average.

I honestly think the fascination over school rankings is slightly overblown (it basically follows demographic trends), so I think you'd be happy in Wilmington/Tewksbury/Billerica. But those towns are still a mix of blue/white collar, without much prestige (if that matters).

And I agree with everything mwj119 said, Westford and Acton are both good options too. They are both considered top tier suburbs.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

Another option that hasn't been mentioned is North Reading. Can get decent bang for your buck there, and the schools are pretty good. Although there isn't a whole foods or cohesive town center (you could go to Reading or Andover for that).

As far as Tewksbury, i'd describe it as a middle of the road average suburb. Nothing special about it. Solidly middle class, unpretentious. Doesn't have the top rated schools or prestige of Andover/Westford/Acton, but it's not a bad place.

I'd say Wilmington is similar to Tewksbury, but slightly better located. Billerica too, middle class, unpretentious, average.

I honestly think the fascination over school rankings is slightly overblown (it basically follows demographic trends), so I think you'd be happy in Wilmington/Tewksbury/Billerica. But those towns are still a mix of blue/white collar, without much prestige (if that matters).

And I agree with everything mwj119 said, Westford and Acton are both good options too. They are both considered top tier suburbs.

North Reading is definitely an option. And totally agree on Tewksbury and Wilmington. In fact, I’d probably live in Billerica itself before Tewksbury myself.. Beautiful new high school, great appreciation potential.

As for the school rankings, we can debate those all day long. Those lists typically tell you what other data sets already know- Towns with a population full of advanced degrees and high affluence often rank better than towns with a lower % of residents with advanced degrees and lower income levels. Pros and cons to each I suppose, though I wish the former grouping of schools offered more diversity.

We had family that advocated on behalf of Westford schools- A ton of sports programs, great theatre program, lots of clubs/activities, etc. We knew that the schools ranked very high in test scores, but we put more weight on the ‘other’ offerings.

[amalia2150]

@mwj119, what is your commute like from Westford to Burlington? Looked like about 40 minutes when I mapped it at 7:30 this morning. Is it better leaving around 7? My husband has a 45 minute commute now from Carmel to downtown Indy and he would prefer a shorter one. But again, I told him that if he uproots us for this opportunity I need to like the town and house where we're going to be living since I'll be spending more time there with our son, so short commute might get knocked down the priority list, haha. And even though Carmel has a grocery store and a Target every few miles, I do most of my shopping via Instacart, Shipt, or online, so if that's available in Westford area I'll be a happy camper.

[rethcir]

You are moving to the wrong state if you want a short commute.

[amalia2150]

Lol touche!

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by amalia2150

@mwj119, what is your commute like from Westford to Burlington? Looked like about 40 minutes when I mapped it at 7:30 this morning. Is it better leaving around 7? My husband has a 45 minute commute now from Carmel to downtown Indy and he would prefer a shorter one. But again, I told him that if he uproots us for this opportunity I need to like the town and house where we're going to be living since I'll be spending more time there with our son, so short commute might get knocked down the priority list, haha. And even though Carmel has a grocery store and a Target every few miles, I do most of my shopping via Instacart, Shipt, or online, so if that's available in Westford area I'll be a happy camper.

Door to door, 40 minutes at 7:30 is about right. About 30 minutes if you leave prior to 7:00 or after 8:15. Friday is typically 30 minutes or less. For weekends, it’s about 20 minutes door to door, which is still close enough for shopping trips, a Wegmans run, or a dinner date. If your husband is working in Billerica, it shouldn’t ever be more than 30 minutes.

As for the latter inquiry- Westford has prime delivery at Wholefoods, etc. Don’t let the quaint design fool you.. This area, and Massachusetts in general, has the all of the modern conveniences you’ll need.

[amalia2150]

Ok thanks! He'd be at southern end of Billerica, closer to Bedford or Burlington. How's your access to pediatricians, obgyns, urgent care, and a hospital? Thinking ahead to second baby.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by amalia2150

Ok thanks! He'd be at southern end of Billerica, closer to Bedford or Burlington. How's your access to pediatricians, obgyns, urgent care, and a hospital? Thinking ahead to second baby.

Having our second a we speak.

Pediatrics West on 110 is wonderful- It is part of the hospital branch in Westford, a sister practice of Emerson Hospital in Concord. Emerson has a really good reputation for obgyn/child delivery. For pediatrics, you can also go to Acton Medical on the Westford/Littleton line. It’s Massachusetts- There are probably 4 hospitals within 20 minutes of Westford center.

Westford hosts the NE HQ of IBM, Redhat, Juniper, Netscout, Puma’s North American HQ, etc. So, as you look outward, there are a wild amount of daycare/schools outside of the district itself. Goddard School, Next Generation, Kindercare, Acorn, Eye Level, Child Care Center. However, enrollment for preschool starts at 24 months at Roudenbush Communtiy Center for town residents, and our experience has been excellent. I think it’s ~$250 p/month for two days a week. We just started, but have met some really nice, normal parents through the program.

Somewhere, prior to our move, we came across a statistic that Westford has more school aged kids p/capital than any other town in MA. Almost 6k kids in the school district in a town of 24k. A pretty large number, but seems totally manageable as many of the schools in town have either been redone/built within the last 10-15 years- Crisafulli, Stony Brook, etc.

[amalia2150]

Omg congratulations!! Ha you sound a lot like me, I would also be posting from the delivery room. If I move let's be friends. Thanks so much!!

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by amalia2150

Ok thanks! He'd be at southern end of Billerica, closer to Bedford or Burlington. How's your access to pediatricians, obgyns, urgent care, and a hospital? Thinking ahead to second baby.

Eastern and central MA is so dense, any and all services are widely available if you stay within/near the 495 belt (Worcester and east). The population of Indianapolis CSA is ~2 million; the CSA of Boston is ~4.7 million ... the services offered and traffic reflect the population density.