Tell me about your life in Winchester, Arlington, Natick or Needham! (Boston: for sale, real estate)

[MelissaInJersey]

My husband and I are hoping to relocated to MetroWest area with our two daughters, 5 and 3.

So, we live in Jersey City, just outside of Manhattan. We've been in NYC and the boroughs for 20 years. We're ready for a slower place, cleaner streets, nicer schools and friendlier people!

We will likely be a little bored in a completely "bedroom community" that exists just for families with kids in school.

Our home budget will be $650K, and for that we want to get a 4BR house with a backyard.

We want the public schools to be very good.

We are a mixed race couple - my husband is Indian and I"m white. So, a town that is not too judgmental of people who are doing something different.

I've done lots of Internet research, and many towns look appealing on paper. But I want to know: are there any decent restaurants within 10 miles? are the high schools clicky? are the towns snobby? do people talk to each other or mostly keep to themselves?

So I've started to focus on these four towns:
Winchester, Arlington, Natick and Needham.

If you live in these towns and can comment about my questions, that would be so helpful!

[donewithpretty]

I'd rule out Winchester for being a white-bread stepford town. Natick isn't as bad, but it is a bit more suburban sprawl (malls, industrial complexes, etc.) than it sounds like you're looking for.

Needham and Arlington are great choices. Unless you and your husband both plan to work from home, you'll be better off if you can figure out where you'll be working before deciding. Arlington is an excellent home base for working in Cambridge, while Needham would give the best access to jobs on the 95/128 belt.

[ogre]

Each town has its pros and cons. Keep in mind that all of these towns are much more suburban than Jersey City. That may be something you view positively at this time in your lives, but be prepared for a real change in atmosphere if you find your way to one of these towns or a similar community.

Of these four towns, Arlington is the one that stands out as not being purely suburban, but more in the transitional zone between urban and suburban. On the other hand, since you're used to Jersey City, all these towns will seem suburban by comparison. It's just that, compared to the other three, Arlington has more areas where you can walk to some local shopping and dining. This is especially true if you live close to Mass. Ave. Outside of the local shopping, of these four towns Arlington also is the closest, both in distance and in travel time by public transit, to more truly urban areas in other towns or cities. Depending on how much priority you place on really top-tier schools or you can instead accept good solid schools, Arlington may offer you the best mix of good solid schools, being able to have a house with a yard, and still providing fairly quick access to more shopping and dining than you'll find in the more sleepy suburbs.

All these towns' schools have good reputations, but if the having the very highest quality schools is at the top of your list of priorities, move Winchester and Needham ahead of the other two towns on your list.

None of these towns has the eclectic ethnic mix many people may have in mind when they talk about "diversity," but I doubt that you'll have trouble in any of these towns with people judging your and your husband's ethnic combination. As for an actual presence of some ethnic variety, you may find a bit more of this in Arlington than the other three towns.

Of these four towns, I'm most familiar with Natick. When compared to Arlington, Natick is another town with schools generally regarded as good though not absolutely top-tier. Arlington will offer more urban splashes than Natick, as Natick has a very suburban feel overall, but Natick is not quite as totally mall-oriented as Donewithpretty's description might make it sound. I can see how DWP's description fits well as a general description of Natick, but in addition to the malls, Natick has an attractive downtown area with a collection of local small businesses and a community arts center. The northwestern area of Natick is classic '50's suburbia in terms of housing styles--bunch of little ranch houses--but is close to a small commercial district with some basic kinds of stores in the neighboring town of Wayland. With Natick's economy being heavily centered around malls, there are mostly chain restaurants. There are a few more distinct restaurants scattered here and there in the vicinity of Natick, but you'd have to travel a bit to find more than a smattering of good non-chain eateries.

Winchester and Needham are generally upscale suburban in character, Winchester being especially affluent. I'm not familiar with the specific stores currently located in Winchester, but I know the town does have a nice little downtown area. I'm not sure what Needham has in the way of commercial activity.

