Moving to Boston with a young family (Cambridge, Quincy: home, neighborhoods)

[MW2008]

We are moving from San Francisco to Boston. My wife and I have 2 young children (1 & 3 yrs old). One of us will be commuting to Burlington each day. We are used to living within easy reach of the city (currently in the Presidio in SF) and want to get the balance between outdoor space and city access right - bearing in mind a commute up the 93.

Which areas would folks recommend to live in?

[NH2008]

Hi,

We're also moving from the Bay Area with young kids and also want a large yard. We're considering Sherborn and Dover for the big yards and Needham and Winchester for the town centers. We want to be close to family in NH so Andover is also a possibility. I'd love to hear what people think.

The good news is that compared to SF there are so many neighborhoods with great public schools!

[NH2008]

Hi,

We're also moving from the Bay Area with young kids and also want a large yard. We're considering Sherborn and Dover for the big yards and Needham and Winchester for the town centers. We want to be close to family in NH so Andover is also a possibility. I'd love to hear what people think.

The good news is that compared to SF there are so many neighborhoods with great public schools!

Sorry, this may have posted twice - my kids are kicking me!

[sejinro]

Hi MW2008,

Hmm, I am in a very similar situation, I have two kids 3 & 5 and have been presented an offer from a company in Burlington. We currently live in Los Angeles. I have so many concerns with the move:

New area, we do not know anyone
New job
Not a diverse as Los Angeles as we are Asians
and so on...

Nice to know that there are others in somewhat similar situations. From my research so far, Newton, Lexington, Arlington and Belmont are good areas near Burlington with good schools.

[jayrandom]

The answer depends a lot on the budget you have. All of those towns are great, but all very expensive. If you're coming from LA or SF, it may not be so bad. I would say Winchester might be a good option, it's very close to Burlington, has easy commuter rail access to the city, has great schools, and has some pretty nice outdoor areas nearby. Lexington is another very nice town near Burlington, but doesn't quite have the public transportation access to Boston that Winchester does.

If those towns are out of your price range, there are a lot of other great options.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by NH2008

Hi,

We're also moving from the Bay Area with young kids and also want a large yard. We're considering Sherborn and Dover for the big yards and Needham and Winchester for the town centers. We want to be close to family in NH so Andover is also a possibility. I'd love to hear what people think.

The good news is that compared to SF there are so many neighborhoods with great public schools!

Sorry, this may have posted twice - my kids are kicking me!

All those are great towns. You could consider Wellesley, too, which has a nice town center.

[maggiekate]

arlington, bedford, woburn

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by sejinro

Hi MW2008,

Hmm, I am in a very similar situation, I have two kids 3 & 5 and have been presented an offer from a company in Burlington. We currently live in Los Angeles. I have so many concerns with the move:

New area, we do not know anyone
New job
Not a diverse as Los Angeles as we are Asians
and so on...

Nice to know that there are others in somewhat similar situations. From my research so far, Newton, Lexington, Arlington and Belmont are good areas near Burlington with good schools.

There's plenty of Asian folks in Boston Sej. Burlington is a northern suburb. I know there is a large Asian population is Boston (Chinatown), and Quincy (South Shore). I think Malden too (North Shore). Cambridge is diverse. Commute from all these places is not close, Cambridge is best.

I'm pretty comfortable in saying Bostonians - urban and suburban - like Asian people. You'll be fine. Don't worry about not knowing anyone - no one here knows anyone either. It's just like LA, nobody is from here.

Here, enjoy my Lunar New Year Pix:

Lunar New Year 07

http://www.colek.net/lny.wmv

[MagicTouch]

Originally Posted by sejinro

Hi MW2008,

Hmm, I am in a very similar situation, I have two kids 3 & 5 and have been presented an offer from a company in Burlington. We currently live in Los Angeles. I have so many concerns with the move:

New area, we do not know anyone
New job
Not a diverse as Los Angeles as we are Asians
and so on...

Nice to know that there are others in somewhat similar situations. From my research so far, Newton, Lexington, Arlington and Belmont are good areas near Burlington with good schools.

I moved here from the LA area in Oct. '07' not knowing a soul. I had a job offer in Lexington and I decided to go for it (born & raised in CA). I now live in Bedford (Burlington border) and I can honestly say I love it here. It is very diverse and not as crowded. I've adapted to the weather and the traffic (to me) is so much better than LA's. Bedford, Lexington, Concord are expensive, but when your coming from CA I found it to actually be cheaper here. I guess you just have to put everything in perspective, like in CA you can go to your backyard to pick oranges and lemons and here they cost you. Gasoline here is about 30-60 cents a gallon cheaper. Home heating and electricity, seem to be more expensive to me here than in CA. The public schools here are soooo much better than in CA. There are so many things to do here and the area (state) is so rich in history.

As long as your willing to make some changes and embrace those changes you will do very well here.

Best wishes to you and your family....