relocating from Germany to Boston area with two kids (Cambridge: rental, crime)

[papa_mamon]

We are a family of 4 relocating to the Boston area in September from Germany. We will be both working in Boston and our kids are 4 and 21 months old. We will be coming with 2 luggages and hopefully our pushchairs for the kids but nothing more.

Did anyone went through a similar experience of relocating an entire family and what should we be careful about ?

At present we really wondering where are the baby-friendly area (we don't mind using public transportation such as the MBTA). Ideally we would like to rent half a house, part of a garden, being close to bike paths and public transportation. Anyone has experiences with Arlington ?

Thank you in advance for your help !

[SoFresh99]

I have no experience relocating but I think East Arlington would be a fine choice, lots of families and if you choose wisely you can walk to the Alewife MBTA station or walk to Mass Ave and take the bus to Alewife or Harvard stations. The Minuteman bikeway runs through Arlington.

[mich14]

Arlington is very nice. You should post your budget. Newton is another good option.

[goyguy]

A delightful family from Berlin has been renting the townhouse next door to me in Cambridge for the past year. The adults as well as the kids (aged 2, 4, and 6) seem to really enjoy it here. We live on a street that's so quiet you would never guess it's two short blocks from one of the main commercial hubs of the city. Among their other activities the older children go to a German-language preschool program.
Some people with school-aged family members are wary of Cambridge because of the uneven quality of its public education. But if you're to be in the area for three years or less this would be a non-issue. Rental costs do lean toward the "high end;" my neighbors' landlord told me that he'd be asking $2800/month for his contemporary tri-level unit. Quite likely you could do better in Arlington in that regard, but the trade-offs would be transportation convenience and a comparative lack of things going on (e.g. Cambridge's "River Festival," due to take place on June 2nd.)
OP, if you'd be interested in hearing my neighbors' perspective on living here you could send me your name and e-mail address to pass along to them.

[jayrandom]

Arlington is a nice area and you should be able to find a half house (with garden) for rent there. Cambridge is a good option if you're willing and able to pay more and want shorter commute times and a more cosmopolitan environment. Similar to Arlington would be Watertown and Belmont.

For determining the public transportation convenience between Arlington and your expected places of work, I'd suggest looking at google maps, which has a public transportation routing option (you can also look at biking and walking routes there). I'd suggest checking out your specific workplaces as Boston has reasonably good public transportation but times can vary drastically depending on the particular direction you want to go.

[unit731]

All of the cities and towns surrounding Boston are quite fine. The closer you get to Boston the more you may hear about crime - but do view crime statistics.

Saugus, Melrose, Wakefield, Stoneham, Medford, Arlington, Belmont on to the 5 Newtons can be real good destinatiions.

Your next step is finding an affordable place. If you have a car or two you do need off street parking. Location to MBTA (subway) and MBTA (trains) and MBTA (buses) should be viewed closely.

Having a yard and garden. If in a multiple family home you had best check with potential landlord if digging up the landlords lawn/yard is acceptable before just doing.

[papa_mamon]

Dear Unit731,

Thank you for your tips. We plan to have a car but we will try not to use it most of the time so street parking should be fine (?). Or would you advice it against ?

[papa_mamon]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

Arlington is a nice area and you should be able to find a half house (with garden) for rent there. Cambridge is a good option if you're willing and able to pay more and want shorter commute times and a more cosmopolitan environment. Similar to Arlington would be Watertown and Belmont.

For determining the public transportation convenience between Arlington and your expected places of work, I'd suggest looking at google maps, which has a public transportation routing option (you can also look at biking and walking routes there). I'd suggest checking out your specific workplaces as Boston has reasonably good public transportation but times can vary drastically depending on the particular direction you want to go.

Thank you for the tips. Google maps with biking and walking routes are indeed a very nice source of information. Because the minute man trail is passing through in Arlington, we thought about Arlington (we bike all the time and I guess with two babies in a bike-trailer, we should avoid the roads). Cambridge is too expensive for us.

[papa_mamon]

Originally Posted by mich14

Arlington is very nice. You should post your budget. Newton is another good option.

Our budget is less than 2000 Dollars, ideally 1300 Dollars

[papa_mamon]

Originally Posted by goyguy

A delightful family from Berlin has been renting the townhouse next door to me in Cambridge for the past year. The adults as well as the kids (aged 2, 4, and 6) seem to really enjoy it here. We live on a street that's so quiet you would never guess it's two short blocks from one of the main commercial hubs of the city. Among their other activities the older children go to a German-language preschool program.
Some people with school-aged family members are wary of Cambridge because of the uneven quality of its public education. But if you're to be in the area for three years or less this would be a non-issue. Rental costs do lean toward the "high end;" my neighbors' landlord told me that he'd be asking $2800/month for his contemporary tri-level unit. Quite likely you could do better in Arlington in that regard, but the trade-offs would be transportation convenience and a comparative lack of things going on (e.g. Cambridge's "River Festival," due to take place on June 2nd.)
OP, if you'd be interested in hearing my neighbors' perspective on living here you could send me your name and e-mail address to pass along to them.

Thank you so much for offering to help. As you have pointed out Cambridge, we have also thought about Cambridge (this would be ideal) but the housing prices are too expensive. Our budget is around 1500 Dollars (until 2000 Dollars).