I wasn't going to comment on "farness", but I will a little. I have some friends who live out that way -- The Dark Place is out there, as are Cat & Preston. I've found that a lot of people live out there seem to stop coming into Boston. Cat comes in every once in a while, but it's tough to get anyone else from the other side of 128 to come into Boston for anything. I do head out that way every once in a while, but there's a certain quid pro quo; I'm more likely to go to Rhonwen's because she comes to me.

All right... on to my real point.

House shopping is like shopping at Pennsic. If you see something you like, put an offer on it. It doesn't obligate you to anything (they'll make a counter offer, you can always get out after the home inspection, etc.), and it's better than mulling it over for a week and then discovering its under agreement.