moving to Boston suburbs from Chicago suburb of Oak Park (Cambridge: houses, neighborhoods)

[mmay6]

HELP!! We are relocating and looking for a suburb in Boston that is comparable to Oak Park Illinois. This is a smaller suburb just west of Chicago (3mi by 3mi, population around 40K), so it still has a very urban feel and we use the city a lot. Oak park is a suburb the city people commonly move out to once their kids approach school age (great schools, still close to city). There is a lot of Frank Loyd Wright architecture and prairie style houses, older houses with a lot of charm and character (450K-650K for decent single family). Big side walks set back from the streets and the kids are always out front running around and riding bikes. There is a great little downtown with unique, eclectic non-chain restaurants and shops. There are 2 fantastic public pools and an ice rink that the residence use regularly. You really get to know your neighbors and other parents from school. It really is a community. Any recommendations?? I'll be working in Lexington, shorter (<30 min) commute is of course best. THANK YOU!!

[ogre]

Sounds as if you're looking for something right in the zone where urban shifts over to suburban, with a mix of both, or possibly suburban, but more densely populated suburban. It might be difficult to find a house in the price range you're talking about in Boston's equivalent of the upscale kind of place you're describing, though there are probably some options at the upper end of that range.

The first town that comes to mind is Arlington. It's been pointed out on this forum that Arlington has little nightlife orther than a few restaurants. Otherwise, it's a good urban/suburban crossover town, very close to Lexington. I don't know a lot about their schools, so we'll need more info on that if schools are an issue.

Other places you might check out, depending on your housing budget:

Newton: Close to Lexington. More suburban, but densely populated suburban. Rather than one large downtown, Newton's neighborhoods center around a number of small business districts with local shopping and dining kinds of places. Family-oriented, like Arlington its nightlife centers around restaurants, but Newton is also close to Boston.

Belmont: Upscale densely populated suburban town just southeast of Lexington.

Brookline: Next town in toward Boston from Newton. Not as close to Lexington, but still should be within your preferred commuting time. The north side of Brookline borders an outlying section of Boston, and really feels like part of the city. The rest of the town has the same kind of older densely populated suburban feel as Newton.

Winchester: A little farther from Lexington, but still possibly within your maximum preferred commuting time. More suburban than the others I've mentioned, but older suburban. I'm not very familiar with Winchester, but I've heard that it has that neighborly feel you're looking for.

One more possibility, if something more urban would work for you, would be Cambridge. Population is about 100k. Very urban toward the southern end of Cambridge, just across the river from Boston and really feels very much like part of Boston. Toward the north and northwest there are dense single-family-house neighborhoods. Also close to Lexington. I'm not sure how those residential neighborhoods do on the neighborliness factor, and it might be that Cambridge overall is more urban than you're looking for, but it might be worth a looksee.

[goyguy]

Lexington itself immediately comes to mind, as do neighboring Winchester and Arlington. So does Melrose, just a bit farther afield.
Each of those four communities maintain a small-town feel despite being in close proximity to the core cities bordering Boston to the north and northwest. None of Mr Wright's works were built in our vicinity, but an eclectic mix of housing styles can be found in these towns - everything from rambling Victorian to Arts-and-Crafts bungalow to 1950's ranch to 1970's Colonial. The Highlands section of Melrose is renowned for its collection of Victorians, as is Arlington's Jason/Gray/Pleasant St's district. If "dramatic" post-WWII "contemporary" dwellings catch your fancy, a few can be found sprinkled around Winchester.
While the four towns all contain central business districts where fast-food joints are banned and independent retailers hold their own against Starbucks, CVS, et al, Arlington gets my nod for being the most eclectic. There are no less than five sushi restaurants in Arlington Center, Krazy Karry's Backyard Grill draws families by the score for their grilled-to-order burgers (veggie too) and free cotton candy, the only Argentinian eatery that I know of is there, my favorite Indian place in the entire region expanded not long ago...I could go on and on in the category of dining spots alone. Add to that a live-performance theater which books lots of kid-oriented shows along with showbiz impersonators and the occasional past-prime big name (Edgar Winter, Paula Poundstone), and a meticulously restored Art Deco moviehouse screening second-run - now also the occasional first-run - film and you have some good clean suburban-style fun. Although Melrose can't hold a candle to Arlington in terms of dining-out choices, it boasts the oldest continuously operating community symphony orchestra in the nation. The "MSO" stages several performances each year, welcomes new musicians, and puts on a Christmas Pops production which sells out well in advance.
Though the public-school systems of Lexington and Winchester are creme-de-la-creme, those of Melrose and Arlington are also well regarded. For educational alternatives, there are two "Christian academies" in Lexington and parochial schools in Arlington for all grades. Staying on the religious tangent for a moment...Winchester and Lexington are the WASPier of the four towns by a fair measure, which is saying something in heavily Catholic Massachusetts. Although Greater Boston's Jewish strongholds are elsewhere, there's a tangible presence in Arlington and Lexington, as is true for Unitarians. Large UU churches are well established in those two towns as well as in Winchester. And Arlington's Greek Orthodox congregration expanded their quarters just a few years back.
Left unmentioned by the TO but known by me is Oak Park's tradition of maintaining racial diversity. With scant exception, the suburbs of Boston are far behind with that. Besides a booming East and South Asian community in Lexington all four of the towns "showcased" in this post are essentially lily-White. For four decades or so, a voluntary school-busing program known for short as Metco has attempted to address this issue by entering into agreements with towns to set aside places in the schools for "minority" (mostly Black) children. These kids endure bus rides that can take over an hour one way from the city, and are paired with host families so as to be better able to take part in after-school and weekend activities. The jury may be out on how well Metco has succeeded, but nearly all of the communities which originally took part in it still do. Goyguy thinks that if a suburb remains segregated, there are "Black tables" in the cafeterias, and some of the people in Metco now are the offspring of past participants, it's not achieving its purposes.
Welcome to the true windy city!

[ogre]

Forgot about Melrose. Another good suggestion.

Something to keep in mind about Lexington: The town has a more substantial downtown than many suburban towns in the area, has some restaurants, etc., but Lexington is very suburban in character. Don't know whether you're really looking for an urban setting, or suburban would be okay as long as the town had the local shopping and the sense of neighborhood community you seek, but be aware that Lexington is very suburban.

[jad79]

I agree the all the towns mentioned above are good options. While certainly more suburban than Winchester, Arlington, Melrose, etc. I would also recommend checking out Concord, especially near the commuter rail stops. Concord is a vibrant community with great schools and your commute should be a lot easier than it would be from places like Brookline or Melrose.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by ogre

Winchester: A little farther from Lexington, but still possibly within your maximum preferred commuting time. More suburban than the others I've mentioned, but older suburban. I'm not very familiar with Winchester, but I've heard that it has that neighborly feel you're looking for.

Winchester actually borders Lexington. The commute would be quickest from there through the back roads. It is a very nice town, but not as urban or as diverse as Oak Park.

[mmay6]

Thank so much for all of the good information. It is funny that all of you mention Arlington. When I was there last we drove around a bit and happened upon Arlington's main street and my husband and I said to each other that it had the feel we were looking for. I didn't want to bias the responses by only asking about Arlington, but it seems you all agree Arlington might have what we are looking for. I do, however, want to look in several neighborhood and will be checking out all of your suggestions! Thanks again and we are excited to start our new lives in Boston!

[US-Traveller]

There aren't really any Boston suburbs that will totally look like Oak Park or Evanston. The closest comparison would be Cambridge, but Cambridge has a lot of the bad stuff Oak Park and Evanston don't. I would stick to Newton or Belmont.