Need help choosing a suburb! (Boston, Cambridge: best cities, rentals, house prices)

[momincity]

Hello! I need some help...

I live in Boston with my husband and 15 month old daughter. While we are not yet ready to move out of the city, we are starting the thinking process. The problem is, I did not grow up in MA, so I really don't know a thing about surrounding suburbs.

Here's what I do know/want:
1. i don't want to be far outside the city - at all. I really enjoy living in the city, but more important, I don't want to be waiting all night for my husband to come home from work.
2. Something on the commuter rail.
3. Something with a center of town/places to walk to.
4. A young family community.
5. Good schools

Any ideas? I have heard nice things about Winchester, Belmont, Melrose... or Weston, Acton, Andover, Concord? I really don't know anything about where to go, and we are very confused. I wish we could stay in Boston but reality is, that is not possible for us down the road.

Any help is much appreciated!

thanks!

[puffle]

Originally Posted by momincity

Hello! I need some help...

I live in Boston with my husband and 15 month old daughter. While we are not yet ready to move out of the city, we are starting the thinking process. The problem is, I did not grow up in MA, so I really don't know a thing about surrounding suburbs.

Here's what I do know/want:
1. i don't want to be far outside the city - at all. I really enjoy living in the city, but more important, I don't want to be waiting all night for my husband to come home from work.
2. Something on the commuter rail.
3. Something with a center of town/places to walk to.
4. A young family community.
5. Good schools

Any ideas? I have heard nice things about Winchester, Belmont, Melrose... or Weston, Acton, Andover, Concord? I really don't know anything about where to go, and we are very confused. I wish we could stay in Boston but reality is, that is not possible for us down the road.

Any help is much appreciated!

thanks!

One of the closest areas that is a bit more suburban but next to Boston would be Newton. Good school district,safe area and great walking town. Buying is expensive for what you get, but what isn't? Next would be Needham,Wellesley,Belmont and Winchester that have direct lines to Boston. I am suggesting these areas based on schools, community and access to Boston. There are obviously other towns surrounding Boston, but unless you want private schools, I wouldn't chose them. Don't know if you are buying or renting. If renting, for now, more choices in Newton and some in Needham and the other towns have limited rentals. I know as I have been searching for months planning a move from California. We really loved Lexington which you can get a bus to Alewife to take you into town. Great family community, well educated community, great recreation area for residence but only 14 miles to Boston as the crow flies.

[dmoss79]

I would go with Newton, good schools [I used to work at one of the middle schools-wasn't great but not bad], its so close to Boston I would go with it if you love the city life and public transportation to the city. Good Luck!

[ogre]

Momincity, all the towns listed in your original post are safe and pleasant. I believe they are all on commuter rail lines as well. They're also all rather pricey, even by Boston area standards. Winchester, Belmont, and Melrose are all closer to the city than the others, and may offer more opportunity to walk to shopping areas.

If you'd prefer winding roads, big yards, and some woods and fields, of the towns on your list Weston would be the closest to Boston that has these features, but it also hs the highest average house prices of any town in MA. Weston also has a small town center, with a few of the basic businesses you'd patronize day-to-day, but it's not a full-service town. Waltham, Natick, Wayland, and Framingham all have more businesses, and all are close by, but there's not a lot right in Weston beyond a few basics. Those winding roads also would make it a challenge to walk to the center unless you lived right around the corner. The same is true of Concord and Acton, which are also farther from Boston, far enough that driving to the city begins to be somewhat of an expedition, though both do have commuter rail.

Depending on how far from Boston you'd be comfortable living, you might look into Natick. Good schools, nice variety of neighborhoods, commuter rail, and quick access, from most parts of town, to either route 9 or the Mass. Pike, when you want to do some time in the city. Natick also has a nice clean downtown, with a variety of small stores. Most businesses downtown close early in the evening, but it would be good in the daytime, plus there are malls and restaurants very close by on route 9. Natick is closer to Boston than the more outlying towns on your list, and has somewhat lower house prices than most other towns in the western suburbs.

Best of luck!

[puffle]

Originally Posted by ogre

Momincity, all the towns listed in your original post are safe and pleasant. I believe they are all on commuter rail lines as well. They're also all rather pricey, even by Boston area standards. Winchester, Belmont, and Melrose are all closer to the city than the others, and may offer more opportunity to walk to shopping areas.

If you'd prefer winding roads, big yards, and some woods and fields, of the towns on your list Weston would be the closest to Boston that has these features, but it also hs the highest average house prices of any town in MA. Weston also has a small town center, with a few of the basic businesses you'd patronize day-to-day, but it's not a full-service town. Waltham, Natick, Wayland, and Framingham all have more businesses, and all are close by, but there's not a lot right in Weston beyond a few basics. Those winding roads also would make it a challenge to walk to the center unless you lived right around the corner. The same is true of Concord and Acton, which are also farther from Boston, far enough that driving to the city begins to be somewhat of an expedition, though both do have commuter rail.

