North Reading today - the good and the bad (Newton: for sale, assessors)

[cb2008]

Originally Posted by Dadschum

availability aside - are there lots of streets and neighborhoods that fit your requirements in terms of size of house, newer construction and other things that would fit what you are looking for and its just a matter of hoping one of them comes on the market soon? Or are there 3 streets and neighborhoods that check all the boxes and you are hoping against hope that someone in one of those 2 dozen houses will sell on your timeline? In other words finding a needle in a haystack.

A town like Andover with solid schools, upper middle class areas and downright affluent areas, nice downtown - I would imagine a lot of young couples move in, start their families and stay put until they are empty nesters. I know my community is starting to go through some generational change - houses on the market for the first time in 30, 40, 50 years or more. But I don't know if Andover is like that. It may be that some of the lower prices starter homes turn over - young folks who got into Andover, had 1 kid and then upgraded to a larger house as their income increased and they had more kids because they like the community. Then they take root until all the kids are out on their own. Thus not much turning over.

Not many people leave Andover as they age. Their children move to into town! Many small homes get knocked down for Mc Mansions, which is a pity.

[cb2008]

Originally Posted by sal1181

Salem st is a Main Street. Original poster does not want a main rd

Salem Street is not main street. It intersect Main Street. Other than the part that runs through PA it is quiet and nice.

[camis1980]

Originally Posted by cb2008

I think your thinking is right. Students form local schools get a slight leg up if you are interested in applying to PA. I am not sure if it still works that but it used to.

In the very far future, if the kid wants and can, yes, PA would be in the cards. However : my son is in kindergarten this year, I think I can find a house in Andover by the time he goes to high school

[camis1980]

Originally Posted by cb2008

Salem Street is not main street. It intersect Main Street. Other than the part that runs through PA it is quiet and nice.

If it's a street that one uses to get from here to there, it doesn't fall into my definition of quiet. My kind of street usually has a Ln, Dr or Cir in the name.

[Dadschum]

you are also looking for a newer house. So if a house was built in the early 2000's, say 2005 and a young family moved in with an infant that kid is still in high school. Presumably there is another kid or 2 behind that one. So unless they are moving because of a job relocation, those families are not going anywhere for quite some time.

I would also open your search up to an older home that might be completely renovated to modern standards yet keeping the old home character. Unless of course you don't like old home character and want modern everything. And that is hard to find in the Greater Boston area.

Granted this one sold in 2017 but it was built in 1979. It's on a cul de sac, has a pool and a fire pit already.

https://www.redfin.com/MA/Andover/42...0/home/8208148

this one too could have checked your boxes. Maybe this is an area you should be looking in, if you are not already

https://www.redfin.com/MA/Andover/30...0/home/8208138

Seems to be a fair amount of homes that have sold if you ditch your "newer home" requirement. So perhaps more will open up or are available now.

[cb2008]

Originally Posted by camis1980

In the very far future, if the kid wants and can, yes, PA would be in the cards. However : my son is in kindergarten this year, I think I can find a house in Andover by the time he goes to high school

You never know. My son was in1st grade when he started saying he wanted to go to PA. We did not take it seriously, never considered private school, until he applied on his own in 9th grade and got accepted :-)

[camis1980]

Originally Posted by cb2008

Be aware that NR has water scarcity problems.

thanks! I was slightly aware that that might be the case, I read the town master plan and water is a priority there , which says something ... How big of a problem is it?

[cb2008]

Originally Posted by camis1980

thanks! I was slightly aware that that might be the case, I read the town master plan and water is a priority there , which says something ... How big of a problem is it?

Andover made a deal with NR to supply them water, I dont remember the details now although I voted for it. They made a presentation at a meeting. It was a good deal for Andover. They get their water from the Ipswich river, I think, and the demand exceeds the supply from the river.
Andover water quality is supposed to be very good.

[maclel]

It’s a bit confusing to me why you’re zeroing in on Andover given your budget and your desire for a large quiet high-end home with landscaped gardens. I think you will find many more properties that fit your bill if you look at towns south of Burlington, namely Concord, Lincoln, Weston, Bedford and Lexington. All those towns offer a better commute to Burlington than North Reading. I also think you will find more private schools in the vicinity of those towns, more private school students and generally more transplants versus North Reading, which has more of a townie population and as a consequence a tougher nut to crack for someone with no connection to the area and no kids in public school.

Check out 178 Old Billerica Rd in Bedford. 5 minute commute for your husband. Checks all your boxes, including natural gas, town sewer and town water.

Originally Posted by camis1980

I am not married to the school in Andover but I am married to a very short list of schools - and don't like any of the other areas (too rural respectively too urban for my taste). So yeah, in a way I am married to the school, because it's the only school on my list that is in a town that I like (and close enough for my husband's commute).

As about your previous question ... there are a few neighborhoods we are looking at. All in all I wouldn't say we're looking for the needle in the haystack - it's just been a disproportionately low fall market (compared to spring) - and we're searching at the higher end in Andover - and everywhere supply is more limited at the higher pricepoints. In 2020 and 2021 there have been a single digit number of houses that we would have liked (but I don't need 7-8, I need ONE). With the impossible traffic, people nowadays also move because their jobs move, we have friends who moved between areas of Boston suburbs because they went for jobs in different areas and commute became too long... . Plus the relocations out of state (we sold our house 3 years after buying it and 2 years after fully rennovating it down from the studs ) . I think in a year I might find something - but I don't have one year, already in spring it would be too late to update/rennovate a more dated house and move before school starts. I'd rather buy in N Reading so we have a B plan if we don't find anything in Andover till summer, or if we find something but it needs updates that run well into fall (I never do live-in rennovations; I'd rather move twice than rennovate a kitchen while living in the house - we always overlap houses; this is the first exception, the first time we sold before buying and moving in - and such an awful experience that it will be our last too...).

[Dadschum]

I suspect you are looking at Pike or Andover Montessori. There are only a handful of Montessori schools in Eastern MA/Greater Boston that go beyond Primary School (ie Kindergarten). So AMS is one of your few choices, Lexington Montessori being one of the few others. Both of which provide a reasonable commute to Burlington.

If you are looking at Pike, there may be plenty of other choices. I suggest you try this website and maybe put in the Burlington zip code and a 10 mile parameter and see what you come up with. If any of the schools are of interest start looking at the communities in the area and see if there is another community that might work for you.

https://aisne.org/schools/

And is there nothing in Lexington that fits the bill? With a budget up to 4M if move in ready. Commute would be great and can you keep the kid where he/she is?