That's out of their price range. Maybe Millis or Ashland?

Amherst is lovely.

No more so than Duxbury.

Thanks, I was looking at Grafton as well, so that’s super helpful.

Sudbury. 40 min outside, pretty rural, between 95&495, schools are excellent.

Thanks for the thoughts!

Thanks!

Southcoast is the place to be

I’m sadly guessing you’re right. If I’d known AMA and MCC had diverged I definitely would have looked closer before choosing.

And it’s a legit Blue Cross Blue Shield provider, not some fly-by-night. It’s just not BCBS of Mass.

Easton West Bridgewater Bridgewater Sharon

Westford. $1M won’t get you new..but there’s a listing that just came up that’s walking distance to the center of town, on a cul de sac with a pool. Westford Academy is an excellent HS, as are the elementary and middle schools.

They’re a pain commute wise though

In acton you’ll get great schools and more for your budget than you would in other metrowest towns

If you had a choice of plans, at least one of which was MA compliant, you’re probably out of luck. Definitely switch during open enrollment.

Check out r/icecoast

Nothing in MA is worth your time but there's good stuff within a 3 hour drive VT/NH/ME.

Acton/Boxborough would be good bet. All public schools in MA are pretty good though compare to 95% of the USA. We live in Quincy which people scoff at but all our neighbors have older kids who have high paying jobs and went to Quincy public. But yeah if you want a big house and lots of land and budget is $1M you should try A/B.

There are some decent tiny hills that are totally fine for beginner kids (2-8 y/o) if there is actually any snow.

For anything resembling real skiing you have a 2+ hour drive from Boston to VT,NH, ME

OP wants to get themselves sent to prison so their mental health issues can get diagnosed faster and also wants to buy a gun.

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Topsfield, boxford and Middleton. North of the city, close to many trails as well as beaches and great school systems. Easy access to Boston but also smaller cities haverhill and Beverly which both have great food/bar scenes

Unfortunately housing stock is low right now, so your choices are pretty limited. Belmont, Newton, Needham, Lexington are all towns that are known for their excellent school districts. However, a quick search on realtor.com resulted in no 4-BR homes priced at $1M or less; a small handful of 3-BRs could be found. Also you're probably going to need to forego the acreage in these towns in that budget and bedroom configuration. Another person mentioned Arlington; its schools are very good, and it's a great community. There's one house in your price range w/ 4 BRs on the market (just to give you an idea of what $1M gets you).

Natick seems to have good schools, and you might be able to find something in your price range w/ 4 BRs (and maybe even a little more acreage).

Since you're OK with being far away from Boston, look at West Newbury. Here's a house on the market that might check a number of boxes for you.

MA skiing sucks. Northern New England skiing is generally better but you better like ice.

People from out west don't want to ski here because they grew up on proper powder, while East Coasters have to use their edges. Different strokes for different folks.

Concord MA!

Berkshire East in Charlemont and Jiminy Peak in New Asford are pretty good.Also Mt Snow in Vermont is good.

She’s right.

Skiing in MA mostly sucks. Berkshire East is a nice little hill that is very family friendly, but they suffer from low elevation. Jiminy Peak is another option out in Berkshire County, but they have the same issues. There are a couple spots close to Boston, but they have low elevation and enormous crowds of Jerries.

If you live here, you’re more likely to find a place in NH or VT that suits your needs.