Salem, MA Real Estate And Community Resources Guide

About 16 miles north of Boston at the mouth of the Naumkeag River, the historic seaside community of Salem was founded by a company of fishermen in 1626. Salem’s unique past, extensive cultural offerings and picturesque surroundings make the city a favorite of tourists and home buyers alike. Boasting the North Shore Medical Center, the Essex County District Superior and Probate Courts, as well as an array of museums and schools, Salem is the educational, medical, legal, cultural and banking hub of the North Shore.

Whether by high-speed ferry, commuter rail or car, the quick commute between Salem’s peaceful waterfront and Boston makes living in Salem seem like the best of both worlds. The city’s total area of 18.05 sq. miles is home to a population of 40,922 residents. In the last year, the average selling price of cheaper, single-family homes was $119,020; these houses typically had 3 bedrooms. For top-end homes with 4 bedrooms and 8 rooms, last year’s homebuyers paid an average of $528,902. While the most expensive home since March 2007 sold for $850,000, the median selling price for a single-family home was $287,500.

Perhaps best known for the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, many come to Salem for the thrills of spooky tours or the Salem Witch Museum. While this controversial historical event is undeniably a part of what the city has become today, it tends to overshadow a very influential piece of Salem’s history. As one of the earliest landing sites of English colonists, Salem became the first major port in the United States. Ships from China, the West Indies, Europe and elsewhere arrived in Salem’s harbor with spices and silks. In fact, in 1839 the city adopted a seal with the motto, “Divitis Indiae usque ad ultimum sinum,” Latin for, “To the farthest port of the rich East.”

Salem’s location and role as a port city has, over time, produced a diverse and much more accepting culture than that of its 17th Century inhabitants. A few years ago, the Salem public school system reported servicing students speaking 20 different languages. In addition to numerous public school choices, Salem offers families options for private education, including independent, alternative schools and the Salem Academy Charter School. As the home of Salem State College, Salem hosts 9,500 total students and major speakers sponsored by the college’s regular speakers’ series.

Historical landmarks and recreational sites make Salem a wonderful place to live and host visitors. Salem houses the Peabody Essex Museum, which was founded in 1799 and is the nation’s oldest, continuously operating museum. The House of Seven Gables, a colonial mansion sharing the title with one of American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works, as well as his birthplace can be visited in Salem. The Salem Witch Museum, Salem Wax Museum, and Salem Pirate Museum are popular with the younger crowd.

When it’s too nice of a day to stay inside, many frequent the 1866 carousel at Salem Willows Park or the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, the first National Historic Site designated by Congress. For walkers, hikers and bikers, Highland Park’s Salem Woods Nature Trail provides beautiful scenery.

Bordered by Swampscott and Lynn on the south, Peabody on the west, Beverly on the north, and Marblehead on the east, Salem is 20 miles southeast of Lawrence, and approximately 90 miles south of Portland, Maine. Easy access to Route 128, Interstate 495, and principal highways such as State Routes 1A, 107, and 114, make getting in and out of Salem easy from numerous locations. Salem residents are serviced by the Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail service to North Station, and find themselves only a 25 minute drive from Logan International Airport.

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