UMass series 2018-2021

[DarthGrumpy]

And none of them are nearly as nice as most of the towns on the 495 ring. Prices are getting closer as a result. Hopkinton for example, isn't cheap (nor Southborough). It's the Connecticut equivalent of Granby or Simsbury. Now the cheap seats are way out in places like Blackstone and Whitinsville.

Or Lawrence, parts of Malden, Medford, Revere, Chelsea, Everrett, Quincy, Peabody, etc.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hopkinton must be sweating with Dell potentially buying EMC.

Not really. Might grow actually.

 

[huskypantz]

And none of them are nearly as nice as most of the towns on the 495 ring. Prices are getting closer as a result. Hopkinton for example, isn't cheap (nor Southborough). It's the Connecticut equivalent of Granby or Simsbury. Now the cheap seats are way out in places like Blackstone and Whitinsville.

If you want nice towns on the 95 loop - Winchester, Belmont, Newton, Westwood, Weston, Canton etc etc. There are plenty. The problem I have with any of the 495 towns is the distance from Boston and the commute. I'm big on the value of time, and adding 1-2 hours to my and my wife's daily commutes is just rough. My town (Stoughton) is meh but my neighborhood and location are great, we live on the northern edge - so we're 2 miles from 24, 4 miles from 93, maybe 6 miles from 95 south toward RI. We have a plethora of t stations to choose from. On a Saturday morning, I can get to downtown Boston in 20-25 minutes. I have several friends/colleagues in Franklin. I like the town. Seriously looked at buying a couple of houses there back in 2008. If you have a job on the 495 loop I think it's perfect. I just feel like the 495 towns are very isolated from Boston because of the traffic.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

If you want nice towns on the 95 loop - Winchester, Belmont, Newton, Westwood, Weston, Canton etc etc. There are plenty. The problem I have with any of the 495 towns is the distance from Boston and the commute.

The reason why folks in Boston live out on I-495 are the prices. I have no idea how people in the Hub afford to live there. In NY/NJ, there is some pricing diversity (Ridgewood v Westwood, Franklin Lakes v Oakland, etc.). In Boston, the only lower priced towns like a Chelsea, Malden, etc. have school issues. I have a good friend's wife who is in real estate along I-495 and just sold a nice not extraordinary4 bed colonial in Harvard, which has great schools; but, is a good 40 miles from Copley Square and over an hour commute for $750,000

Average home value 2015 (Zillow)

• Belmont MA: $814,000
  
• Canton: $449,700
  
• Newton MA: $868,000
• Weston MA: $1,361,400
  
• Westwood MA: $638,500
  
• Winchester MA: $872,500

I may move back to the Boston area one day because my families all live in Northern New England. If we did, I would a town like Lexington, North Reading, Reading, and Winchester because I would like work in Boston and my wife in Lowell; but, we'll likely end-up in Chelmesford or Littleton because though we make good money, a +$800,000 house is hard to swallow.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I have no idea how people in the Hub afford to live there

It's surprisingly doable in certain circumstances. I've managed to do it now for ~6 years since college with less-than-stellar-paying jobs.

places like Blackstone and Whitinsville.

foreign countries

 

[huskypantz]

It's possible to get a decent house under 400k. Decent being 1800 sq ft, maybe 1 car garage, 3 bed 1-2 bath, less than 50 years old.

We have a friend of a friend who moved to the Houston area. They had a "decent" house up here. They moved down there and bought a McMansion and probably pocketed some cash.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

It's possible to get a decent house under 400k. Decent being 1800 sq ft, maybe 1 car garage, 3 bed 1-2 bath, less than 50 years old.

We have a friend of a friend who moved to the Houston area. They had a "decent" house up here. They moved down there and bought a McMansion and probably pocketed some cash.

I had a friend who sold his 1,200 square foot condo that 4 people were living in in San Francisco and moved to Raleigh in NC (Apex actually) where he bought a 2,800 home with 4 beds, 4 baths along with a timeshare at a ski resort in Colorado (Breckenridge I think) and still had enough left over to create a nice size college tuition war chest for his two kids.

 

[HuskyHawk]

If you want nice towns on the 95 loop - Winchester, Belmont, Newton, Westwood, Weston, Canton etc etc. There are plenty. The problem I have with any of the 495 towns is the distance from Boston and the commute. I'm big on the value of time, and adding 1-2 hours to my and my wife's daily commutes is just rough. My town (Stoughton) is meh but my neighborhood and location are great, we live on the northern edge - so we're 2 miles from 24, 4 miles from 93, maybe 6 miles from 95 south toward RI. We have a plethora of t stations to choose from. On a Saturday morning, I can get to downtown Boston in 20-25 minutes. I have several friends/colleagues in Franklin. I like the town. Seriously looked at buying a couple of houses there back in 2008. If you have a job on the 495 loop I think it's perfect. I just feel like the 495 towns are very isolated from Boston because of the traffic.

I live in Franklin, and work in Hopkinton. It's a good spot. We have the train to Boston, Downtown Providence is 20 minutes away and the town itself has enough happening, some good restaurants etc. You can still get to Boston in 35-40 minutes at off hours. Patriot Place is 15-20 minutes. I can get across the Bourne Bridge into Falmouth in less than an hour. I think there is one house for sale in my neighborhood if you are looking. One other UConn family, and two more who sent kids to school at UConn recently.