Depending on how far from Boston you'd be comfortable living, you might look into Natick. Good schools, nice variety of neighborhoods, commuter rail, and quick access, from most parts of town, to either route 9 or the Mass. Pike, when you want to do some time in the city. Natick also has a nice clean downtown, with a variety of small stores. Most businesses downtown close early in the evening, but it would be good in the daytime, plus there are malls and restaurants very close by on route 9. Natick is closer to Boston than the more outlying towns on your list, and has somewhat lower house prices than most other towns in the western suburbs.

Best of luck!

About Natick, past posts have said to stay away, that the schools are not good and that many areas are not safe. If I could find an area close to Boston that was affordable and had a good high school and I mean a school where over 86% go to college, it would be perfect.

[nooneknowsmyname]

Originally Posted by puffle

About Natick, past posts have said to stay away, that the schools are not good and that many areas are not safe. If I could find an area close to Boston that was affordable and had a good high school and I mean a school where over 86% go to college, it would be perfect.

I'm not sure you will find a town that meets all those criteria. Many of communities close to Boston with good schools aren't likely to affordable. What do you mean by affordable? What is price range for a house you consider affordable?

[findingmesomeday]

Natick is perfectly safe and South Natick is very, very nice. But you are right about the schools.

[Baton Rouge]

One gets what one pays for. Western suburbs are more expensive for a number of reasons the most important of which is quality schools and other quality of life issues. Western suburbs also are better for commuting by car since there are many ways to get into town - the Pike, Rt 9, Rt 30, Rt 20, Rt 16, Rt 135 and some not-so-direct routes; whereas, from the north and south there are fewer ways in. These are car routes and if you'd rather take public transportation you can catch the Green line out off Rt 16 near Woodland CC and the train that runs from beyond Framingham into the city. The south presents the ever-problematic Southeast Expressway, but you can avoid it by using surface roads coming in through Quincy, Milton, Braintree and so on. The north has the tunnels and when they get backed up the wait is excruciating. From the North Shore one can take a variety of surface roads that end up coming down through Chelsea (to Cambridge). The northwestern suburbs like Arlington, Winchester, etc. are accessible by Rt 2, but that gets backed up too. There are indeed some nice towns to the south - Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate (more blue-collar, but less so than in the past) and the new Greenbush line will open soon to augment the SE Xway and the Hingham commuter boat. The Greenbush line will serve coastal towns and inland from those places are Hanover, Norwell, and Pembroke. While other inland towns might be closer to the T in Braintree, like Holbrook, Abington, Randolph, and others. Swinging west are Canton, Sharon, Easton, and Stoughton that are on a commuter rail that goes to Back Bay and South station. In summary, the better towns are the most expensive (let's not forget property taxes) and the easiest towns to get into Boston are in the west, followed by the south, then, the north. The South Shore gets a little less snow generally, especially nearer the water. All towns around Boston are fairly typical New England - a town square or common surrounded by the white steepled churches and eighteenth and nineteenth cent. colonials with similar houses on the main streets of the town with new and newer houses away from the town centers usually on former farmland. For my money, I'd chose the western suburbs for ease of commute and because the day-to-day things you might buy can be gotten at the Natick Mall and Shoppers' World and all that surrounds them. But please, go into town as much as possible; Boston's one of the best cities in the country and has genuine culture. Nothing can replace that.

[wheelz]

I just wanted to comment on the Commuter Rail. The South Acton (dare I say?) station, is terrible! Unless you get there bright and early you can't even find a parking spot and in the winter time you stand outside and freeze your butt off waiting/hoping for the train to show up. West Concord is a complete joke as well, as far as parking goes. Alewife Station is darn near impossible to get a good spot to park unless you are an early bird. Most of the time you end up having to park across the street from the main garage and then by the time you walk all the way to where the train picks you up, (how many freakin floors is it?!) you might as well have just walked to Boston from your house. I do enjoy watching the rodents run around on the tracks there though. Half the time the window where you get your pass from is backed up and just about everytime I've been there the stupid token machines are broken down. Once again, welcome to Massachusetts! Our infrastucture is so outdated it is sickening and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if we are the next state to have a major bridge collapse! Has anyone been in the restroom recently at Alewife? Bring a snorkel and some fins if you need to use the john and it won't be water you're swimming in either!

[wheelz]

"Boston's one of the best cities in the country"

You have obviously not been to very many cities if you can make this statement. Boston's streets are filthy and slimy and disgusting. All the little alleyways are just plain NASTY and there's nothing like the stench of all that steam pouring out of those sewer holes on a hot day! Have you noticed how many homeless people there are? The Common is completely full of them and they are lined up on every street, especially in the downtown crossing area. They are the first thing that greets you when you get off the highway and they stalk you at just about every traffic light. Most every single parking garage in the downtown area smells like someone just pee'd all over the stairwells. Oh, it's real nice! Portland Oregon is a nice city as is Chicago and San Diego, Boston is a freakin' toilet!