Job in Lexington - where to live?

[wxjay]

^I am not impressed with Bedford's "downtown" (which is on Great Rd.). Lexington's downtown area is decent but I have only visited a couple of times. I don't remember any bars though (some restaurants, a DD, a coffee shop, and some small shops).

I agree with Reading's commute - it's a little rough to be honest as you are always going with the rush hour traffic to/from Lexington. But I do think Reading's downtown is nicer than Lexington's, in terms of appearance.

What about Needham? It's about 15-18 miles from Lexington (depending on where in Lexington the job is) and it has good schools and a nice downtown area. You would have easy access to 95/128 (for commuting) and you would go "against" traffic (moreso in the morning - the evening can get a little tough near the Pike but nothing horrendous IMO), a commuter rail station for getting into Boston, and also be ~10 minutes from the end of the Green Line (which you could use to go into Brookline or to Fenway for a game or even further into the city if desired). It is also near the MA Pike for fast access to downtown Boston and Logan Int'l.

[Chloe74]

You might want to consider Winchester, Arlington and Concord for the "downton" area. Concord and Arlington border Lexington and would make for easy commutes to work and easy access to the city. Also, you may want to consider Lexington itself. Housing prices tend to be high in all of these areas but it just depends on the square footage - you can certainly find 3 bedroom homes in your price range in those areas. I'm sure Winchester and Concord have excellent schools and they are both very family oriented. Concord has a more rural feel to it with an active downtown/town center and easy access to hiking trails. Winchester is a bit more suburban with beautiful victorian and colonial style homes, some mid-centtury homes as well with a quaint downtown and lots of parks. Arlington is a bit more urban/suburban, a bit denser but you border lexington, cambridge and belmont here and it is probably the closest to the city. I'm not sure how the schools are. Lexington is a lovely suburban community with a main street and access to walking trails and parks as well.

[MA2NC2012]

Originally Posted by Thomas144

It would help to know exactly where you'll be working (at least the street name). I work in Lexington and live in Winchester. Not clear to me why you aren't looking for a house in Lexington...

I am not sure but when i look at lexington houses in range of 400-500k, i hardly find anything worth living. No wonder OP is not looking at lexington as an option

[wxjay]

^And the OP is going to have a hard time finding anything in Concord or Winchester in their price range either. Very pricy neighborhoods.

[MA2NC2012]

Originally Posted by wxjay

^And the OP is going to have a hard time finding anything in Concord or Winchester in their price range either. Very pricy neighborhoods.

I agree with that too. Nothing decent in Winchester below 600k. I don't even consider Concord as an option for anyone below 250k salary (myself included).
The RE prices are the main reason i am planning to get out of MA.
I DO NOT want to have a 4-5x mortgage to my salary. Its too much of leverage to carry.

But each to his own....