Work in Boston, what is best suburb to live in? (Quincy: apartment, rentals)

[kcov2005]

Hello,

I am transferring from Florida to Boston in June. I would appreciate any tips on some suburbs to check out with the following requirements:

1)Under an hour commute to and from Boston(I have a kid to pick up from school---I will be working in the Backbay area )
2)Decent area with decent school district
3)Houses or townhomes to rent for around 1200- 1300 per month
4)Dog friendly area

Am I asking the impossible?
Thanks in advance for your help.

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by kcov2005

Hello,

I am transferring from Florida to Boston in June. I would appreciate any tips on some suburbs to check out with the following requirements:

1)Under an hour commute to and from Boston(I have a kid to pick up from school---I will be working in the Backbay area )
2)Decent area with decent school district
3)Houses or townhomes to rent for around 1200- 1300 per month
4)Dog friendly area

Am I asking the impossible?
Thanks in advance for your help.

you could check out quincy, weymouth, or even kingston Plymouth is nice however may take longer with traffic than one hour. you can get to Boston on the T. Arlington and belmont are also nice.

[LovelyBoston]

Originally Posted by maggiekate

you could check out quincy, weymouth, or even kingston Plymouth is nice however may take longer with traffic than one hour. you can get to Boston on the T. Arlington and belmont are also nice.

Quincy and Weymouth do not have decent schools.

There are plenty of commutable towns, and there are plenty of commutable towns with decent schools -- but getting a rental in any of them for under $1200, when you need to fit two people, will be tough. And to add a dog, too? I am afraid you might need to find a way to expand your budget. The decent towns might require more like $1400, at a minimum, and that would be for an apartment. House rentals I'd expect to go for $2k within an hour of Boston.

Perhaps Norwood? Not great schools, but okay; you might find something for maybe $1400 there. Or Dedham.

How "decent" is enough? And how wedded are you to a townhouse or home? And finally, how much higher can you go in your budget? I can help more if you can let me know these things. :-)

[Beijing66]

Allston-Brighton, which is part of Boston might work for you. You can get a one bedroom apartment for $1200. Dog-friendly, yes. It is literally half an hour train ride from Backbay. But the Green Line, especially the B line, could be excruciatingly slow sometimes. So give it 45 minutes in the morning. Boston Latin is a great public school.

[momoffive]

i think boston latin is a test school...they have to pass a test to get in and i think the tests were already given...

brighton may not be the best as it, and i believe allston, are "college" towns which have a lot of partying and such.... what abou arlington, salem, reading, north reading...

[kcov2005]

Thanks for all of your help! I don't know how to compare the schools from where I am. I am currently in South Florida and Florida schools are not the greatest. So I guess "decent" would be anything better than where we are now!
I know that doesn't help anyone that much.

I guess I am trying to narrow areas down that are known for good or decent schools compared to Mass. standards with a door to door commute under an hour. Once I have some suggestions, I then can compare them when I meet with a realtor before moving in June. I am so excited to move up there I can hardly stand it!

[kcov2005]

momoffive,

do all those towns you listed have an under hour commute to BackBay and do they have good schools?

Thanks for everyones help!

[NY'er lost in MA]

Newton- try Auburndale area. Commuter rail goes to Back Bay and easy access to the Mass Pike..

[LovelyBoston]

Originally Posted by kcov2005

Thanks for all of your help! I don't know how to compare the schools from where I am. I am currently in South Florida and Florida schools are not the greatest. So I guess "decent" would be anything better than where we are now!
I know that doesn't help anyone that much.

I guess I am trying to narrow areas down that are known for good or decent schools compared to Mass. standards with a door to door commute under an hour. Once I have some suggestions, I then can compare them when I meet with a realtor before moving in June. I am so excited to move up there I can hardly stand it!

By Mass standards, here are some towns with decent schools with an under-an-hour commute (but as I mentioned above, the rental prices will likely be higher -- but these are ones maybe to check out to see what you can find):

Canton; Westwood; Needham; Newton; Belmont; Arlington; Swampscott; Beverly...

There are others, of course, but these are ones I'm pretty sure would be under an hour to the Back BaY, and they're good family towns (without being the most expensive towns in the state). Canton and Needham would be the shortest commutes, because their trains go right into Back Bay station.

The suggestion about Boston Latin above would be great, except that's an exam school and extremely hard to get into (and at this late date, it's too late anyway).

[BruinsGirl]

Franklin, Ashland, Natik (there are many rentals there), Canton