Moving to Boston (Cambridge, Newton, Brookline: budget, apartments, trip)

[Anne-Catherine]

Hi,
I am currently living in Brussels, Belgium. For professional reasons, I'll have to move to Boston in October 2008 with my husband and my 2 children (almost 5 years and 7 months). What areas are close to Boston and pleasant to live with a family, and not too expensive? We will need access to a school and a family or daycare. Is it tough to find all of these in Boston?
I appreciate any help or advice!

[smarty]

Welcome...

It is not hard to satisfy your requirement. You may want to be more specific regarding your wants and wishes...

For example,
How much do you want to pay for child care and rental?
Do you want to rent a house or a flat?
How big of a place and what amenities do you want?
How long of a commute from your house to work?
Where in Boston will you be working? Will you be driving or taking public transportation?

To Start....
Here's Boston public transportation system
MBTA.com > Official Website for Greater Boston's Public Transportation System

Some rent rates in and around Boston
craigslist | apartments

Map of Boston... you can have satellite and street view.
maps.google.com

You can check out other post here with lots of child care, rental information once you have a better idea where in and around Boston you want to live.

[Anne-Catherine]

I'll be working at the Brigham and Women's hospital, on St Francis Street. At the beginning, I plan to use public transportations; 20-40 minutes from work is not a problem. And I am looking for something to rent (2 bedrooms +, appartments), budget around 1600$. And probably a public school. In Belgium, daycare and family care are quiet cheap compare to USA (less than 600$ per month). I heard that in USA, family care is cheaper than daycare, is that right?
It is not easy to tell you where I want to live... I don't know all the towns you are talking about in this forum (Arlington, Newton, ....). I just came twice in Boston. In Belgium, we are living in a quiet suburban and very green place and we commute every day.
Thank you

[holden125]

I don't know much of anything about child care costs, but I can speak to housing somewhat. I love Arlington, but for a commute to Brigham and Women's by public transportation, Arlington would be pretty far. Unless you live in the area right in the southeast corner of the town near the Alewife station, you would need to drive or take a bus to Alewife, go all the way to downtown Boston on the red line, and back out to Francis St. on the Green Line (D or E).

Ideal for commuting to Brigham and Women's would be anything in Brookline or Newton along the Green Line (D), which stops at Longwood. (Longwood is near the hospital, though not as close as the Brigham Circle stop on the E line. Unfortunately the E line only goes down Huntington Avenue and does not leave JP/City of Boston.) Both of those towns have very good public schools , but they are more expensive. If you're willing to do 20-40 minutes, the western part of Newton by Riverside or Woodland may have some deals, though Waban is very expensive. Another possibility is to go somewhere along a commuter rail line that stops at Back Bay station. West Newton or Route 128 station to the south, for example, are 15-20 minutes to Back Bay station, then you could get either the D or E Green Line trolley at Copley, which is right around the corner from Back Bay station. Route 128 is near Westwood, Norwood, Canton, which are nice places with good schools also. And there are also other stations further south with trains that stop at Back Bay.

[smarty]

As holden125 says, the nicer towns using public transportation (green line) is Brookline and Newton.

Other options may be Brighton, Jamaica Plain and Cambridge.

Childcare is usual around $6-12/hr per child depending on the type of care. Hence, about $250-600/wk. However, since you have a 7month old, it will be more.

Parsec had this great link..
EEC childcare Home Page

[Parsec]

Yep - that EEC childcare page posted above is a great service provided by the state of MA. It lets you search for all the state-licensed family cares in a certain town or zip code. It's also true that family care is cheaper than regular daycare. The going rate for family care in my area (Newton) is about $1000/mo for toddlers. Your son should be able to attend kindergarten by the time you guys move here next fall, and most towns offer before and after-school care for a small charge. Most towns only have half-day kindergarten, but if you use the before and after-school care, he will be in school from 8-6pm.

[Anne-Catherine]

Thank you very much for all your advices. It seems Newton is an attractive place to live. I must recognize that it's not easy to plan such a trip when you are really away...