Chicago To Boston : Moving and Housing advice (Cambridge, Lynn: big house, neighborhoods)

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by robr2

Logan Express from Woburn would be $5 a day for parking and $15 round trip on the bus to the airport. It's an option but you then have to add the commute from Woburn or Reading. Then comes the search for a sub $2K apartment in those towns.

My point there was to offer another option for the Logan Express. What you noted above is inevitable regardless of location, but it's definitely an important note for the OP.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by massnative71

No.

Cheslea is a ****tier East Boston. Not somewhere i'd recommend, although you can get some great deals.

[Stozi]

Originally Posted by mwj119

My point there was to offer another option for the Logan Express. What you noted above is inevitable regardless of location, but it's definitely an important note for the OP.

As far as taking the Logan Express, its definitely an option especially since my company pays for about 80% of the cost for months worth of tickets on the bus.

From reading the rest of the discussion it sounds like Quincy/Braintree and surrounding areas seems to be the best option cost wise and what we are looking for out of a city. We will also continue to look at areas north of Boston as well that people have recommended.

My next question is, when is the best time to find places for rent as far as availability and cost goes? I am aware of Boston's Sept 1st cycle for college students, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing for us or a bad thing.

We are currently hoping for a move in date of Aug 1st or Sept 1st at the latest. That brings me to my next question, would you recommend getting a real estate broker to assist us in finding a place or should we only use a broker if the listing requires it?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Fair point.

I should mention that Reading could be a good fit here, too (if the OP chooses the suburban route). It has Lynnfield (marketplace) to the east, and Burlington to the west. It'd be similar to Schaumburg in it's convenience to modern amenities/shopping/restaurants. And to the point above, Logan Express is a good option as it's a park and ride bus service that runs very frequently. In Reading, you have the train to take you into the city, but you border Woburn's Logan Express station. Some very nice neighborhoods in town, and a nice (but little) downtown area with some restaurants. It's not out-of-box walkable, but the neighborhoods built off of downtown certainly are. And along with Melrose and Wakefield, Reading is a hot bed for first time buyers in the OPs age group. Braintree would be an equivalent community south of the city, though Braintree is more convenient to the airport for sure.

Can't say I'm familiar with Reading. Of course that is an option as well, but then again that would be getting more suburban than Quincy.

[rethcir]

Originally Posted by Stozi

As far as taking the Logan Express, its definitely an option especially since my company pays for about 80% of the cost for months worth of tickets on the bus.

From reading the rest of the discussion it sounds like Quincy/Braintree and surrounding areas seems to be the best option cost wise and what we are looking for out of a city. We will also continue to look at areas north of Boston as well that people have recommended.

My next question is, when is the best time to find places for rent as far as availability and cost goes? I am aware of Boston's Sept 1st cycle for college students, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing for us or a bad thing.

We are currently hoping for a move in date of Aug 1st or Sept 1st at the latest. That brings me to my next question, would you recommend getting a real estate broker to assist us in finding a place or should we only use a broker if the listing requires it?

If you want to get an apartment for Sept 1, you need to start looking pretty much at the beginning of March. (Many landlords require a 6-month notification for lease termination) The good units will move very very quickly.

You should avoid the Sept 1 cycle if you can, because A) landlords jack the prices up due to supply/demand and B) moving is very tough when the entire damn city is moving the same day as you. Very tough to get a moving van, traffic bad as moving trucks trundle along, etc.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Can't say I'm familiar with Reading. Of course that is an option as well, but then again that would be getting more suburban than Quincy.

It's Braintree 2.0 at this point. Reading is aesthetically a bit more established and quaint as Braintree is going through a good bit of construction.

[mwj119]

To build off of the comparison, Reading is ~17 miles from Logan while Braintree is ~14 miles away. I'm not sure how different the traffic would be, though 93 N coming from south of Boston does have quite the reputation..

The two have an identical population density, but Braintree is bigger at 35k vs. Reading at 25k. As noted in a prior comment, Reading falls west of Lynnfield and east of Burlington. Both, with the Marketplace in Lynnfield, and all of Burlington's offerings, provide essentially every modern amenity someone would be looking for. As someone moving from Schaumburg, it would look and feel a bit more familiar. That doesn't mean much, though, as the OP may be looking for something completely different.

DT Reading:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5235...7i13312!8i6656
Neighborhoods west of 28:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5234...7i13312!8i6656
Lynnfield Marketplace:https://www.google.com/maps/@42.5152...7i13312!8i6656
3rd Ave Burlington:https://www.google.com/maps/@42.4878...7i13312!8i6656

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by mwj119

It's Braintree 2.0 at this point. Reading is aesthetically a bit more established and quaint as Braintree is going through a good bit of construction.

Braintree is more similar to Burlington. Reading I'd say is more like Hingham, without the ocean of course.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by mwj119

It's Braintree 2.0 at this point. Reading is aesthetically a bit more established and quaint as Braintree is going through a good bit of construction.

Braintree is more similar to Burlington. Reading I'd say is more like Hingham, without the ocean of course.

Acutally I take that back. Hingham is more like Lynnfield by the sea. I can't really think of a direct Reading comparison.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

Braintree is more similar to Burlington. Reading I'd say is more like Hingham, without the ocean of course.

Acutally I take that back. Hingham is more like Lynnfield by the sea. I can't really think of a direct Reading comparison.

Haha I see where you're going- I'm not sure what I'd compare it to moving south if not Braintree.

Tying it back to the OP, everything is a bit newer in Chicagloand, so much of the 90 belt the OP is moving from was a product of 60's and 70's boom. A lot of split levels, nicely groomed yards, and a fair amount of commercial activity. Reading likely grew in the same time period, but replace capes with split levels. And it's wide-scale tidiness is newly found- It did not look the same in 2000 as it does today. And though it doesn't have much commercial activity in town, it's border towns are chalk full. Part of the reason Reading is so desirable now.

So, Reading is a bit more upscale than say, Burlington or Wakefield or Chelmsford, but not as upscale as Lynnfield. There are still a few parts of Reading (east of 28) that are a bit "grittier" in feel, though those days are long gone. To me, and the reason I bring it into the discussion, is train access/proximity to all of the luxuries along that area of 95. The downtown has really been restored over the last few years, with places like Biltmore & Main and Bunratty Tavern. These days, buyers that would have bought in Andover 15 years ago, are buying in Reading. And, buyers that would have bought in Reading 15 years ago, are buying in Woburn or Stoneham.

What a difference two decades makes.