Finders, fixers.

1800s nh farmhouse for sale

Wish Listing: An enchanting 1825 farmhouse in N.H.

Whoa. Check out this gem in the New Hampshire woods, a bit north of Keene: “Center chimney Colonial set in a country meadow, surrounded by woods and with frontage on the Cold River including a waterfall and two swimming holes, on a total of 6.25 acres.” Also, wavy leaded glass windows, nine-foot ceilings, and beautiful…

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norwell antique home for sale

5 affordable homes for sale in good school districts

Home buyers often fall back on the notion of “good schools.” It’s understandable – you want to give your kids the best opportunities you can, and homes in good school districts do tend to hold or increase their value better than those in other neighborhoods. However, I think this concept is waaaaay overblown, at least in…

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dutch colonial on derby street in melrose house for sale

Could you live with a train running through your backyard?

There’s a house for sale right now in Melrose — a pretty charming, family-friendly inner suburb of Boston with very good schools, restaurants, and parks — that would appear to be a steal. Redfin pegs 114 Derby Rd. as a “hot home,” meaning it’s very likely to sell in the next 10 days. And that’s largely…

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manchester vermont main street house for sale

Real Estate Road Trip: Manchester, Vt.

A few weeks ago I visited quaint Manchester, Vt., to write a travel piece for the Boston Globe Magazine. It’s the prototypical cute Vermont town, with a white church steeple, mountains in the background, and charming old New England architecture. There are outlet shops and two ski areas nearby (Bromley and Stratton), plus all the hiking you can…

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salem witch house in salem mass

Wish Listing: Salem

No, the Salem Witch House is not for sale. But when it comes to celebrating Halloween, Salem, Mass., reigns supreme. The Witch City embraces its occult history — you know, with the witch trials and all that — and amps up the spooky-meter to a whole new level each October with a month of Haunted Happenings. Crowds…

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lunenburg, nova scotia - real estate road trip how to buy a home in canada

Real Estate Road Trip: Nova Scotia

We went to Nova Scotia for a week this past June — partly to visit my family in Cape Breton (my uncle Chris is an artist up there, my cousin Shannon owns the wonderful Groovy Goat Farm & Soap Co., and my other cousin Mike is a musician) — but also to get a taste of Celtic countryside just…

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northampton entryway

Wish Listing: Northampton

My wife and I love Quincy, but it’s not like we grew up here or have any deep, philosophical connection to the town. We just felt like it offered the best bang for our buck when we were ready to buy a house: It’s got the ocean, pretty good schools, walkable neighborhoods with shops and restaurants,…

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rockport harbor

Wish Listing: Rockport

Earlier this month, we met some friends up in Rockport for the town’s annual Christmas celebration and tree lighting ceremony. Each year, Santa Claus arrives by lobster boat and leads a parade through town riding on an antique fire truck. Later we watched Kris Kringle light the big tree in Dock Square as a choir sang Christmas…

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Norman Rockwell's Freedom From Want via Denver Library

Wish Listing: Stockbridge

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, and maybe no artist is so distinctly associated with American life as Norman Rockwell. Put them together and you get “Freedom From Want,” Rockwell’s classic portrait of a 1940s American family gathered for Thanksgiving dinner. Rockwell was living in Arlington, Vt., when he painted this portrait in 1942 — one in…

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porch swing in newburyport

Wish Listing: Newburyport

I fell in love with Newburyport because of jury duty. All through college and for a few years after, whenever I’d get summoned for jury duty, it was in Newburyport. (And I did a LOT of jury duty — it was years before I realized they had me in the system under two different names!) Inevitably, I…

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berkshires lake house for sale

Wish Listing: Robin Hood Lake, Becket

We recently spent a few days at a rented lake house in the Berkshires, and man… it was beautiful. Serene. The good life. The lake was big, but still manageable enough to kayak across – which is easy to do when both the kayak and the water are right there in front of you. One evening…

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148 monument st. exterior

Wish Listing: Concord

I spent a day in Concord a couple weeks ago while I was working on this story for Sunday’s Boston Globe. And just… wow. It’s really an idyllic place. Between the central town square, the shops on Main Street, the rolling green hills, active farms, the miles of bike paths, and a grip on local and literary history that…

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