Boston Area - Where Not To Move?

Depends what your other priorities are. Do you have kids that will require a good school system? Budget? Type of home you're looking at?

If LTC issues are your only concern, just pick the greenest (word?) town that is closest to the city.

Liberal issues aside, I think Winchester is a beautiful town. The homes are generally older but very nice and its neighborhoods are safe/well kept. Arlington is ok I guess. Also check out Belmont. They've loosened up with their LTC restrictions, its another safe/clean town, very nice homes, awesome schools. and your commute straight to downtown could be as quick as 15 minutes via Storrow Drive depending on what part of town you're coming from.

You're gonna have to deal with the frizzy hair tofu loving hippies in many of the nicer suburbs close to the city but there are benefits that make it worth it in some towns. Others are just a headache to avoid at all costs (I'm looking at you Watertown).
 
Rekonn said:
Your definition of quick is still > 1 hour one way with traffic, right? If not, what's the secret?
Click to expand...

Bus or bike or folding-bike to the commuter rail at Porter Square instead of driving or the (c)rushhour Red Line. Pretty much everywhere "close" to Boston is a 1 hour drive with traffic unless timing is perfect.
 
"An hour" is also a relative concept. To me, an hour spent sitting on a train working, reading, texting with a friend, or even sleeping is way the hell better than an hour in a car. On the other hand I'd take the hour in a car over standing in a crush load on the subway/trolley/bus/whatever. YMMV.
 
A lot more factors in.... what are those factors (school, space, cost, etc).

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...
 
If LTC is (hopefully) one of your priorities, then you should avoid Medford, period. The cops are pure thugs, (even the ones I know well)...the Chief literally gets erect while watching repeats of The Sopranos and imagines himself as the "Big T". You simply can't have an unrestricted LTC from him. Why? "Because I said so, that's why. Got a problem with that, a*shole??"etc etc....Absolute thugs....It's too bad, cuz overall not a bad place to live but the town .gov is as pitifully corrupt as any in the state and the police rule with an iron fist. It's THEIR party and you're just a pee-on. Understand?
 
bostonasphalt2 said:
Towns to avoid: Watertown, Boston proper, Brookline, Waltham, Cambridge (you can get unrestricted there, but the town is too far gone in terms of moonbats).

Towns to look at: Arlington, Melrose, Needham, Dedham, Wayland. there are many others, but the rea focus should be on the list of towns to avoid.
Click to expand...
Waltham is green these days. Though if the OP has unrestricted already, he should be fine anywhere but Brookline.
 
JoeT said:
I'm sure you've checked this thread
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...uide-to-gun-rights-in-your-Massachusetts-town


but close to Boston, consider Arlington, Everett, I think Lexington has shifted but was always good, milton?, Needham, Quincy, Wellesley, Weston, Winchester,
Click to expand...

The list is not updated.

bostonasphalt2 said:
Towns to avoid: Watertown, Boston proper, Brookline, Waltham, Cambridge (you can get unrestricted there, but the town is too far gone in terms of moonbats).
Click to expand...

Waltham is now green.
 
MAJoe said:
I need to move this fall and looking to stay around Boston. I currently have an unrestricted LTC and want to move to a town where if I'm there long enough to renew, I don't want extra hoops or the possibility of a restriction.

I'm avoiding Boston proper, Watertown, Woburn, Cambridge. Anywhere else around the 128 belt I should not even bother looking? Medford and Malden seem iffy as well?

And before anyone says move west of Worcester or move to NH, not in the cards.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Arlington is the de-facto "place that gun owners who need to go to boston" move to. There isn't anything closer that is less shitty.

Malden is OK supposedly. Medford is wonky (although I know "washed" people who live in Medford) but they have the advantage of being older guys who have many years on an unrestricted going for them, etc. Dedham is fine at this point.

There are some people who have had SOME success in Somerville but it seems to be wonky and hardly reliable. Not worth the risk unless you know the score ahead of time.

The No ****ing Way, ever, list:

Watertown
Brookline

Never. Don't even think about it, don't even point.

-Mike
 
I grew up on the south shore halfway between Boston & the Cape. Never thought I'd ever live anywhere else. Certainly not outside 128. I now live outside 495, on a wooded dead-end street with lots of nature around, but five to ten minutes from every service, restaurant, hospitals, highways, etc. Two commuter rail stations less than five miles away. Good schools and politics (less than a month turnaround for unrestricted ltc).

Don't limit your search to just some predetermined list of towns.
 
Boston area, where not to move? How about the Boston area. Even the nicest areas are a few mins walk from the s**t areas. Take the furthest you are willing to comunte and don't look any closer (I spent years working in all the bad areas and most of the so called nice areas)
 
spcantwell said:
Boston area, where not to move? How about the Boston area. Even the nicest areas are a few mins walk from the s**t areas. Take the furthest you are willing to comunte and don't look any closer (I spent years working in all the bad areas and most of the so called nice areas)
Click to expand...
You live in Taunton and you're shitting on Boston and surrounding dozen (if not more) towns? [rofl] Also, the bolded part is complete rubbish.
 
If you do pick Arlington (it's a nice town), just don't pick Gardner or Union street... Massive welfare housing project there, lots of break ins and car vandalism. I had quite a few events while there.

No one mentioned Billerica yet.... It is a decent town with easy access to highways and a train to Boston. For here, avoid Nutting Lake area.

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
 
A lot depends on where (and how) you're likely to be commuting as well as your budget.

In general, I think there are more and better options north/northwest of the city, especially for someone looking for reasonable commutes and pro-2a communities.

