Billerica, Mass - is it a nice area?

[NewJeffCT]

My wife seems to have a pretty good shot at a job up in Billerica. Looking at a map, it's not too far from Boston... but, I know traffic can be lousy up around Boston (to say the least)

So, if we relocated, how far is Billerica (commute-wise) from Boston.

Looking online at the school quality report through realtor.com, the schools in Billeria look pretty good, though not as good as neighboring Bedford.

What can somebody tell me about the area?

[Loonman]

1. Run of the mill suburban area.

Close to Boston and the Burlington Mall, close to NH, which is nice.

[NewJeffCT]

2. Thanks

How far is close, may I ask? I saw 20 miles & 26 miles on various websites... but, 26 miles in Boston traffic could be a 75 minute drive.

[Loonman]

3. Closer to twelve miles

Not far at all, but coming into Boston can always be time consuming, regardless.

[AlCzervik]

4. we used to call it "Somerville with trees"

[NewJeffCT]

6. hmmm

Somebody told me that Somerville wasn't very nice before? Is that a backhanded compliment, or whatever they call it?

[AlCzervik]

8. that was always the old joke, i'm from Medford so i'm no one to talk

my Dad actually put in a low level office complex on rt3 in the Pinehurst area, it's not a bad place at all.

[NewJeffCT]

9. well, from the school reports...

it looks like the schools are good in Billerica & it's more affordable than neighboring Bedford. I think my wife would be most concerned about school quality with our daughter almost 3 years old now.

We also that with a population of around 40,000, it's probably not too rural like where we are in CT now.

[AlCzervik]

14. i agree with your school concern, thats exactly how we've picked

everyplace we've lived since my daughter was born.

[NewJeffCT]

25. have you moved that many times?

I just hope we only have to move 1 more time until she gets to college in 15 years or so.

[AlCzervik]

26. 3 times so far, hopefully we wont be moving until she's on her way to

college.

[Gormy Cuss]

17. Take that back!

Never heard that, and if a Meffa family said that, that's a huge insult.Slummerville had trees, youse just couldn't see them through all the big hair. :P

To answer NewJeff's question, Billerica is more affordable than Bedford because the latter was never a blue collar middle class suburb the way Billerica was. These days, most of the blue collar is long gone and Billerica is a solid white collar suburb. Schools are a big deal in this area and residents take school funding very seriously. As far as commuting into Boston, you would be just shy of nuts to drive there from Billerica. The commuter rail would be the way to go. The upside is that many of the jobs these days don't require commuting to Boston proper. Route 3 is a bear at rush hour in either direction.

BTW, the town name is pronounced Bill-RIK-ka. The 'e' is silent. Most newbies get it wrong.

[DS1]

5. High-tech area

There will be commuting options to Boston via train.

[NewJeffCT]

7. Thanks

my wife would be working for a very large company in a high tech division. Train would be nice for me as well.

[Midlodemocrat]

10. Don't do it. Too close to matcom.

[matcom]

11. him?

or his wife? :bounce:

[Midlodemocrat]

13. They have a CHILD for God's sake!!!!!

[matcom]

15. really?

around 15 or 16? :evilgrin:

[Midlodemocrat]

16. No, you very bad man

around 2.


:spank:

[NewJeffCT]

20. she'll be 3 next month

only a few years away from being eligible for matcom...

[NewJeffCT]

21. Unfortunately...

I must have made a bad impression on my Richmond interview - that same company turned me down for a job in the Triangle area of NC, too. So, I don't know if VA (or the South) is in my near future.

[woofless]

12. I spent my childhood in next-door Tewksbury and it was idyllic.

But that was many decades ago. Bet it is still nice.

Woof

[ET Awful]

18. Billerica isn't bad at all.

I live just up the road in Lowell (which used to be awful but has improved drastically in the past several years).

Honestly, there's nothing wrong with it.

Bedford, is fantastic. I work in Bedford. Bedford is very diligent with care of the public roads and such. You can actually tell when you cross the town line from Billerica into Bedford, the roads are smoother, they're plowed quicker and more thoroughly during snow storms, etc. From my understanding, Bedford also has an awesome school district. Getting in and out of town on the one main thoroughfare can try your patience at times, but it's not too bad.

[jonnyblitz]

23. i like your general neck of the woods...

my sister lives in a well off surburb of nashua, nh and I have friends all over the area. good times up there. i need to get back up there soon for another visit..

but yeah rte 3 and 495 can suck..

[ET Awful]

24. Rte. 3 isn't nearly as bad since they finished widening it to 3 lanes

in each direction. It can still suck at rush hour, but overall it's not that bad.

[seaglass]

19. If you could move next door to Chelmsford that would be better.

It's cheaper than Bedford but more expensive than Billerica. The school system in Chelmsford is better (though we are experiencing a wee shortfall problem that could change things, though I hope not).

Chelmsford and Billerica are rival towns (football - Thanksgiving day) so I can't say I have an objective view of Billerica. I'm not real familiar with the residential areas so there might be some nice neighborhoods, I do know that they have some low-lying neighborhoods that get flooded a lot in the springtime - so watch out for that.

Chelmsford is more scenic than Billerica.
Billerica is closer to Boston than Chelmsford.

What do you want to know?

From Wikipedia
Claim to fame for Chelmsford -
Lance Wilder, the background design supervisor for The Simpsons, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and raised in Chelmsford on May 7, 1968. The elementary school in The Simpsons is based on McCarthy Middle School, which was Chelmsford's high school before the construction of Chelmsford High School in 1977. The town hall in the show is based on the Chelmsford Public Library. Many other local businesses and stores in Chelmsford find their way into the background in The Simpsons, including Zesty's Pizza, Sully's Ice Cream and the now defunct Tony and Ann's Pizza.

On edit - I'm just trying to encourage anyone left of center to move here, my own personal selfishness, but for full disclosure - take a look at our Community Board - especially the Political Discussions to see the kind of things locals are incensed about (and yes we have RWNs like everywhere else).

http://www.chelmweb.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.cgi

I know Billerica has its problems and a discussion board where everyone complains but I couldn't find it.

[Loonman]

22. The Augusta makes great sandwiches and subs, too

General Store on Boston Rd.