I agree with Donewithpretty that your work location may be something to consider when choosing a town. Some suburban areas are better than others when it comes to ease of access to different work locations. Also, how important is public transit access? Arlington has a bus line along Mass. Ave. which connects to the subway system. The other three towns all have commuter rail service, which is more expensive than bus and subway transit, and runs less often outside of peak commuting hours.

[Cato the Elder]

Like others have mentioned, I think you'll feel particularly comfortable in Arlington. In particular, I would look around the Brackett Elementary School and Robbins Farm Park (which has one of the better playgrounds in the metro and probably the best view). Though Arlington schools on the whole are not absolutely top tier, they're pretty good and Brackett actually is top tier. There are a bunch of former Cambridge residents who move around Brackett once they have kids, and many of them are from New York, LA, Chicago, Portland, etc.

[MikePRU]

I don't know Winchester or Arlington too well, but I know Needham and Natick extremely well. I think there is some good information about Natick in this thread so far. I'll just say that there's a lot more to the town than the malls as Ogre already said. Needham is a suburban town. It's extremely friendly. The people are welcoming and very community oriented. Needham Center is a nice collection of mostly small businesses with a sprinkling of chain stores/restaurants. Plenty of good restaurants and small shops to visit. Needham Heights is a smaller commercial center and has a few good places to visit as well. Plenty of train stations in town and easy highway access so getting into Boston from here is very easy. To be honest, it's a tall order to get a four bedroom house in your budget in Needham. You could definitely get a nice split level home for that much with 3 bedrooms and maybe an office in the lower level.

[kmann-sherborn]

If you're open to a four bedroom half-duplex or townhome you might want to consider Newton, as it offers a lots more to do closer to the city, plus a top 10 rated public school system. The yards aren't super large, maybe less than a 1/4 acre but it's more of a walkable community with plenty of restaurants, shops & fun things to do.

[MelissaInJersey]

Thanks. I did suspect that my budget, while not small, is too modest for Needham. Do you know more about life in Natick, particularly South Natick? I was also thinking about Sharon. Seems you can get a lot of house for your money and the schools are good. Any idea what life is like there?

[TAM88]

Originally Posted by MelissaInJersey

Thanks. I did suspect that my budget, while not small, is too modest for Needham. Do you know more about life in Natick, particularly South Natick? I was also thinking about Sharon. Seems you can get a lot of house for your money and the schools are good. Any idea what life is like there?

South Natick is a nice area and pretty rural. It's right on the borders of Dover and Sherbon, both upper class towns. Natick is in a great location and also offers a large amount of shopping with the Natick Collection, Shoppers World and Rte. 9 all very close by.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by MelissaInJersey

Thanks. I did suspect that my budget, while not small, is too modest for Needham. Do you know more about life in Natick, particularly South Natick? I was also thinking about Sharon. Seems you can get a lot of house for your money and the schools are good. Any idea what life is like there?

Sharon and South Natick have a similar feel in my opinion which is a little on the rural side. There's not much in terms of shopping/restaurants in Sharon. Sharon also has some of the highest real estate taxes in the state which is why the home prices are lower than other towns which are considered "desirable." Sharon also sits south of Boston which means driving into Boston you'll take I93 which is a nightmare during rush hour and any other time of the day is just congested. I've always preferred living west of Boston because I90 traffic is far lighter and easier to deal with. Even if you yourself will not be commuting into Boston, ease of commute and number of commuting options has a big impact on the value of your property.

I believe you could find what you are looking for in Natick, but patience will be a factor. There hasn't been many homes for sale in Natick this year and a lack of inventory has caused houses to sell quickly and for more money. Natick is a great place to live though. I have several friends/real estate clients that live in town and all of them rave about it.

[MelissaInJersey]

It's funny you describe South Natick as "rural". I visited Acton about a month ago and found it to be much more rural than I expected. I visited Natick as well, but cannot say that I understood the neighborhoods well at the time. Do you have opinions about Acton?

Does anyone know what the borders are for "south Natick" and if there are other nice parts of Natick itself? I read that Memorial Elementary, which is in South Natick, is a great school. And I see that Natick has a new high school. Hoping whatever property tax increases were necessary to pay for that school have already be reflected in current prices...