Boston (Brookline?) Move from Cincinnati (Cambridge, Newton: apartment, to rent, car insurance)

[bugelrex]

Originally Posted by rethcir

Consider Newton. A more affordable area is the north side around the Mass Pike. There is the commuter rail and also the highly underrated Express Bus routes to get you to south station very quickly.

What would be the cons of choosing the north side vs the more expensive south side?
Do you think it simply comes down to walking access to the T?

The north side seems more convenient for walking to elementary, middle and highschool. Highway access and supermarket access

[yaeger07]

Originally Posted by LLCNYC

Brookline? What is your salary here going to be?

And no to Boston Public schools...

Child care here is very expensive.

Need more info to give more suggestions...

Salary is irrelevant because OP gave his budget. $3k/month.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

What would be the cons of choosing the north side vs the more expensive south side?
Do you think it simply comes down to walking access to the T?

The north side seems more convenient for walking to elementary, middle and highschool. Highway access and supermarket access

Newton actually tries to make it so that most of the kids, at least at the elementary school level, can walk to school. There are 15 elementary schools in the town. So, as far as walkability to the schools, the north side doesn't necessarily offer an advantage. It would depend on how far away you are from your assigned school.

Much of the D line is south of the Pike, so walkability to at least some of the T stops is going to be better than walkability from the north side. But, the commuter line is on the north side, so if you want to walk to that, then obviously, being closer to the stop will be more walkable.

There are more grocery stores, at least major ones, on the north side. There are some smaller ones that are walkable from other locations. Highway access to get right onto the Pike is better, I suppose, although you can get onto 95/128 from several areas on the south side.

Some parts of the north side have a more urban feel -- like all of the homes on some streets being duplexes or there being more apartment complexes. But there are some apartment/condo complexes on the south side, too. Really, I would think that almost any part of Newton could work for OP.

Reading through some of the other responses, if where OP lives is kind of like Wellesley, he might like some of the villages in Newton that tilt a little more toward the suburban feel rather than the urban feel. Wellesley is great, but it has a more suburban feel. But, as was indicated they have multiple train stations, and at least in some parts of Wellesley, you could easily drive to the Riverside T (or other T stops) in Newton and ride in from there. If OP is going to consider Wellesley, though, he should also consider Needham.

[rethcir]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

What would be the cons of choosing the north side vs the more expensive south side?
Do you think it simply comes down to walking access to the T?

The north side seems more convenient for walking to elementary, middle and highschool. Highway access and supermarket access

Since there are 13 distinct villages of Newton, it's not as black-and-white as North vs South. You will find that socioeconomic diversity, average acreage, average house quality, and walkability/access to transit will vary village-to-village and even within villages.

I would just say anectdotally that the more affordable (relatively speaking) villages include Newton Corner, Nonantum, West Newton (on the Waltham Line), and the upper/lower falls. Please don't take this as gospel, as there is more housing stock diversity than people realize in all the villages. You can also get a "value" by buying a place with one of the major roads in its backyard (Rt 9, I-90, I-95) although as a transit consultant I'm sure you're aware of the negative consequences of exposure to highway pollution.

Quality of education is uniformally superb in Newton, you wouldn't be putting your child in any risk of falling behind anywhere in the city as far as I'm concerned, removing the variables of home life.

[missionhill]

In Newton, north of Washington Street is historically more middle-working class but I'd guess the "north side" of Newton includes the posh territory between Washington St and Beacon Street as well, maybe even as far south as Boylston St (Route 9). South side is mostly newer, more postwar housing.

OP says he'd like to live within the city of Boston but also says he'd like to live in something like Cincinnati Hyde Park. There's nothing remotely like that Hyde Park within Boston city limits-- at best it gets middle class, like the nicer parts of West Roxbury. HP in Cincinnati is baronial by comparison, much more like south Brookline and the choicest parts of Newton. bjimmy has it right-- Brookline is the closest comparison.

We had a longtime poster here, 'goyguy' who knows Boston and Cincinnati well but he's dropped out of the conversation lately.

[MassVt]

The OP shouldn't limit his options to just Brookline and Newton. Needham, Belmont, Watertown, Melrose, etc are all good areas, too, and are just a very short bus ride to the T (Green Lines, Red Line)...

[Russbosma]

All those towns are nice places to live, but the OP specifically mentioned an urban neighborhood, which none of them are.

[scorpio516]

Disregarding the rent (cause this is cheaper), Natick. A little more suburban, but fairly midwest feel (It wouldn't feel too out of place in Cleveland or Columbus). The 2 heavy rail stops get you right to south station. All of the Financial District is a 5 minute walk from the station. Good schools too. Lots of shopping if that's your thing.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

Disregarding the rent (cause this is cheaper), Natick. A little more suburban, but fairly midwest feel (It wouldn't feel too out of place in Cleveland or Columbus). The 2 heavy rail stops get you right to south station. All of the Financial District is a 5 minute walk from the station. Good schools too. Lots of shopping if that's your thing.

Natick would be a more upper middle suburb in Cleveland, like maybe beachwood.

[Patma]

We used to live in Cincinnati metro area (and are familiar with Hyde Park) and now we live in Middlesex County in MA. When we moved to this area years ago, we looked for an apt. in the Brookline area and 2 things struck me: the difficulty of parking and the population density. Hyde Park has a population density of about 3349 people per square mile; Brookline has 8649/Sq mi. If you are familiar with NYC at all, I would compare the daily constant traffic, parking woes etc with some areas of Queens or Brooklyn, and would have to say it has little resemblance to the 'feel' of living in Hyde Park. Daily stress level is likely to be a lot higher, and based on 10 yr old knowledge of Cincinnati, I can't recall any place comparable. I understand you enjoy urban life and proximity to all it has to offer, but these are 2 factors here you might want to add to your consideration. You might consider areas of Newton for a somewhat similar daily-lifestyle feel to Hyde Park, as well as the great schools and transportation you are looking for.