Spring House Hunt
The Massachusetts real estate market is skyrocketing, but there are still beautiful, underrated locations in New England where you can buy a vacation home for less than $400,000.
Millinocket, Maine
For many years a center of the paper industry, Millinocket struggled to rebuild its economy after the Great Northern Paper Company closed in 2008. Today, Millinocket is up and coming as a four-season tourist attraction. The gateway to Mount Katahdin, Maine’s highest mountain, Moosehead Lake, and the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, the town exemplifies Vacationland. As Laura Blake of Legacy Properties in Damariscotta put it, “We are so very lucky to live in Maine and enjoy its four seasons.”
East Longmeadow, Mass.
When it comes to vacation in the Bay State, there are areas less crowded and less expensive than the Cape, the North Shore, and the Berkshires, but that still have scenic areas near recreation. One of these is East Longmeadow, situated in the Pioneer Valley between Springfield and the towns of northern Connecticut. East Longmeadow was once a center of red and brown sandstone quarrying: the stone making up the original building of Washington’s Smithsonian Institution museum is from here. The Elijah Burt House, built between 1720 and 1740, is worth a visit. It is believed to be the oldest surviving building in the town, and a station on the Underground Railroad.
Center Barnstead, N.H.
New Hampshire real estate prices have been rising, but the occasional quality home for under $400,000 still exists. An area to search is Center Barnstead, a community in the town of Barnstead and the largest of several villages in the town. It is close to the Lakes Region, which has convenient access to the hundreds of lakes south of the White Mountains. There you will find ski areas, art galleries, beaches, restaurants, ice cream shops, and all the other destinations vacationers seek, but with rural tranquility and scenic beauty.
Eastport, Maine
For good reason, the coast of Maine is a magnet for vacationers. With its countless harbors, coves, headlands, beaches, and islands, it is unparalleled for scenic beauty, fresh air, and fresh lobster. But, as with any desirable area, it is pricey, with houses in coastal towns fetching far more than inland real estate.
This changes as you leave behind the crowds of the mid-coast and head Down East to Washington County. At the end of the road, at the Canadian border, is Eastport. With just a little over 1,000 people, it is the least-populous city in Maine, but also one of its most historic: Eastport celebrated its bicentennial in 1998.
It is one of the most festival-minded communities in Maine. Navy ships have docked here during the Fourth of July celebration for many years. Every September, the city hosts the annual Maine Salmon Festival in the historic downtown district, and, for 20 years, there has been a Pirate Festival the weekend after Labor Day.
Wardsboro, Vt.
Vermont has maple syrup, great cheese, legendary ski mountains, picture-perfect villages, and cows grazing on hillsides unspoiled by billboards or strip malls. In the southern part of the state, between Mount Snow and Stratton Mountain in the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forest, is Wardsboro.
This small town encompasses five villages, one of which literally has the name Podunk. Wardsboro has scenic beauty and recreational opportunities — Somerset Reservoir and Grout Pond are minutes from Main Street, and the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers Snowmobile trails run through the town — but none of the crowds and condos of nearby ski areas.
Eustis, Maine
Hunters, hikers, nature lovers, and those who simply want to get away from it all head to the pine-scented peace of Maine’s western mountains. Eustis, which includes the village of Stratton, is located about halfway between Sugarloaf Mountain and the Canadian border. It is on the Dead River, which provided transportation for Benedict Arnold and his troops in 1775, when they made their way to fight in the ill-fated Battle of Quebec. Later, the river was known for log drives, which involved floating wood down the river to mills, a deadly practice that was banned in 1976. Now the Dead River is a popular destination for white-water rafting.
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