okay, i'm just floored (Arlington: purchase, salaries, to live)

[Jimbo21]

i just don't see the value here. walking to alewife is only worth so much. especially when many of us are commuting far less often than we used to. $1.4M and you don't even get a 2nd full bath. it's nuts, if you ask me. i wonder what i'd get for my mediocre but large house in the heights, with views of boston.

[timberline742]

Easy walking distance to Alewife would be worth a ton to me, personally. Way nicer and easier than the 77 or 78 bus.

[charolastra00]

Being walking distance to Alewife is the equivalent of an additional 2-3 bathrooms, honestly.

For years I lived with roommates in a formerly middle class neighborhood of Medford where most homes were 2 families with 2-3 bedrooms and 1 bath. I shared 1 bathroom with 2 roommates plus their partners/guests who visited frequently. Our downstairs neighbors were a teacher and a DPW worker who shared a 3 bed/1 bath with their 2 kids plus 2 stepkids who they had every other week. Everyone survived.

Sadly, it doesn't really matter what something is "worth" just what someone will pay. And if you need to work in the city 3-4+ times a week, the shorter the commute the more time you have with family and for other stuff. With some money and creativity, you can add an additional bathroom onto a house. You can't make it closer to work.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by bricka

maybe they just really wanted to be next door to the chabad center for jewish life?

This is a good point. The Chabad Center is almost definitely within an eruv, which an observant Jewish person or family would need to reside within. This has been a *huge* issue for friends looking to buy because there is often such limited housing availability even in the best of circumstances within an eruv. Two of my college roommates are now rabbis and both have lamented how they had to pay significantly more for a house than they would have a few streets over because of the eruv.

Note: while you don't have to live within an eruv if you're an Orthodox Jew, it makes life much harder without one. An eruv lets you carry certain things outside of your home on Shabbat, like a purse or baby carriage.

[brightdoglover]

The house posted is listed as being on the "shores of Spy Pond." That's a beautiful spot in a very convenient location. I'd pay for it.

[Jimbo21]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

The house posted is listed as being on the "shores of Spy Pond." That's a beautiful spot in a very convenient location. I'd pay for it.

check it out on a map, it's not on spy pond. near spy pond, sure.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by Jimbo21

check it out on a map, it's not on spy pond. near spy pond, sure.

It’s also still a 25 minute walk to Alewife. Which, while not far (and very easy on a bike via minuteman), it’s not super close. We’re big on walking, but 20 minutes (about a mile) is about as far as I’d describe as “close” and the threshold for many people is lower. A downtown commute on foot and via train from this location is still upwards of an hour. Now, of course, Cambridge/Somerville is much more convenient, and 50 minutes without setting foot in a car is fine (especially if it’s only a couple of times per week). But it’s not amazing at that price point.

[msRB311]

A 25 minute walk to a train station is worth paying 1.4 million bucks for an average home ?

Wow.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Wow. I mean it's a nice house.. a nice small house...but no just no...that much over asking on an already pushing it (a million for a house that size is crazy, I dont care if it's Arlington)

It sold in 1999 for 312k...that's what i'm talking about. The price to buy a home these days is INSANE. The house is like 5 times the cost of what it was in 1999.

I wonder what this one will end up going for:

https://www.redfin.com/MA/Arlington/...4/home/8424414

312K was already an insanely expensive price back in 1999. I don't think I could have afforded that price back then. Houses sold for less than half that price in my Dorchester neighborhood back then. Now that was affordable.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by lrfox

It’s also still a 25 minute walk to Alewife. Which, while not far (and very easy on a bike via minuteman), it’s not super close. We’re big on walking, but 20 minutes (about a mile) is about as far as I’d describe as “close” and the threshold for many people is lower. A downtown commute on foot and via train from this location is still upwards of an hour. Now, of course, Cambridge/Somerville is much more convenient, and 50 minutes without setting foot in a car is fine (especially if it’s only a couple of times per week). But it’s not amazing at that price point.

It's a pretty great spot. Quiet neighborhood. Super easy Rte 2 access. There is a little park on Spy Pond right near there where I've landed some big bass and a tiger musky. Walkable to Alewife. Walkable to a good section of Mass Ave. Near the bike path. Lots of flexibility in that spot. The appeal is understandable. It's a pretty nice looking spot and a good size. Way way way nicer looking than the average in this State.