Relocating from Miami to Boston -- need housing advice (Quincy: real estate, apartments)

[valgrom]

I know there are many threads on this topic, but housing preferences are so personal that I haven't found the exact answer I'm looking for.

I'm moving with my family (Spouse, 11yo daughter, 4mo son) to Boston. My job is in the financial district, but I need a 4-bedroom house and I would like it to be a suburban area. I'd like to rent at first and see which area is the best for me.

I am looking for fairly new construction and I know that will be hard in Boston, but It's not a do or die requirement, just a preference. If it's a gated community even better and since I have kids schools are the biggest priority.

I know that living that far out from the city center I will sacrifice the convenience of the T, but I think I will have to wind up driving anyway, so I might as well live where I'm comfortable.

I'm willing to go as high as 3,500/month for the right house.

I've heard that North and South Shore are the places where more traditional suburban settings exist, but I can't search using North-Shore on realtor.com so I wanted to get some specific neighborhood names (i.e. newton, braintree, etc.)

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike

[Lefleur]

To be honest, I don't know of any new construction, gated community (of homes) in the metro Boston area.

I am sure some new construction exists outside the city center that might possibly be rentable but I have yet to encounter a gated community in this state (gates around individual large estates in suburbs not counting).

MA real estate is VERY different than FL real estate.

That said, here are some towns so you can do some online searches and get a sense of how much things cost, etc. I'm not endorsing any particular town for you (what are you looking for in a community?), nor are these lists remotely inclusive of all towns, but hope this is helpful.

North Shore: Swampscott, Salem, Ipswich, Beverly, Marblehead, Essex, Gloucester, Peabody, Danvers

South Shore: Braintree, Weymouth, Marshfield, Quincy, Scituate, Cohasset, Hingham

[holden125]

Originally Posted by valgrom

I know that living that far out from the city center I will sacrifice the convenience of the T, but I think I will have to wind up driving anyway, so I might as well live where I'm comfortable.

Not so fast. The suburbs of Brookline, Newton, Quincy, Braintree, Milton, Arlington, Malden, Medford, Winthrop and Revere are all on subway lines. Others, like Belmont or Watertown, are a short bus ride to the subway.

Many more suburban locales offer commuter rail service to South Station, which is right next to the financial district. Depending on where you end up living, sitting in traffic for hours and paying $300 a month for a downtown Boston parking space may change your mind about driving. Many a professional rides the train to work here.

MBTA.com > Commuter Rail Maps and Schedules

Originally Posted by valgrom

I am looking for fairly new construction and I know that will be hard in Boston, but It's not a do or die requirement, just a preference. If it's a gated community even better and since I have kids schools are the biggest priority.

As lefleur has indicated, new construction is not that common close to Boston, and even less common for a rental. There is some new construction farther out. I've never encountered a gated community in the suburbs either. They might exist but I don't know any, and I know the area pretty well. The suburbs here, especially the expensive ones, tend to be very, very safe.

Originally Posted by valgrom

I've heard that North and South Shore are the places where more traditional suburban settings exist, but I can't search using North-Shore on realtor.com so I wanted to get some specific neighborhood names (i.e. newton, braintree, etc.)

In addition to the North Shore and South Shore, the MetroWest area has many suburban towns. Each of those areas has very high-end towns, some poorer towns and some in between. The towns around Boston really run the gamut. You might want to stick with towns that have a train to South Station for commuting purposes.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by valgrom

I can't search using North-Shore on realtor.com so I wanted to get some specific neighborhood names (i.e. newton, braintree, etc.)

Lefleur has listed towns along the actual shores (i.e. the coast). The terms "North Shore" and "South Shore" are often used more broadly, to encompass all suburbs north or south of Boston. As I indicated before, the Metro-West area also has suburbs, including some of the most expensive ones around.

Here is a not-even-close-to-exhaustive list of towns with well-regarded schools and a train going to South Station:

Newton
Wellesley
Needham
Norwood
Westwood
Canton
Sharon
Hingham
Cohasset

These towns are very different from each other. It would help, as Lefleur noted, to know what you want in a community. Diverse? Woodsy or more like a town? As upscale as you can get, or more down to earth? Etc.

[valgrom]

Wow, awesome feedback...thanks guys...I will start to look at housing in the communities you guys have suggested..

A couple of things before I continue:

First, sorry for my "Miami mentality". I've lived in Miami for most of my life and being that it was just recently listed as one of the top 5 most dangerous cities to live in my cautious nature is not unfounded...Gated communities are pretty common here (in Florida in general) and it really gives you a sense of security if you live in a "real" gated community...

The type of neighborhood I'm looking for is one that is diverse, fairly moderate to liberal, but if I have one pet-peeve it's that I actually like the cookie-cutter neighborhoods...not that every single house has to be the same. I like variety, but what I don't like is that every single house is different...

Other than that...I like a neighborhood with streets that don't have an extreme amount of traffic (kids safety). I'm used to "zero-lot" homes so homes that are fairly close to each other is not a negative for me.

I'm going to check the ones you guys gave me, but if you know which of these most closely match my criteria I'd appreciate a follow up.

Thanks all,
Mike

[holden125]

Originally Posted by valgrom

First, sorry for my "Miami mentality". I've lived in Miami for most of my life and being that it was just recently listed as one of the top 5 most dangerous cities to live in my cautious nature is not unfounded...Gated communities are pretty common here (in Florida in general) and it really gives you a sense of security if you live in a "real" gated community...

No problem at all. Things are just totally different here. Miami and Boston are about as different as it gets in the USA.

Originally Posted by valgrom

The type of neighborhood I'm looking for is one that is diverse, fairly moderate to liberal, but if I have one pet-peeve it's that I actually like the cookie-cutter neighborhoods...not that every single house has to be the same. I like variety, but what I don't like is that every single house is different...

Other than that...I like a neighborhood with streets that don't have an extreme amount of traffic (kids safety). I'm used to "zero-lot" homes so homes that are fairly close to each other is not a negative for me.

The good news is that just about every town in suburban Boston is "fairly moderate to liberal." On the other hand, "diverse" and "Boston suburbs" don't always go together so easily. Massachusetts's population is more white than that of many other states and residential patterns continue to be somewhat segregated. Northern New England states like VT, NH, ME are even less diverse, overwhelmingly white.

I understand liking some kind of consistency of look as opposed to a total hodge-podge. There are some "hodge-podge" places around here, but many neighborhoods in the suburbs, while established and not necessarily so "cookie-cutter" in appareance, have an overall consistency to the architecture that is attractive.

Some of the neighborhoods in Newton, Needham, Milton, Arlington, Belmont or Lexington might fit the bill. Those are close enough to Boston to make the commute tolerable. These towns are definitely suburban with strong schools, but except for Lexington and the southern part of Milton, the homes are a bit closer together than in some of the woodsier towns farther out. Off the main through roads, the streets are not overwhelmingly heavily trafficked. There are many quiet side streets.

[susanewood]

I just did a search of single family 4bedroom rentals - the prices range from $2,000 to $9,000/month (Milford for $2k, Newton for $9k) newton did, however, also have one for $2,500. Sudbury had one for $3,600/month.

[susanewood]

I should have added - There were 66 rental listings for 4 bedrooms (some apartments, some condo's some houses). This was only in my area, not the north shore or south shore.

[valgrom]

I'm having trouble finding listings in some of these areas within my price range.

I'm using Realtor.com. What sites are you guys looking in?

[xS☺B☺s]

try boston.com