North of the Charles:
Arlington: Access to downtown via the Red Line. Access to huge chunks of the 128 cubical corridor via Rte 2 (Pike up to 93). Price: $$$ (Full disclosure: I live in Arlington. It's a great town. Getting really expensive to own though.)
Malden: Access to downtown via Orange Line or 93. Access to northern cubical corridor via 93 (Woburn, Reading). Price: $$
Melrose/Stoneham: Nicer, more suburban than Malden. Similar commuting options. Price: $$-$$$
Everett: Less good commute access and shittier town than Malden. But... Price: $
Winthrop: Access to downtown via Blue Line. Very close to the airport, but otherwise I hear it's a nice town. Price: $$-$$$
If you have plenty of money ($$$-$$$$) and don't care about commuting into Boston proper, Lexington, Concord, Bedford, Burlington, etc. are all good options along the 128/2/3 corridor.
Billerica, Acton, N. Reading and the like are cheaper ($$-$$$), but those are pretty far out from Boston.

South of the Pike/Charles:
Needham/Dedham: Access to downtown via commuter rail. Access to southern 128 cubical corridor (Canton up to Newton). Variety of housing options. Price $$-$$$$
Quincy: Access to downtown via Red Line. Very wide variety of housing options/neighborhoods: Price $-$$$
Natick/Framingham: Unless you work in Natick/Framingham, your commute (whether commuter rail or car) will suck. Price: $$?

Here's the not quite up to date green/red map: http://www.hubflyer.com/wp-content/uploads/macitytowngun.png
Here's the more up to date town color list: https://www.northeastshooters.com/v...uide-to-gun-rights-in-your-Massachusetts-town
 
Last edited:
Phreddei said:
Lynn is not exactly a great place to call home. lived in Lynn 10 years , worked in it 36 years.
Click to expand...
The Lynn/Peabody /Lynnfield triangle is actually beautiful. Lynn address with Lynnfield feel. Low taxes and Lynn is (somewhat surprisingly, since some people think it's "Brockton North") green for LTC. Anywhere east of Wyoma Square, however, and it goes downhill... And I mean fast....(unless, that is, you're in the mood to go out for a cold beer and a stabbing...Makes for good entertainment if you're alone, but the wife and kids rather frown on the cops and ambulances interrupting dessert)...

Just sayin'
 
kalash said:
You live in Taunton and you're shitting on Boston and surrounding dozen (if not more) towns? [rofl] Also, the bolded part is complete rubbish.
Click to expand...

Actually I'm not in Taunton anymore, just havnt settled down in a new place so I havnt updated yet. I spent the better part of 5 years working in and around Boston (Inside 128 belt), though I've worked in basically every town in eastern ma. The further from Boston the better
 
bostonasphalt2 said:
Lynn, Saugus? oh god no.
Click to expand...

Lynn? Hard to disagree with you there. West Lynn isnt bad though, and I hate Lynn. Saugus getting eroded by section 8 but wouldnt call it a bad town. Havent checked the list in a while, but theyre both green towns as far as I know.

With Saugus, you cut a lot of commute time off compared to towns farther north and the 426? (iirc) drops you off at Haymarket if you can stand riding the bus every day.
 
Think until the OP answers some questions about how far he is willing to commute, and to where, this is pointless. I commute out of Boston and a move of 2-3 miles might impact my commute 20 minutes.

BigTimber said:
Melrose. Very close to Boston. When I lived there very green. And a nice city.
Click to expand...
Well kept secret these days.
 
Last edited:
Thanks all for the responses.

For the common questions so far: I'm currently in Somerville and commute to Waltham. The reason for staying closer to Boston is social events plus work-related trips which take me into Boston often enough where I don't want to move too far. I'll be renting in my new place and schools do not matter. From the comments here, Alrington and Belmont seem to fit the bill for green plus location.

On Winchester, I've driven through many times and really like it. There seems to be minimal rental properties though.

Shameless ask as well, but if anyone here is landlord and looking to rent a 1br or 2br property to a fellow 2A supporter, please PM me.
 
Last edited:
MAJoe said:
Thanks all for the responses.

For the common questions so far: I'm currently in Somerville and commute to Waltham. The reason for staying closer to Boston is social events plus work-related trips which take me into Boston often enough where I don't want to move too far. I'll be renting in my new place and schools do not matter. From the comments here, Alrington and Belmont seem to fit the bill for green plus location.
Click to expand...

I grew up in Belmont. I never liked it. I was always too feral for suburban life, but I'll advise you nonetheless. Belmont hill is where all the rich folks live and you cant get a house for less than 600 grand. On the other side of town, in the lower lying Waverly area, there's a lot of double and triple deckers and you can find (relatively for the town in question) cheap housing. There's a commuter rail stop on the cheaper side of town and in the town center. The 73 bus services the cheaper area, the 75 services the center and the 78 services the uppity side (all of those buses are out of Harvard square). They used to be target and hunting only for LTCs but apparently they have relaxed their restrictions. Also, be prepared to go to Watertown, Cambridge or Waltham for booze. Belmont was a dry town from prohibition up until a few years back and as far as I know, there's still no decent packies in city limits (I believe the same sort of situation exists in Arlington as well). PM me if you have any other questions.
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

BREAKING NEWS: Scores Killed, Hundreds Injured as Extremists Riot in Boston Area
Replies
16
Views
1K
Bfatz
Bfatz
What not to do with your new gun.
2
Replies
42
Views
1K
Coyote33
Coyote33
Preban or not
2 3
Replies
65
Views
1K
not new guy
N
Boston gang member who posed with guns on Snapchat goes to prison
2
Replies
31
Views
902
1sern
1
Commercial/retail space to rent in Orange/Athol MA area?
Replies
3
Views
174
Woodsloafer
W
Back
Top Bottom