Family with young children moving to Boston - where to live? (Worcester: how much, house)

[MidwestMomof2]

Hi,
We have two young children (under 7) and are contemplating a move to the Boston area. My husband will work in town, but I would prefer to live in the suburbs. We are looking for a nice community with good schools (preferably a Catholic grade school). We currently live in a town located in the Midwest and are stumped with where to begin our search. Any suggestions are appreciated!

[jayrandom]

You have a lot of options. I think the place to start is "what is your budget", "how big a house do you want", and "how much of a commute will your husband put up with". Chances are you won't find a place that fits all three exactly, so you'll have to make some compromises.

[scarletfire]

Much will depend on your budget (prices in towns with strong school systems tend to be higher closer to the city) and tolerance for commute time. Please feel free to share a bit of detail and I'm sure you'll get lots of helpful feedback.

[MidwestMomof2]

Jayrandom and scarletfire, thanks for the advice - I am a newby, as you can clearly tell!
Our budget is between $600k and $650k. I would prefer 4 bedrooms to allow for visits from family, but could live with 3 bedrooms if necessary. We currently live in a 3,000 Sq Ft home on 1/2 acre lot. I would love to have similar setup, but understand that may not be possible in our budget. Also, my husband would like to stay within a 1/2 hour to 45 minute commute on the train.
Thanks, again, for your advice!

[jayrandom]

It sounds like you've got a good budget and reasonable expectations so you'll most likely be able to find a number of towns to choose from. Where exactly will he be working? If he's taking the train that will determine if you'll want to live north or south of the city.

[MidwestMomof2]

He will be working near Prudential Center with easy access to Back Bay station.

[scarletfire]

If your husband is planning to take the train then he could take the Framingham/Worcester train, which is the one that goes directly into Back Bay. You could certainly get a comparable home in your price range in Hopkinton or Southboro, which are both lovely towns with good schools, lots of community and recreational activities for families, nice parks, etc. The commute though would be about 55 minutes to Back Bay on the express train. If you go mbta.com you can find more info on commuting by train in the area.

[scarletfire]

Also, I forgot to mention that Southboro also has two renowned private schools, Fay School (grades 1-9) and St Mark's (high school). My sister-in-law was a teacher there and they have students who come from all over the world. The schools are quite pricey though.

[jayrandom]

In addition to the Framingham/Worcester line, three other commuter rail lines stop at Back Bay: Needham, Franklin, and Providence/Stoughton. In the Boston area, there is usually a trade off between distance from downtown, quality of schools, and price. However you choose to compromise, you'll be able to find something along one of those four commuter rails lines.

Some towns to consider on commuter rail lines in addition to the ones mentioned above: Newton, Needham, Dedham, Westwood, Norwood, Walpole, Norfolk, Canton, Sharon, and Mansfield. There are other towns along those lines, as well, but that should be a good list of towns to start thinking about. If you know more about what you're looking for and what you'd most be willing to give up (commute time, house size, etc.) that list can be narrowed or expanded.

Good luck!

[CaseyB]

Here's a link to the parochial schools in Greater Boston so you can see locations:

Archdiocese of Boston Parishes, Schools and People