As several others have said, if you don't need the closer proximity to Boston, consider going further north for more bang for your buck. You'll have a hard time finding anything under 500k.

Otherwise, it's a conveniently located town. 30ish minutes from Boston (without traffic) and 30ish minutes from either Salem or Nashua, NH. Close to 93, 495, and rt 3.

Traffic on 38 sucks but if you learn the back roads, you can easily get around it most of the time.

You'll have your selection of various Market Baskets to shop at, all within a 10 minute max drive.

Stay away from motel 6 and the IHOP that is there.

And as someone also mentioned, the gun club is very active and you will hear it a lot if you choose a house nearby.

It is also very Republican (several neighbors still waving their Trump flags around), and God forbid you ask them to get rid of the Redmen mascot. Still has a very towny vibe, but there has been a shit ton of development over the last 10 years and a huge influx of new people.