Nothing wrong with Laurence I lived there for years, never had any incidens, have many friends there still, and it's a great place to invest in real state, some of my friends have quadruple their investment in less than 10 years, don't pay attention to the negativity...

South Lawrence is very nice.if you can find something in that area go for it, also checkout Methuen, and Merrimack it'd be priced around the same, but rent is much higher in Lawrence (that's where I would put my money).