Jobs in Maynard, Cambridge. Where to live? (Boston, Arlington: how much, affordable houses)

[BugGirl]

My husband and I are considering jobs in Cambridge and Maynard, respectively. We currently live in CA. I'm familiar with the Boston area in general, but not so much north of the city (and I didn't own a car when I lived there). We'd like to find a town to live in that minimizes the commute for both of us (easy public transportation into cambridge would be a plus). Besides the commute we're looking for: houses with some land (we have a dog), decent schools (we hope to have kids), and a town with character (as opposed to just suburbia). A place with affordable houses (under $500K?) would also be good. (Coming from the Bay Area, I think we're going to be pleasantly surprised about some of the housing prices).

Any suggestions? I'm going to be in the area next weekend and was hoping to drive around a bit and get my bearings. (But it's hard to get an idea of true commute times on weekend days)

Thanks!

[ogre]

When you say you want "a town with character" do you mean more of an urban feel or a friendly small town that has not been completely suburbanized? Something a little difficult here is that many towns midway between Cambridge and Maynard are very suburban, at least in my view, though I don't know what kind of "character" you are looking for.

To get you started, two towns near Cambridge I'd suggest are Arlington and Belmont. Both have more activity and population density than the exurbs near Maynard, but are still not heart-of-the-city urban, so you can find houses with yards. Whether the yards will be large enough depends on how much land you would like to have for the pooch. Belmont's median housing cost is higher than you're talking about, but a careful search could turn up something nice that's in the half of properties below the median. Arlington is right next door to Belmont, which puts addresses in both towns close to Belmont's commuter rail stop, on the same line that serves towns near Maynard.

A little closer to midway between Cambridge and Maynard is Lexington. Very left-wing town, which you're probably used to since you've been living in the Bay area. This is worth noting, since the politcs in Lexington are skewed far enough from the center that, depending on your own views, you're likely to feel right at home or to be quite uncomfortable with the prevailing attitudes, rather than finding a cozy middle ground in how you feel. (Arlington probably leans to the left as well, maybe not as far as Lexington.) I hesitate to mention Lexington, because I would consider it a very suburban town. However, since I'm not sure what kind of "character" you're looking for, Lexington is worth tossing out there as a possibility because at least it has a fairly substantial downtown for a town its size, and I understand from friends who live there that the town's residents are very involved in community activities.

Two towns near Maynard which have developed quite a bit of an exurban character, but still seem to retain some of the feeling of traditional small rural towns, are Littleton and Stow. Littleton has a commuter rail stop on the line that serves Cambridge, while Stow is close to the train station in Concord, which is on the same line.

The town of Maynard itself could be interesting in the "character" department. Maynard is an old mill town which used to be very blue-collar, but which has become somewhat gentrified, so that now it has a mix of affluent commuters and solid regular working folks. The latter group has traditionally given Maynard a strong sense of small-town community, while the former may give the town enough of a socio-economic mix to break down the kind of cliquish suspicion of outsiders found in some older small towns in MA. Maynard has a downtown which is larger and has a greater variety of businesses than you find in adjacent, more rural, towns.

There are two possible concerns with Maynard, given your needs. One is that Maynard is fairly densely populated. In most of the town the yards are small. Still, most residential areas are predominately single-family houses with yards, so again whether Maynard would work for you depends on just how much land you want. If you need just some kind of a back yard, Maynard could work, but you'd have trouble suiting your needs there if you needed more of a large yard. My second concern would be the schools. I really don't know about Maynard's schools, but the blue-collar character that has traditionally defined the town would lead me to consider the possibility that over the years Maynard's schools may not have been as top-notch as those in more affluent towns nearby that have had the resources to pour into first-rate school systems. If this is the case, I don't know whether the modest gentrification in recent years has had any effect. I know so little about the schools in Maynard that I can't give you any definitive info, but I am concerned about the possibility, at least, that the schools may not be the best. Depending on your needs, though, Maynard is one more town you might keep among places you consider as a starting point for your search.

Hope this helps get you started, and best wishes!

[NY'er lost in MA]

I agree with Ogre-

I would stick with the middle area of Concord/Lincoln. Great towns and also accessible to the city/Cambridge.

Arlington and Belmont are great, but the commutes to Maynard are going to be rough.

[scarletfire]

I agree re: Concord/Lincoln area. Very beautiful and the schools are excellent whereas Maynard schools aren't anywhere in that league. I don't know much about Arlington or Belmont schools but perhaps someone else on the list can comment on that.