Moving to Boston and need help... (Cambridge, Newton: 2009, apartments, rent)

[Indylog]

Hi,
I just accepted a job in Brighton MA and will be starting 1/4. My wife and I are both in our 30's with no children yet and are relocating from AZ. We are looking to buy a house in the range of 0.8 to 1.4 mil. and looking for a quiet suburb with commute time of about 45 minutes or less. Some friends have suggested the West towns; sudbury, wayland, weston, etc. looking online at some houses, it seems that weston would be the ideal location but houses are old and expensive and we can get more "bang for the buck" in sudbury. I would appreciate any input as we don't know much about Boston yet.
thx in advance.

[Urban Peasant]

Sudbury is pretty far out with no public transportation. No doubt their schools are excellent and the houses are beautiful but it's just way too far for my personal taste. That same goes for Weston and Wayland.

I suggest Newton, Brookline, Watertown, Belmont, Needham, Arlington, and Lexington. These are all western suburbs of Boston, all are very safe, and all have beautiful well kept houses. They are all closer to Brighton as well, especially Brookline, Newton, and Watertown.

Be prepared to walk and drive in snow and sleet and bundle up for exceptionally cold northern winds. These are things you don't experience in Arizona. Welcome to Boston!

[Indylog]

Thank you so much for the feedback, we will start looking at the towns you suggested, especially newton and brookline. We are looking forward to relocating to Boston.

[bostonguy1960]

Don't forget Winchester, 8-10 miles north of Boston, with two commuter rail stops. Very nice suburb. Most of Milton is very nice, about 8 miles south of downtown. The Governor lives there, and Money Mag. named it 7th (or 5th?) best place to live in America in 2009.

I like Belmont, a 10-15 minute bus ride to Harvard Sq. Belmont Hill is the best area, I think, with a prep school? Some parts of town, like Watertown, Cambridge and even Newton, look working class (I rented in such a pocket) but are pleasant and safe. Also has a commuter rail stop. Lincoln. MA is very nice, a few miles from Belmont, but may be too far for Brighton.

[Indylog]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Don't forget Winchester, 8-10 miles north of Boston, with two commuter rail stops. Very nice suburb. Most of Milton is very nice, about 8 miles south of downtown. The Governor lives there, and Money Mag. named it 7th (or 5th?) best place to live in America in 2009.

I like Belmont, a 10-15 minute bus ride to Harvard Sq. Belmont Hill is the best area, I think, with a prep school? Some parts of town, like Watertown, Cambridge and even Newton, look working class (I rented in such a pocket) but are pleasant and safe. Also has a commuter rail stop. Lincoln. MA is very nice, a few miles from Belmont, but may be too far for Brighton.

Thanks for the info, I am coming there this week and will check out Milton, belmont and Winchester as well.

[maggiekate]

I would say rent in Newton and see if it works. Also see if you like Boston, then do the buy etc.
West Roxbury, Frankly I would rent for at least one year. Winter is cold and snow and somedays you will not want to drive too far!

[holden125]

Milton to Brighton is a quite difficult commute.

I noted that you initially mentioned places like Weston and Sudbury. Personally I prefer Newton to something like Weston, but these are two totally different types of towns. If you want something along the lines of Weston, which is very sparsely populated with winding country lanes and where you can live on a few acres, Newton or Brookline may not be for you. While people in Newton and Brookline generally are not packed in like sardines (much of Brookline, especially north of Beacon St, actually is pretty urban), it's not woodsy and rural like Weston or Sudbury. Only the southernmost parts of the two towns offer huge sprawling properties, and those are extremely expensive for the most part.

Re: Sudbury, it's a very lovely town but it is a tougher commute. It's more affordable precisely because it's less accessible. It's up to you what tradeoff you want.

Houses in Massachusetts generally are old, especially closer to Boston. They're often more charming and better built than the newer stuff. Many have been updated to have all the newer conveniences and energy efficiency of a newer home, but it's something to inquire about.

It depends what kind of home you're expecting to get for your budget, but by most people's standards around here you can have a great home in Newton in your price range and be 15 minutes from Brighton. Personally, I've spent most of the last 10 years in smallish apartments in places that are considerably more expensive than Boston, so I'd be delighted with what $1 million would buy in Newton. If you want something more like 9 bedrooms and 6 baths for the same money, you'd probably have to move farther from Boston.

[MassVt]

..Arlington, as well. A very reasonable commute to Brighton, and a bit more affordable than say, Weston. I will second the recommendation to look at Belmont, a very nice close-in suburb with great schools.

[Indylog]

Thank you greatly for all the feedback, I will be in Boston and will meet with a realtor, she is suggesting Wayland based on my preferences and will show me a few properties there as well as one or two in newton. Property tax seems to be higher in Wayland though. I will keep you posted and again thank you for all the helpful replies.

[ogre]

You've gotten some good info here. If you take note of the difference Holden described between the low-density suburbs and the affluent older suburbs closer in, Wayland would be more of the low-density kind of suburb. Wayland came to mind of the three towns you mentioned originally. If you prefer the low-density kind of town, your money will genrally buy more house in Wayland than maybe in either of the other two, but certainly more than it would in Weston, and Wayland is still a very nice, affluent town.

If you do prefer the somewhat lower population density, then you might also look at Westwood and Needham (Westwood a bit on the side of lower density, Needham more mid-density/traditionally suburban). These are farther from Brighton than some of the towns discussed, but it's still probably a do-able commute. These also are two more really nice towns with less of a price tag than Weston, etc.