Where to live near Boston, MA (Cambridge, Quincy: middle-class, insurance, condos)

[iodizedsalt]

Hi All,

It seems like my family will be relocating to Boston in a 1 year. Upon relocation we plan to buy a single family house. We are in our late 20's and I am originally from Europe, so a clean, safe, somewhat "Euroish" looking town would be great!

Our main criteria:
-Middle to upper middle class towns with intelligent neighbors within a 35-45 minute commute to Boston.
- Great schools for good resale value and safety are a must. I would like to live in a town that is SAFE, a not relatively safe. I want to be able to "forget to lock my doors and car" and do not worry.
Town that is "not losing its residents".
A town close to water (lake, ocean, whatever) would be great.
Our price range is under 450K and we are looking into buying a property that "needs work".
Can you please give an idea of what towns could fit this criteria.

[kingeorge]

You need to know where you will be working first. Any good advice will depend on that. USA, even as old as Northeast, does not have very well developed public transit network that you can easily find in most of the Europe. Commute to work is still huge consideration for people living here. It is not as fast, dependable or with many options once you are out of the city. Give some more details and people will gladly help! Good luck.

[iodizedsalt]

My husband will be working in Boston itself (he will transfer within the company). I am not sure where I will end up working once we move ( I am a nurse). Likely in the city itself in one of the hospitals. Hope this helps.

[ogre]

You might need to compromise on some expectations. Finding all the features you want in a town in the Boston metro area could be a stretch at your price range for a house. Another compromise might be needed on the combination of commuting time and being near the water (perhaps partly depending on how near to the water you'd prefer). The commutes into Boston from the coastal towns to the north and south are generally some of the slowest, most high-traffic commutes in the metro area. In addition, you have to get pretty far out from the city to the north, and to some degree toward the south, before you get into the pleasant small-town feel.

Keeping this in mind, there are a few towns I would suggest as a starting point for your search. North of Boston, check out Ipswich, Essex, and Rowley. These are very small towns, which might be an issue depending on how much shopping and such you want in the immediate area where you live, but they are quaint and safe, and the housing costs seem to be fairly reasonable by the standards of the Boston area. I'm also not sure how the schools are in any of those towns, so that would be something you'd want to investigate further.

South of Boston, you may want to take a look at Braintree. It's difficult to know what another person means by a subjective description, such as your desire for a "Euroish" feel, but I'm guessing you would not find Braintree to have much of what you're looking for in that regard. The town is more a typical pleasant middle-class American suburb.

However, Braintree is near the coast, has relatively low housing costs for the Boston area, and among suburbs to the south is located about as close to Boston as you can get before you begin to get more of a city feel and less of the high degree of safety from crime you're seeking. The commute from Braintree by auto would most likely take longer than you would expect given the distance, because traffic into Boston from that area is very heavy, but Braintree is also served by light rail on a line that goes straight into downtown Boston.

[iodizedsalt]

Thanks Ogre!

These are some really great options!!!

[Mordi]

there is not a single town that matches all of your criteria.

you will have to budge on something with that budget. double it, and you MIGHT be able to find everything you are looking for.

also, where exactly in boston will your husband be working? this has a big influence on commute times.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Why not ...

errr... Boston?

[kharing]

You didn't say whether you have children, or plan to have any in the future. Anyway, using water as your deciding factor I would go with Cambridge, if you are okay living in a condo. Salem would make my list....again depending on whether you want/have children.

Weird Tolkienish Figure was right, though. Living in Boston would be the best bet. Easy to find condos near Charles River...Fenway and Beacon Hill are sort or European.

[pennyone]

Salt:

You are looking for a lot of traits with a 450-ish price tag. The surrounding nice small towns with competent schools, like Canton, Milton, Natick etc are excellent American towns, but there is nothing "European-ish" about them (I grew up in Milton). The bigger urban areas, like Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Quincy run the gamut with their various attributes, but their public school systems are diverse and all over the place as far as test scores (not necessarily a bad indication, but parents can be weird about test scores). Regardless, they are all cities with higher crimes rates (though all four are very safe compare to other cities across the country). Salem has all the problems of the four mention, just on a smaller scale because it is a smaller city (41,000 people). Also, the 450 price tag is just middle-of-the-road as far as what you can get because the whole area is expensive.

[iodizedsalt]

Hi All!

Thx for all your input. I have been doing tons of research and at this point I am very confused from the amount of options!!!

I did look into towns like Hingham, Marblehead and Swampscott and it seems like I can afford a small " okayish" single there. My concerns are flooding, molds, and flood insurance.... I am not sure if living by the water was such a great idea after all????? Anybody? For example I live by a tiny creek now which can hypothetically flood and I do get some H20 in my basement every once in a while. My flood insurance is 1600$ per year! I wonder how much it will cost me if I buy a house in coastal town?

Additionally, I am GIVING UP on "Euroish" look and "town near the water". I realize 450K is not a lot but again, I am okay with a house that "needs work". By this I mean I am okay with buying a house with pink carpet, ugly bathrooms, wallpaper and such if it means getting into a great, safe, upper middle class town. I just saw a house on realtor.com for 470K in Natick with a view of some pond!

Answering your questions, I don't have kids and do not plan having kids. But I do want to be in a great school district simply b/c schools sell houses. A great new house, all done up in a so-so school district is not what I am looking for.