Living in places 20-30min from Lexington, comparing them to Jamaica Plain/Allston (Cambridge: apartment complexes)

[hamster21]

I liked the JP/Allston/Brookline area, but may not be able to live in it and commute to Lexington,
because I'm aiming for a 20-30min max commute to Lexington for work (one way) if that's possible.

So that seems to limit places to live in to -
Waltham
Watertown
Belmont
Woburn
Bedford
Lincoln
Weston
Lexington..?

I really have no clue about these towns. I always think of Lexington as saturated with high value houses with well off families,
and the rest I'm not really familiar with. I'm wondering what areas to place priority upon to move to, and I'm wondering what will be
different in these areas compared to the JP/Allston/Brookline area.

Aside from commute, the priorities are:
-has a decent amount of young people, and is somewhat lively
-has roommates in the 20-30 year old range.
-decent blend of architecture/community/young-ness/nature that JP had.
-no living in apartment complexes, aiming for houses to share

Most areas of JP near centre st. were a nice because of the JP pond, the arboretum, decent amount of young people,
nice little restaurants, cool architecture, good selection of room mates, and it was linked to the subway, so you could
get around to other parts of the city pretty easily. Some areas of JP weren't so great of course, and it would be nice to
avoid those kinds of settings.

Just wanted to get an early on feel for these areas, they're kinda foreign to me and I'm mostly experienced with
the JP/Allston/Brookline/Cambridge area as far as the city goes.

[brightdoglover]

The more expensive towns are unlikely to have house/roommate situations for 20-30 years old- that would include Lincoln, Lexington, Weston, and even Belmont (despite Belmont's easy public transport to Cambridge, I think that age range just isn't likely). Woburn doesn't have the vibe OP mentions, in my opinion, and Bedford very unlikely to have house shares and doesn't have a young person feel. I guess the closest to a JP feel would be Watertown or Waltham. I would personally favor a worse commute to live in Brookline or JP or such places, because there really isn't anything like them for a young person. I'd rather live where I really enjoyed the whole environment and have a lousier commute than live closer to the job and feel stuck after work and on weekends. Driving the way the OP suggests is hardly impossible, might be very congested from JP, not so bad from the other areas.

[hamster21]

Yeah, that's kind of what it seems like - the places west of cambridge/watertown seem pretty empty as far as the things that JP/Allson/Brookline have to offer. Seems much more quiet/family-oriented. Thanks for the input. From JP, driving to Lexington was probably a 45minute trip one way, give or take.

[missionhill]

Why not Cambridge or Somerville? Surely closer to Lexington than Jamaica Plain, and you can ride your bike into Lex on the Minuteman trail.

[hamster21]

I'm hesitant about Somerville because I've heard it has basically no parking for residents.
Cambridge seems expensive to live in, and of course, it seems to be missing the general vibe of JP/Allston as far as the culture goes.
It's more shifted towards the MIT/Harvard crowd. Maybe I'm wrong, I dunno. But I'd consider them.

[donewithpretty]

Davis Square in Somerville is basically JP's sister area on the Cambridge side of the river. You'll find a red line T stop, tons of buses, young people, folk victorians, restaurants, a movie theater, and stuff to do. You can drive or bike to Spy Pond in Arlington, Spot Pond in the Middlesex Fells, or Fresh Pond for water/greenery.

To get to work, you can take Rte. 2 or go through Arlington. As for parking, many Davis Square houses have driveways, and you can get a resident parking sticker to park on the street.

Waltham and Watertown are the only towns on your list that I think could also work for you. They both have restaurants and some young professionals and transit, but you won't be connected to the city in the same way you would be in Davis Square.

[Boston_Burbs]

Try Arlington as well.

[hamster21]

Thanks, that helps. I've never really related Davis Square that way to JP, that's an interesting way to put it.