Communities west/northwest of Boston- What are they really like? (Cambridge: transplants, for sale)

[Martha Anne]

Boston Newbie!! Please take very seriously and ponder carefully what the last poster, SoFresh99, had to say! His/her post is the best here! I live in NYC now (Queens), two of my brothers live in the Upper West Side and a nephew went to Hunter elementary and high school, etc. and my other nieces and nephews went to the top exam schools in NYC- I do know what you seek) and am a New York native, and I lived, from college on, for 25 years in the Boston/Cambridge area and know it all well. I know the commutes for both metro NY and metro Boston. I did them both.



Here is the deal: You are not going to easily find all that you seek at a good commute unless you can pay the kind of prices you saw in Arlington. You never said how much you can actually afford. This is a critical bit of information that we need to know. 400'? 500's? 600's? What kind of property taxes are you able to pay? Peace and quite and a very close commute to that office park in Somerville all with excellent schools = money. It costs a lot to get what you want: not long commute, really quality schools, grass and trees and yards, not close minded from the NY'ers point of view, etc.

I personally think that it is pretty hard to advise you without knowing exactly what price you are able to afford and what taxes you can pay on your house.

I think you'll love living up in the metro Boston area, however. As far as I am concerned, it has all that NY has to offer with a far better quality of life index.

[BostonNewbie]

Thanks again for all the insight and suggestions!

Sorry, I neglected to mention that our budget is the low 400's for a single family. We know that will not go far in this area and we're realistic about size, condition, etc. Not overly concerned about taxes.

Feedback on recent suggestions: Newton- too expensive; Winchester- too expensive & the upscale vibe is not what we're looking for; West Medford- ideally we'll find a permanent community (or at least until kid(s) are out of school); Melrose- as indicated have heard not so great things about the schools, particularly the high school; Arlington- to me seems overpriced for what it is, although if a decent house in our price range actually surfaced we'd consider it, mainly due to proximity to husband's office.

We still haven't seen it for ourselves, but I'm increasingly fixated on Reading. There seems to be a solid stock of nice-looking houses in our price range, the schools are strong enough from what I hear, and I think my husband could have a doable public transit commute: Commuter rail to Malden, transfer to orange line, then off at Sullivan (he's ok w/ the walk to the industrial park, plus his employer runs a shuttle that could possibly pick him up there, or as suggested he could bring a bike).

Any thoughts. . .?

[SoFresh99]

I think Reading would be a great solution if the commute works for him, it is good to have options other than driving. Reading is rather sleepy and homogeneous with not much of a town center but is proximate to big box retail. You will definitely have more suburban elbow-room than you may find in Melrose or even Arlington. Your price point will get you something reasonable and the schools are decent. I didn't suggest Reading initially b/c of your desire for an hour-long commute, but it is a good compromise and I think it is a "pocket of value" as my realtor might have phrased it.

I love that there is a YMCA and that the library hours are not too abridged compared to many towns in mass. (a sign of fiscal health.) The taxes are comparable to Arlington and the assessments seem accurate (unlike say, Wayland). Plus MBTA parking permit is only $25 a year in Reading, it's $350 here and $6-700 in Natick for example. It is in MBTA zone 2 so a monthly commuter rail pass ($150) is reasonable as well. As opposed to Acton, zone 6 $225.

We have been debating Reading ourselves but I think I love Waltham too much to leave.

[MA2NC2012]

Originally Posted by SoFresh99

I think Reading would be a great solution if the commute works for him.........

We have been debating Reading ourselves but I think I love Waltham too much to leave.

Funny how this is what our situation is....

Waltham is too convenient for us.... Our son is 3 year old and we are looking for a starter home with good schools and our budget (400- 420k) pushes us towards Reading.

It would be nice to hear from someone in Reading about the QOS and overall d2d experience

[SoFresh99]

Originally Posted by MA2NC2012

Funny how this is what our situation is....

Waltham is too convenient for us.... Our son is 3 year old and we are looking for a starter home with good schools and our budget (400- 420k) pushes us towards Reading.

It would be nice to hear from someone in Reading about the QOS and overall d2d experience

Personally we are settling in for the long haul in Waltham and taking a bet on the schools here, we have heard nothing but awesome first hand reports from well educated parents we really respect. We figured we are already settled here, it is massively convenient and has everything we need/want so we'll let it prove itself to us before we jump ship. I see lots of new families moving into my neighborhood that could have afforded elsewhere so we are not alone in making this bet.

[BSL781]

Originally Posted by SoFresh99

Personally we are settling in for the long haul in Waltham and taking a bet on the schools here, we have heard nothing but awesome first hand reports from well educated parents we really respect. We figured we are already settled here, it is massively convenient and has everything we need/want so we'll let it prove itself to us before we jump ship. I see lots of new families moving into my neighborhood that could have afforded elsewhere so we are not alone in making this bet.

SoFresh99 - Just curious about what neighborhood (and associated school) you're referring to in Waltham? We're also looking at Waltham as a possible community in which to raise our children, but have heard mixed things about the school system. If you've heard positive feedback, I'd really be interested to hear it. I agree that Waltham is a great city and super convenient --- lack of confidence in the school system is really the only detractor for us.

[heather3]

Reading is first on our list of towns to look at when we move out there this summer. Followed by Andover and Wakefield. I LOVE the downtown areas of each of these towns and in Wakefield, the lake is a plus. My husband will be renting an apartment in Reading in a few weeks and will be able to scope out the town in more detail as he settles into his new job. But, I love the feel of the town, the Birch Meadow Complex(I think it's called that: YMCA, School area etc?) and the housing prices weren't out of our budget of $550K or less. Best of luck finding your town!

We were steered away from Melrose, can anyone explain why that would be?

[SoFresh99]

Originally Posted by BSL781

SoFresh99 - Just curious about what neighborhood (and associated school) you're referring to in Waltham? We're also looking at Waltham as a possible community in which to raise our children, but have heard mixed things about the school system. If you've heard positive feedback, I'd really be interested to hear it. I agree that Waltham is a great city and super convenient --- lack of confidence in the school system is really the only detractor for us.

I'll PM you.

[Superkruz]

Originally Posted by Bostonmania

And that makes melrose more attractive how?

1. The correct sentence construction is : How does that make Melrose more attractive?
2. The answer is very simple and glaringly obvious - the poster prefers to live among "conservative, white, working class" people. It's his/her personal preference, so nothing wrong with that at all. Stick to the topic at hand and don't turn it into something it isn't.

[BostonNewbie]

Sounds like quite a few of us are in the same boat!

SoFresh99- we hadn't really considered Waltham as at first glance it seemed more urban than we'd like, but as noted it's a great location for commuting to Boston and perhaps we should take another look. I'd love to hear some of the pros/cons are of living there.

And as MA2NC2012 said, does anyone out there have some further insights into life in Reading? I'd also be curious to hear about how it compares to nearby Wakefield.