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C-O-L-A_COLA t1_j6l6qxq wrote

Check out North Central Mass. Groton, Townsend, Lunenburg, Pepperell etc.

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Cbos15111 t1_j6la8k0 wrote

I’ve been very interested in that area, but driving randomly through Grafton and Upton it seemed the towns were dead (no one walking around, no bustling shops or small mom and pop stops) so it didn’t give a great first impression. Is it worth a deeper review?

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newestJourney t1_j6lczct wrote

/u/C-O-L-A_COLA is mentioning a totally different part of the state. Groton is well north of where your families reside.

Of the towns you mention, Grafton to me is nice but you're right, kinda not much going on. However, it does have proximity to other locales which are more busy.

If you're considering that general area where Grafton is, my top suggestions would be Holliston, Medway, Franklin.

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Cbos15111 t1_j6leb4n wrote

I definitely read Groton wrong as I’ve never heard of Groton, ha. Thanks for the Grafton area suggestions, I haven’t checked those out.

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newestJourney t1_j6lehq4 wrote

Yeah, while they're not "hilly", they nonetheless have very nice landscapes. The rail trail in Holliston is very nice for recreation.

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blup12 t1_j6l82fg wrote

Western, Ma v. Southeastern, Ma… against all odds!

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Lilslugga2002 t1_j6l4uo9 wrote

What is your budget?

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Cbos15111 t1_j6labys wrote

600-800, preferably a newer build or renovated/updated.

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BoardofEducation t1_j6ldfkd wrote

You’d find something nice in that budget around Acton, Littleton, Ayer, Boxborough, Maynard, and Harvard.

They mostly all have nice town centers and relatively accessible to Boston, Nashua, and Lowell. Some of these towns are on the Commuter Rail line. Very close to nature and farmland too.

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sizzlechest78 t1_j6l9iym wrote

Do you have kids? As someone who lives in a town in MA similar to what your looking for a lot of the community is based around the kids/school/sports/extracurricular activities.

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Cbos15111 t1_j6la1tm wrote

We’re about to have kids, and i love having places to take my nieces and nephews so I’m definitely interested in towns who have a lot of activities for the kids!

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newestJourney t1_j6laxkc wrote

Since you're about to have kids, I'd highly recommend thinking about being near enough to family if you need a sitter, etc. All of the ideas of an ideal place to live are fun to consider, but the reality of life with kids also has its own requirements.

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isaikya t1_j6ldxuq wrote

Acton has a great library and a Discovery Museum for the kids.

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sizzlechest78 t1_j6ldbs3 wrote

I'm a bit south of NH in Georgetown. Super kid friendly. Groveland, Rowley and Newbury/West Newbury are similar. Boxford or Topsfield if you want to spend the $$.

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Sprucey26 t1_j6law66 wrote

Central MA is very nice, south of Worcester. Uxbridge, Douglas, and Northbridge have nice little town centers but have beautiful rural areas with hiking trails everywhere. Lots of cool history as well if you are in to that. I grew up in sutton and it’s a beautiful little town as well. Not much of a town center though with lots to do. Great school systems as well for future children.

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Todayismyday98 t1_j6lbbbq wrote

I live in Templeton (like on the cusp of western mass but still central) which is like the woods but down the road from the small city of Gardner. We have every thing we need within a 10 minute drive but we don’t have to hear our neighbors. Even worcester is only like 40 minutes away. The school system is good, there’s outdoorsy thinks like a lake and hiking trails and it’s a nice little town

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EtonRd t1_j6lcu59 wrote

The way the housing market is in Massachusetts. I feel like budget is the first piece of information you need to figure out. Like someone said, sparse is a little hard to understand as a description of a town. Can you live anywhere in the state or do you have to be with in a certain area I mean could you be anywhere from North Adams to P-town?

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wolf95oct0ber t1_j6l9dgb wrote

What is your budget and what parts of the state are you considering? Would Franklin County or Berkshires fit?

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newestJourney t1_j6l9xfq wrote

You didn't mention if you wanted to be close to one of your hometowns, so here's an app that shows what places are reachable within one hour drive of each: https://app.traveltime.com/search/0-lng=-72.61516&0-tt=60&0-color=%23d60064&0-mode=driving&0-title=Agawam%2C%20Hampden%20County%2C%20Massachusetts%2C%20United%20States&0-lat=42.06886&1-lng=-71.12866&1-tt=60&1-mode=driving&1-title=Somerset%2C%20Bristol%20County%2C%20Massachusetts%2C%20United%20States&1-lat=41.76955 (zoom out to see better).

Basically, no overlap between the two. However, something close to the mid-point is the Charlton/Sturbridge area, which itself is very nice.

If you're OK with a longer drive to your hometown, a place like Wilbraham describes what you're looking for pretty well.

All that said though, you'll probably get some better results if you provide more info like if you have a job in a particular location and commute is a factor, etc.

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Cbos15111 t1_j6leuxz wrote

Thanks for the effort! I didn’t want to burden folks with more criteria. Your Wilbraham rec is interesting as I just saw a house on Zillow there but didn’t know how the town was, so I’ll check it out! Thanks.

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Cbos15111 t1_j6lf7a2 wrote

We both work from home so we’re not tied to a commute right now. Who knows if that’ll change in a few years, but we’d prefer not to live too close to Boston and don’t have interest in the Cape or north of Boston at this time since it’s far from both of our families.

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thatrussiangirl t1_j6limun wrote

Just moved to Mattapoisett. So beautiful and quiet and friendly.

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kdall7 t1_j6ljdra wrote

If you’re more well-off: East Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Hampden

More of a budget: Lunenburg, Fitchburg

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CausticOptimist t1_j6lafbt wrote

Do you mean sparsely populated? Idk why exactly but you’re using the word “sparse” incorrectly.

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Cbos15111 t1_j6lfcol wrote

Sparse suburban is a term used when searching for homes, like on Niche.

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[deleted] OP t1_j6l7w7l wrote

[removed]

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Cbos15111 t1_j6l9r14 wrote

Is there a war on the word fiancé that I’m unaware of? Odd.

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[deleted] OP t1_j6ldfne wrote

[removed]

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Cbos15111 t1_j6le4ip wrote

You’re right I guess it is unnecessary, who cares who I’m buying it with. And the word feels weird every time I try to use it, but whenever I say partner people assume I mean a woman and then get all confused when I talk about him later. Everything I’m saying here leads back to society being weird. Ah.

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