HELP...new to area, Needham or Newton??! (Boston: real estate, condos)

[maximbella]

My family will be relocating to the Boston area and we need help deciding between buying a home in Needham or Newton. We currently live in a really nice part of Dallas (Preston Hollow/Park Cities area) and would like a similar type of feel. We have 2 small children under 2 years old, so a great school district is very important, as well as a community with a strong "family" feel and Jewish presence. We've heard that both Newton and Needham are great areas, so would appreciate any further insight into both before we start looking for a house to buy there in several weeks...

[kmann-sherborn]

They're both lovely communities with well rated schools, good public transit, shopping, restaurants, and plenty of community activities.

Needham has somewhat of a more suburban feel while Newton has a mixture of feels to it. Some areas are upscale suburban and some feel a little more urban. Newton is made up of several different "villages", each with their own feel. If you search for Newton in this forum you'll find lots of posts about the different villages.

Also, here are some links to school system info.
The Best Public Schools in Boston 2011: In the Classroom
GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community

Newton is rated #12 in the state for high schools. They just built a new high school last year (Newton North).

Needham has Reform (Beth Shalom) and Conservative (Temple Aliyah) temples and Newton has a range of Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox temples.

[measured1]

It sounds as though Newton would be a good fit. It has the elements you mentioned. Also very convenient to amenities of Boston.

Just some added background, for what it's worth:

It is socio-economically diverse (relatively speaking) -- unlike other upscale communities, especially those founded out West where things are newer. So you will see in Newton a neighborhood of homes in the many millions$$$ - and a couple of streets over the $1+ million -- and within that the under $million -- and condos, etc. Everything is sort of jumbled together.

It provides a more grounded feel than other "upscale" cities. I saw it put very nicely...to paraphrase: "Newton is an affluent city, but not showy. Even though it is wealthy, it is more LLBean than Gucci." (although there are, obviously, expensive retailers in town) There are great advantages to being in a community where there's a good cross-section of people; it keeps peoples' heads on straight.

Be very specific with your real estate agent -- because Newton has many personalities, depending on which village, and within those villages as well.
I just found a website you may be interested in -- Village 14 -- though I don't know if it's .com or .org. (google?)

The only potential downside of house-hunting here is that within some price ranges the competition can be stiff and slim pickings.

Good luck, whereever you look!

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by kmann-sherborn

They're both lovely communities with well rated schools, good public transit, shopping, restaurants, and plenty of community activities.

Needham has somewhat of a more suburban feel while Newton has a mixture of feels to it. Some areas are upscale suburban and some feel a little more urban. Newton is made up of several different "villages", each with their own feel. If you search for Newton in this forum you'll find lots of posts about the different villages.

Also, here are some links to school system info.
The Best Public Schools in Boston 2011: In the Classroom
GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community

Newton is rated #12 in the state for high schools. They just built a new high school last year (Newton North).

Needham has Reform (Beth Shalom) and Conservative (Temple Aliyah) temples and Newton has a range of Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox temples.

A really solid post about the differences between the two locations. Having lived in both Needham and Newton for extended periods of time the one item I would like to stress is that I find Needham to be a more family friendly town. Don't get me wrong, Newton is a lovely place to live but when I lived in Newton I didn't see the block parties or neighborhood email newsletters that I see in Needham nor did I experience as strong a sense of community in Newton. Needham is also quite a bit easier on the wallet than the parts of Newton that have a comparable suburban feel like Newton Center or Newton Highlands.

Personally, I don't think you could go wrong either way. In the end, it's going to have a lot to do with budget and personal preference.