Here's Why Patch Readers Love Living In Burlington

BURLINGTON, MA -- Last week we asked Burlington Patch readers who follow us on Facebook "Why would you tell someone to move to Burlington?" It turns out there are a lot of reasons why people should consider adding Burlington to their list of places to look for their next home in greater Boston.

And yes, Facebook being Facebook, there were a few negative comments. We can't do anything about the housing prices in Burlington or anywhere else in Massachusetts. But most of our readers, thankfully, chose to point out the positive reasons to live in town.

And, at least in Burlington, those high housing costs are offset by low property taxes, which several readers mentioned. In addition to the Burlington Mall and a healthy retail mix, Burlington has several office parks and a corporate tax base that give Burlington the 41st lowest residential property tax in Massachusetts, based on a survey of 351 communities.

That commercial tax base helps fund a school system that doesn't charge user fees and lots of town-sponsored events.

"Community involvement which includes Concerts on the Common, Movies on the Common, Celebrate Burlington, Truck day , Forth of July parade, Burlington night out," Brenda Cahoon said. "Many people OUTSIDE of our town come to OUR town for these, Because their town doesn’t have the resources or funds to do it."

Paul DiSarcina said Burlington reminds him of "Arlington 30 years ago," thanks to the diverse mix of people in town. Burlington's population is 76.4 percent white, compared to 81.3 percent statewide, and home to one of the state's biggest Indian-American populations.

Despite its close proximity to all major highways, Burlington still has lots of open space, which was another frequently-mentioned reason to move to town. The town's recreation departmen, which lets local kids go to camp for little or no money and offers lots of programs for a wide range of ages, was another frequently-mentioned perk.

Finally, if you have to get sick, there are worse places to do it than in Burlington. The Lahey Medical Center is top-ranked and conveniently located in Burlington.

Subscribe to Burlington Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

File photo of 911 Memorial in Burlington by Dave Copeland/Patch.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).