Moving to Boston (Cambridge, Newton, Framingham: middle-class, houses, neighborhood)

[flicka1]

Hi,
We are moving to Boston in the spring and are looking for advice on areas in which to live. We would like to buy a house in a suburb with a preferably with 'downtown' area eg restaurants, movie theatre, shops, galleries. Commuting to the MIT area, would prefer under 30 minute commute by either car or public transport. Safety is key and though we do not have school age children, good schools would be a factor in relation to re-sale value. We are looking for a decent sized 3-4 bedroom house, offstreet parking, 1/4 acre+ lot. We are open to all suggestions--any thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated!

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by flicka1

Hi,
We are moving to Boston in the spring and are looking for advice on areas in which to live. We would like to buy a house in a suburb with a preferably with 'downtown' area eg restaurants, movie theatre, shops, galleries. Commuting to the MIT area, would prefer under 30 minute commute by either car or public transport. Safety is key and though we do not have school age children, good schools would be a factor in relation to re-sale value. We are looking for a decent sized 3-4 bedroom house, offstreet parking, 1/4 acre+ lot. We are open to all suggestions--any thoughts/comments would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Flicka,

If you can clarify two details you'll get a better answer. First what is a "good size house" in your mind? About 2k sf? Maybe 4k sf? Also what is your price range? Some of the towns closest to Boston are far more pricey than those a little further out. However you seem concerned about resale and the pricier towns tend to do better in that regard partly because they have excellent school systems as you mentioned.

[flicka1]

Hi MikePRU,
Thanks for your reply. I'd say we were looking at between 2000 and 3000 sft, ideally about 2200-2600. We are flexible on price depending on the area--it is important to us to be in the right community. Ideally we'd like a 20-30 minute commute, but If we could get more for our money and be in a good area with say a max 40 minute commute (car/train) that would be an option too. I'm sure we will have to make some compromises, but we are just beginning to look and are not familiar with the area, so it will take a little research to determine our preferences. Any suggestions of good places to look, or links for listings would be very welcome, thanks

[bostonguy1960]

Perhaps Belmont or Arlington, both of which have a movie theatre. Not many towns in the region can claim that anymore. Both would allow a 30-minute car ride, or less, into MIT -- or a combo of a bus/subway may take 45 minutes?

Belmont Center is small but cute, with a small Macy's and a gourmet ice cream shop. The cinema is in another part of town. A commuter rail goes to TD Garden arena and connects to North Station. Arlington does not have commuter rail, but buses to the red line.

Arlington has basic, middle-class housing anxiety and a few fancier pockets. It's next to leafy Lexington as well as a part of Cambridge.

Winchester is also attractive but without that movie theatre option. But it has a bookstore.

All three options are expensive but close to MIT.

Watertown is next to Belmont, on the Pike exit, a little more affordable, next to desirable Newton.

The realtor who responded can clarify or correct what I state here once he knows your price range.

[MikePRU]

The hitch with your request as Bostonguy points out is two fold:

1. Not too many towns have a movie theater anymore and
2. Price range is a huge factor and while you've stated your flexible you haven't given us any idea of what you'd like to spend.

If you're willing to be flexible about #1 and can give further detail on #2 then you'll get more answers. Is your budget $600K-$700K or $200K-$300K for example? A ~2500 sf house on a 1/4+ acre lot will vary widely in price depending on what town we're talking about.

[flicka1]

Dear Bostonguy and Mikepru
THanks to both of you for your answers. We're guessing we'll have to pay 600-700k for what we want, and will consider going above 700k for the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood, but it would have to be a place/house we loved as we are also looking to buy a second home somewhere warm. Forget the cinema, it is not crucial--cool bookshop or other little downtown shops and a couple of good restaurants are what we're looking for, I was just trying to describe the downtown areas we like--Ideally something like Old Greenwich CT, Rye, NY,or Westhampton NY for example. Safety is key--and we like older homes
I can be very specific about the ideal house:
2000-2100 SF
2 story, ideally with walk up attic/third floor/loft
Older, between 1900 and 1940 (or newer build if built inthis style)
At least one fireplace
High ceilings (8 ft plus)
Good-sized rooms, especially kitchen
Formal dining room (with fireplace would be ideal)
3 or more beds
2 or more full baths and a powder room
full, dry basement
space for a studio/nearby (within 15 minute drive) communal studio (I am an artist)
offstreet parking/garage
southfacing garden/backyard
patio/wraparaound porch
walking distance to shops
Forced air heating--not baseboard--and central air

We'd like a 40 minute max commute by train or car, a short drive to the train in a nearby town is fine as long as there is ample parking.
We also like to entertain and have a couple of big parties every year, so a house with a circular floor plan would be great. A sunny, level 1/4 acre to 1/3 acre but nothing over 1/2 as neither of us are keen gardeners--in fact I am trying to convince our gardener here to move with us!

