After several months of job hunting, it looks like we will be ending up in Acton. We will be traveling to Boston in August to check out the area but I was hoping to narrow my search to maximize the little time we will have to look around. I need recommendations on suburbs that are within 30 min. of Acton, have great schools and have the classic New England town character. House price can be up to 700K. What can you tell me about Concord and Lexington?

What exactly do you mean by "Classic New England town character"?

I lived in Acton Center many years ago when we had to go to Concord to do any real shopping; now their population has quadrupled and they're full of big stores as well as everything else. Likewise, Concord, Lexington and other suburbs with excellent schools have attracted the commercial activities that are drawn to upper-income communities.

Acton, Boxboro, Concord, Lexington, Harvard - all great towns with excellent school systems. Check out bostonmagazine.com for a profile of various desirable towns in Massachusetts. Also check out boston.com for MCAS results - MCAS is the standardized test for Mass public school kids. You'll find that all of the towns named above have down very well as you would expect of affluent towns. You definately are in the right price range for a home in those towns - Acton may be a slightly less expensive than Concord or Lexington.

Welcome to Massachusetts!

Don't bother checking MCAS scores, they correlate nearly 100% with average house price and family income.

In addition to what other posters have suggested, Wayland, Winchester and Wellesley are all nice towns with excellent school systems. Not sure what you can get for $700K but worth a look.

One of your first things to do is to stop at Kimball Farms for ice cream!

I was part of a group of 60+ bicyclists going from LA to Boston when we "infested" this place (not all at once, but groups of 3-8 at a time). We had a number of ice cream "affectionadoes" (sp?) who declared this the best of the entire trip. I'm not that big a fan of dairy, but did eat too, and thought it awfully goooooood.

vmcenroe,
Register with
www.newenglandmoves.com

and you'll be able to search for houses for sale in the areas you are interested in and also check out houses recently sold, so you can see how much the houses were listed for and how much they actually sold for.

sorry for the previous short post - laptop problems and my own personal IT support isn't home today

Anyway, newenglandmoves also allows you to search by number of bedrooms/bathrooms so you won't need to waste time looking at listings of with 2 bed and 1 bath if you're looking for 3 beds and 2 baths.
Best of all most houses have additional photos and/or video so you can get an idea of the size and layout.

Have fun and Welcome!

you've gotten lots of good advice already. I would certainly start by looking in Acton. And Concord is a great place to live, with an excellent school system. Although I haven't looked at houses there in a few years, I think you will be suprised at how far your 700K does NOT go in Concord. Real estate is VERY expensive there. Sudbury is another very upscale town with an excellent school system.

If your idea of classic New England town means some rural character, and a town green with a little white Church, you might want to try furthur west on route 2. Harvard is a great choice, with an excellent school system. Groton and Bolton are also good places. These towns are a little furthur out, so a tiny bit less expensive.

How close do you want to be to Boston? that could make a difference as well. Groton would be pretty far away from downtown, but not a bad commute to Acton at all.

I've lived out here in the western suburbs for 20 years. I'm not as familiar with the towns right on 128 as the ones on 495, but if theres any info I can help you with, please ask,

Thanks for all the great input. I did go to newenglandmoves.com and I was amazed at how much better it was than realtor.com. Also thank you for adding Harvard and Sudbury to my places to look. From what I can tell you can get a little more house and land for your money there.

Here's what I think about New England for anyone who wants to read or comment.

I lived near Peterborough,NH for awhile when I was a kid and it was different from any place I had ever lived. Peterborough was the main town, but there were lots of tiny towns around it with a church, an elementary school, a library, a store, a post office and that's about it. There was one main street through the towns lined with quaint colonial style homes. Of all the places I've lived, New England is by far the most beautiful. There is a character and sense of nostalgia there that can't be found anywhere else in the US. I guess if you've never lived there then you don't understand and if you've lived there all your life then it's just the norm. The village green with the white church is a good basic description of what I'm looking for.

It seems as though there is a demon to be reckoned with in any of the great cities where people want to move. When I wanted to find out more about Atlanta, all the postings mentioned the traffic. All the Boston postings mention the housing costs. I remembered my parents always talking about the high cost of housing in NH way back in the 80's. I see it hasn't changed. I think it can all be explained by the realtor's quote "Location, location, location." New England is a beautiful, historic, charming place to live and people will pay top dollar to live there. Ohio (my current location) is a drab, treeless wasteland as far as I'm concerned. There are a few quaint villages scattered here and there, but then you pay a premium. People want that. I lived in Richmond, VA too which is very historical. You can get a big house there for far less then you can in NE. But if you want to live in the areas of Richmond with the beautiful, old homes you will pay prices that approach those of NE. New England has so many of those quaint villages and beautiful terrain that it all melds together into one huge charming place that is all of New England. I don't mind giving up my spacious house in wasteland for a tiny cottage in paradise...well, a cold paradise.

I live in Lexington and have lived in Concord. My 2 cents:
New England towns each have distinct ethnic and community/historic character. They were historically centered around the "town square" with the ubiquitous white church. Most all of the towns mentioned above have this.
All the suggestions are good.
To be specific about your question.
Schools: Lexington and Concord both have terrific schools. Your main concern should be the high schools. Concord has a regional HS with Carlisle (you should consider Carlisle for that reason, you get larger amount of land there---they have no water sewer so septic requires at least 2 acres). Lexington has one HS. Both have outstanding programs from music to arts to athletic to scholarly (math, debate, etc). Both feed into the Ivys. You haven't mentioned kids, do you have HS age or no kids?
Concord is a little more rural in that your house will have more land around it. The town center is a little more defined in Lexington and surrounds the "battle green" (although the "shot heard round the world" occured in Concord, everyone knows the American Revolution started in Lexington (we lost). Both towns are steeped in history and historic preservation is big. You can become part of the community and there are lots of activities centered in both towns. Lexington has a museum (Museum or our National Heritage).
A big difference is nearness to Boston and ease of getting into town. Lexington is closer and has easier access. Busses go from Lexington to Alewife (where the T starts) and Harvard Square. Concord has a commuter rail into North Station.
Rt 2 links Lexington and Concord and they are approx 15 min apart. It also goes right into Acton.
House prices will be similar in both communities. While you can find suitable housing for upwards of $500,000, closer to 1 mil will get larger/better/newer.
The bottom line is you will have to look for yourself.
If you want more info pm me.

HI--I "converted" from Midwesterner to New Englander in 1971 and have not looked back... For the right match of personality and location, it can be a match made in heaven!! It sounds like you already are smitten and that it will work out well for you. I cannot add to any of the already great info you have received, just wanted to give some "moral support" for the move.

Know what? Acton is not that far from Peterborough. Many people in the Monadnock Region now commute to jobs in Mass. Real estate prices are much higher than when you were a kid, but it's a great area still.