Ultimately we picked Franklin because of the location (I was working in Marlborough but knew I would be in Hopkinton) and because the trade-off in terms of house for the money without living in a less desirable town, was the best we could find. Places like Bellingham and Plainville are cheaper still. But if I worked in Boston I wouldn't live here, I'd need to downsize and move closer. I agree completely on the value of time.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I had a friend who sold his 1,200 square foot condo that 4 people were living in in San Francisco and moved to Raleigh in NC (Apex actually) where he bought a 2,800 home with 4 beds, 4 baths along with a timeshare at a ski resort in Colorado (Breckenridge I think) and still had enough left over to create a nice size college tuition war chest for his two kids.

I moved to Boston from the Bay Area in 1999. It's psycho out there. Some places like Palo Alto are now worse than San Francisco proper. Small 1400 sq ft ranches going for $2M. Much, much worse than Boston, where the average home price is less, even in the nicest towns, but also, the average home is bigger and on more land.

 

[Drew]

Since I live 15-20 minutes from Gillette, I disagree. I also think it gives UConn fans a good chance to outnumber UMass fans in the stands, since it is closer to Storrs than Amherst.

Yeah but this is gonna be sooooooo hard for fans in Fairfield County!

 

[HuskyHawk]

Yeah but this is gonna be sooooooo hard for fans in Fairfield County!

Not really. Straight up I-95. It's not close, but isn't terrible. Easier than asking an Eastern CT person to get to MetLife stadium.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I live in Franklin, and work in Hopkinton. It's a good spot. We have the train to Boston, Downtown Providence is 20 minutes away and the town itself has enough happening, some good restaurants etc. You can still get to Boston in 35-40 minutes at off hours. Patriot Place is 15-20 minutes. I can get across the Bourne Bridge into Falmouth in less than an hour.

I live Franklin a lot myself along with Medway, Wrentham and Easton. Basically can get more for the money SW of Boston that North for the most part and it has better train service (Providence or Franklin lines) and is close to Gillette and Providence (and TF Green airport) as noted. For better or worse, if I ever did go back to Boston, I would be looking to the North as my spouse has an in with a company in Lowell and she is not going to drive 40 miles each way at rush hour on I-495.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I live Franklin a lot myself along with Medway, Wrentham and Easton. Basically can get more for the money SW of Boston that North for the most part and it has better train service (Providence or Franklin lines) and is close to Gillette and Providence (and TF Green airport) as noted. For better or worse, if I ever did go back to Boston, I would be looking to the North as my spouse has an in with a company in Lowell and she is not going to drive 40 miles each way at rush hour on I-495.

495 rush hour has gotten a LOT worse. I was working in Hopkinton, then Franklin, now Hopkinton again, and the commute difference from 5 years ago is significant. More people and more employers setting up on 495. Boston and 128 are saturated and costly, even for office space. North isn't bad, you could live in Nashua...unless you had to get to Boston.

 

[J187Money]

Yeah but this is gonna be sooooooo hard for fans in Fairfield County!

It's a haul. But worth doing.

 

[noeynox]

Rather than starting a new thread I'll throw this in here. UMass future still looking not so hot.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2..._campaign=email_BG_TodaysHeadline&s_campaign=

 

[huskymedic]

Rather than starting a new thread I'll throw this in here. UMass future still looking not so hot.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2..._campaign=email_BG_TodaysHeadline&s_campaign=

?Kumble Subbaswamy?

 

[noeynox]

?Kumble Subbaswamy?

LOL, I was so mesmerized by the last name I didn't even notice the first name. Must have been tough to grow up as Kumble.

 

[BlueandOG]

Will parking still be outrageous at $45 dollars at Gillette for this game? Because I'd love to go to this game, but I'm also broke (hence me never seeing the Patriots play there).

Parking is FREE at Gillette for UMAss games. THey practically beg people to go.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

LOL, I was so mesmerized by the last name I didn't even notice the first name. Must have been tough to grow up as Kumble.

For an Indian, not so unusual. umess is still a mess.

 

[J187Money]

Parking is FREE at Gillette for UMAss games. THey practically beg people to go.

Whew.

 

[DoctorWho85]

Whew.

That must be a relief Haha. I'll have a beer for you at my tailgate.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

495 rush hour has gotten a LOT worse. I was working in Hopkinton, then Franklin, now Hopkinton again, and the commute difference from 5 years ago is significant. More people and more employers setting up on 495. Boston and 128 are saturated and costly, even for office space. North isn't bad, you could live in Nashua...unless you had to get to Boston.

I lived in Salem NH for 5 years and commuted to Boston. It was miserable. Drove straight down I-93 to Wellington Station (Orange Subway Line). The drive was 35 miles and could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours. Fridays in the summer, I would leave work at 5:30 and catch a movie at the Boston Common Theater leave there at 7:30 and get home at 8:30 because if I tried going straight home, I would get home between 7:30 and 8:00.

 

[APA]

Nm

 

[APA]

I have no issue with UMass outside of the old Calapari days. The problem with UMass is that it most resident view it as a safety school behind Harvard, MIT. BU, BC (gag me), Northeastern, Amherst, Tufts, Williams, etc. and its on the wrong end of the state with respect to support from Beacon Hill as those guys (and gals) barely acknowledge that the Bay State extends beyond I-495. Thus, it will also have a problem with funding and the faculty union there would like to abolish most of the athletic department, especially the football team. It's a tough spot.

As for football, if UConn is going to schedule OCC games outside of the P5, UMass will at least generate interest and hopefully decent attendance versus games against Western Michigan (no disrespect to the Broncos, just there is not 'connection' between Storrs and Kalamazoo) and to be honest, most of the AAC.

Uconn is also a safety school behind those schools. Be serious.