This is our ideal 'wish list' We of course are flexible on most of these--except the commute, 2 ful baths and the fireplace- I've got to have a fire on a winter's evening.
Looking forward to your thoughts-

[measured1]

You didn't mention schools (or did I miss it?). The house you describe can vary in price so widely depending on desirability of town in general. For example, the house you describe would be btwn 950-$1.5 million in Newton Highlands, parts of Cambridge; and by contrast, maybe under $600K in Waltham or Watertown. maybe. (all of these towns offer the town conveniences you mention). And roughly something inbetween those prices for Arlington. I'm not sure about what this house would cost in West Newton (shops and cinema there) or Auburndale parts of Newton.

If you go outside Rt 128, there are also some nice villagey centers, like Needham and Natick that could still keep you in commutable range (more at the 40 minute outside range). You may have an easier time finding something in Natick in that price range (though limited number of victorian through bungalow styles). Needham can be pricey depending on exact area/house.

I'm not a R.E. person, so this is just a nonprofessional view of things as I've seen them

[MikePRU]

That's a lot more information to work with and I appreciate that you mentioned this is your wish list. It's important to have a flexible mind set as even people with large budgets cannot tick off every box on their list.

When I read your post, I think Newton is a good fit for you. However, it's quite pricey and the sections that are most suburban (like Old Greenwich which I am familiar with) would be tricky to get a house like you describe in your budget. There are areas which are a bit more densely populated like West Newton (great restaurants, a great movie theater, walkable "downtown", easy highway access, etc) that would work for you though. Newton is made up of 13 villages each with its own unique feel and character. Several of them have their own "town center" area as well.

If you want something with a little more suburban feel you could try Needham. My wife commutes to Harvard Square which is just down the road from Kendall Square (MIT area) and it takes her about 30 minutes to get there from Needham, but she does not commute during rush hour typically. On the rare occasion she's in her car during rush hour, the drive is more like 45-60 minutes. Needham has a great downtown area, easy highway access, and multiple commuter rail stations. I also find the people of Needham to be extremely community oriented and extremely friendly.

If you're willing to be a bit flexible on commute, you could check out Natick which has a very lovely downtown area plus a larger mall area along the Natick/Framingham border. Their school system is good but not consider top notch. However, they are certainly making an effort in town to improve the schools. In fact, they just opened a brand new high school. Easy highway access in town and several commuter rail stations if anyone in your family needs to get downtown during the week.

You might also want to look into Lexington. However, I have the same concerns about Lexington as I do Newton. Which is: will you readily find a house you like in your budget? Of all the towns I mentioned, Lexington reminds me a lot of Old Greenwich.

These are the towns from my list of familiar towns that I think could work for you. I'm sure some other people will chime in and suggest a few more towns that I'm less familiar with.

[donewithpretty]

The only town I can think of that would get you what you're asking for within your budget and commute constraints is Melrose. Melrose also has lots of historic housing, three commuter rail stops (only 15 minutes to North Station in Boston), good highway access, cute shops and restaurants, and enormous parkland (the Middlesex Fells). The schools are good but not exceptional. Just north of Melrose, the towns of Wakefield and Reading might also be worth a look.

The problem with your list is that you want to be 30-40 minutes from Cambridge but also have a quarter acre to half acre lot with a 2000+ square foot house on it. Those houses generally cost in the high $800s and up, especially for towns like the New York area ones you listed.

Based on your example towns, you'd probably like Wellesley, Newton, Lexington, and Winchester. Commutes would be good from each of those places, but you'd have to make a compromise: either price, lot size (<.2 acres), or willingness to live on a busy street.

[flicka1]

Hi All,
Many thanks for the comments, they are all helpful. I am glad we have some time before we move so we can narrow down the list of areas we'd like to live in. I am willing to be flexible on most things on our list, but the commute has to be 40 minutes or less-my husband currently commutes about an hour each way and it has become unbearable. Commute by train/T is fine, in fact maybe preferable to driving, again it will depend on time. Living on a busy street is also out--I grew up living on a 'dead-end' and we currently live at the end of a private lane, and enjoy the privacy, but having said that we have lived on a side street in town before and would be happy to do that again as long as it wasn't very busy . We can go smaller on lot size, but don't want to go much below .2 acre. ALthough we do prefer an older home, I've just seen a house in Natick built in 2011 that meets our other criteria on many levels. And one of the most important things for us is a feeling of community, so what you said, MikePRU, about Needham is appealing and I've just looked at a house online that is in town and seems to tick every single one of our boxes--I think Needham is a definite possibility for us.
Again, I do appreciate all the comments, they are all very useful to have in this decision-making process