Best areas near Kendall Square for family (Boston, Cambridge: apartments, rentals)

[bliifo]

We are going to relocate to the Boston area in the next few months. I will be working in Kendall Square. My wife stays at home with our three kids, 4 years, 2 years, and 6 mo. old. We are looking to find a place to live that has 1)a commute less than about 30 min, 2)very family friendly (good parks, activities, not too busy street), and 3) somewhat affordable (we will rent to start most likely). We will send the kids to private school also.

What we have read about Arlington seems to match those factors. Can anybody give me any other suggestions and/or tell me if certain areas of Arlington are more appropriate than others? We will be making a move from Nashville TN, so won't have many chances to check out the areas in person.

Any advice would be great!!

[MovingForward]

I live in Arlington. Great town. There aren't really any "bad" areas of Arlington, just different. Before I can give you much more information, what do you mean by "affordable"?

[intelgal]

there are lots of great private schools in the area

check this website out

Junior Achievers - Boston Magazine

If you want to live even closer to where you will be working, some parts of cambridge are affordable- near Kendall, Inman, Central Square, Porter Square, Alewife. We live between Alewife and Davis square right now and enjoying it very much. It's much more affordable than living lower to harvard square and parts of porter square.

[bliifo]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

I live in Arlington. Great town. There aren't really any "bad" areas of Arlington, just different. Before I can give you much more information, what do you mean by "affordable"?

We are looking at about 350K. But will likely look to rent at about 2000/mo.

Can you give me any general descriptions of the Arlington areas? Like I said, we mostly want family friendly, but having amenaties like a park and local grocery store would be be nice also.

Which areas are best for a public transit commute to Kendall Square?

Thanks

[MovingForward]

Any neighborhood off the Red Line (subway) in Cambridge will be fairly urban-feeling, but there are many nice areas in Cambridge: Central Square (the subway stop before Kendall Square) and Porter Square both have nice areas. The schools are not great, but if you're sending the kids to private school, anyway, that won't make a difference to you. The rents, however, are generally higher than in Arlington, Belmont, or Watertown (which all border Cambridge).

Arlington is a suburb of Boston. A safe and very family-friendly town, with nice neighborhoods and parks. If you rent an apartment near Massachusetts Avenue ("Mass Ave"), you can catch the 77 bus to Harvard Square (it runs every 10 minutes or so)--which is about a 10-minute ride--then take the subway from Harvard Square to Kendall Square, about a 5-minute ride. If you don't live near Mass Ave, you can drive to the Alewife subway station in Cambridge (about a 5-10 minute drive, depending on where you live in Arlington) and take the "Red Line" subway to Kendall Square, about a 10-minute subway ride. The elementary schools are excellent. I live in Arlington Heights, in the Brackett Elementary School area: the Brackett school has been the top-performing elementary school in the state of MA for the past three years. It's right across the street from a lovely park, and just a few blocks from Mass Ave and shops (grocery stores, restaurants, etc.). For $2000/month, you will be able to find a decent, renovated apartment. Here are some examples of apartments presently for rent in Arlington:

4+ Bedroom / 2 Full Bath - Available Now - No Fee (broken link)

4+ Bedroom / 2 Full Bath - Available Now - No Fee (broken link)

3/4BR Gorgeous Hardwoods sunny, spacious near Arlington Center (broken link)

Deleaded with Gate to Bikeway at Spy Pond (broken link)

BOWES Rentals (http://www.bowesrentals.com/3beds.php - broken link)

Another town which borders Cambridge and Arlington is Belmont: a touch more upscale than Arlington (but, in terms of quality of life, much more of a "bedroom community" than Arlington, which has more of a real town feel):

Fabulous, open, sunny, new town house. Great location. Available now! (broken link)

Watertown is not as nice as either Arlington or Belmont, and the schools are not as good, but a safe and nice town, as well. Cambridge (and the subway to Kendall Square) is easily accessible by bus (a 15-minute bus ride from Belmont or Watertown to Cambridge--at least, from where I used to live in Belmont).