Buying in Boston with 800K (Cambridge, Arlington: house, neighborhood, property tax)

[yellowstatus]

You have a good synthesis of feedback. Beacon Hill is very nice, I can't think of another neighborhood as guaranteed to maintain value; however, it's very historic. Cambridge Crossing / Seaport will be gleaming skycrapers while beacon hill is the complete opposite.

I honestly don't understand all the recommendations south of boston. OP will need to commute through boston downtown to get to those areas, and the red line isn't even that close to Cambridge Crossing. If his job was at Kendall Square, it's a different story.

I have my personal bias towards Cambridge / Somerville, but I really do think that this direction (west / northwest of Cambridge Crossing) is most appropriate for OP.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

It was basically an art district.

Yeah, it was great.

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Off topic:

And then, we have the North End "Waterfront" along Atlantic Avenue and Commercial Street.

Not sure when that area was revived....but did it ever fall into some disarray, maybe by the 70s? Certainly not the desirability of recent years where some pro athletes have resided.

Any posters here remember that stretch back then?
...

Heh. In 1975, I worked on a construction project on Commercial Wharf, turning an abandoned warehouse into condos. I thought, "Who would want to pay for an apartment on the waterfront?"

Hence, a lifetime of wage slavery for me.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by yellowstatus

You have a good synthesis of feedback. Beacon Hill is very nice, I can't think of another neighborhood as guaranteed to maintain value; however, it's very historic. Cambridge Crossing / Seaport will be gleaming skycrapers while beacon hill is the complete opposite.

I honestly don't understand all the recommendations south of boston. OP will need to commute through boston downtown to get to those areas, and the red line isn't even that close to Cambridge Crossing. If his job was at Kendall Square, it's a different story.

I have my personal bias towards Cambridge / Somerville, but I really do think that this direction (west / northwest of Cambridge Crossing) is most appropriate for OP.

I think people were mentioning places south of Boston because they are cheaper than Beacon Hill, Cambridge, Charlestown. I'm sure there are places you could find there for 800k though.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Heh. In 1975, I worked on a construction project on Commercial Wharf, turning an abandoned warehouse into condos. I thought, "Who would want to pay for an apartment on the waterfront?"

Hence, a lifetime of wage slavery for me.

But in 1975 the opportunity cost might have been too much. I remember someone in real estate telling me no way houses in Jamaica Plain would reach $100,000. Things were different in the 70s; there wasn’t the experience of 40-50 years of real estate inflation outstripping every other aspect of cost of living. How would you have known how good the investment could have been. Ppl who’ve done well have mainly been lucky, not prescient.

[stanley-88888888]

this just went up for sale:
https://www.universalhub.com/2021/bo...est-house-sale

[robr2]

I never thought I would be proposing this: how about a condo on Revere Beach? I was there on Saturday for the first time in years. There's lots of luxury rental going in but there are a couple of older condo high-rises. You can get into the St. George for as low as $450K.

The Blue Line is a short walk and you can transfer to the Green Line to Cambridge Crossing. It's less than an hour or you can drive the 40 minutes.

[Urfavoriteguitarist]

The house across the street from my family’s just sold for $550k, it’s pretty similar to ours 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, just under 1000 sq ft, built in the 30s, in West Roxbury, which is the only middle class family neighborhood left in Boston. To Cambridge it’s like a 25-30 minute drive, or take the 36 bus to the Orange Line, take that to Downtown Crossing and change to the Red Line, on a good day when the bus driver isn’t driving like a blind 90 year old lady and there aren’t passengers getting on and off at every stop, and you catch your trains right on time it could be 45 minutes or so, on the average day about an hour.

For an investment you could also buy a triple decker, my grandmother was widowed very young with 6 children and had to find a way to feed and clothe them without being away all day, she bought a triple decker in Jamaica Plain in the mid 70s when it was a declining neighborhood for almost nothing, rented out the lower floors and was able to support her family well, especially in the 80s when it became one of the first neighborhoods in America to become gentrified and when she sold it 2007 for almost 200 times what she paid for it, in addition to the rent money she had saved, she had made enough that she was able to buy my parents a house when they got married and paid for college for the 4 grandkids of hers that went to college.

[lokaydokay]

Take a look at "over the bridge" Savin Hill in Dorchester. Beautiful neighborhood, unique setting and architecture, very safe, short walk to the Red Line, more "bang for your buck" than Cambridge. And prices almost sure to continue to appreciate as Dorchester continues to gentrify.

A place like this, 5 min walk to the T, would suit your parameters with money to spare.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...59101841_zpid/

[WestieWhitie]

Over half million for an attic with seven foot ceilings and enclosed porch with electric baseboard counted as living space - not a great deal if you ask me. Savin Hill OTB is a very nice neighborhood but prices are already approaching Cambridge levels, if you’re a new buyer might as well spend a little more and live in Cambridge.

Originally Posted by lokaydokay

Take a look at "over the bridge" Savin Hill in Dorchester. Beautiful neighborhood, unique setting and architecture, very safe, short walk to the Red Line, more "bang for your buck" than Cambridge. And prices almost sure to continue to appreciate as Dorchester continues to gentrify.

A place like this, 5 min walk to the T, would suit your parameters with money to spare.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...59101841_zpid/