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Old 11-12-2007, 02:37 AM
 
3 posts, read 54,366 times
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Hi! This is my first time to post a thread here so I appreciate anyone who will respond to this.
My husband and I both work at MGH and are looking to purchase a house not necessarily within Boston but maybe 30-45 minutes from the city.
We are looking within the price range of $700-950k. We haven't started viewing properties yet so I hope anyone here can suggest great towns with very good educational systems, house with a backyard for children within a pleasant community. The most important thing we consider is the time for commute in and out of the city. Thank you in advance for any suggestions!
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Old 11-12-2007, 02:57 AM
 
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Just a few suggestions to get you started. First, there are enough options in your price range to give you some flexibility about what character or feel you'd like in the town where you live. I'm most familiar with the suburbs west of Boston. A few possibilities there are:

Brookline and Newton. These are close to the city, and are affluent suburbs, more densely populated than more outlying suburbs, but still largely made up of single-family houses. Both have small neighborhood shopping areas, and ready access to Boston by either driving or public transit.

Farther west, but still probably on the fringe of your commuting range, is Wayland, which is a town of woods and fields and winding roads, but still suburban rather than rural. In one part of town, known as Cochituate, there's a local small business district, and just over the line, in Framingham and Natick, are some large malls.

Natick is more classically suburban, though it does have some older neighborhoods with modest-sized Victorian houses. Even though there are malls on the north side of town, there is also an attractive downtown area. Natick's average house costs are probably below your budget. The one negative I might think of is that the schools are not necessarily as highly regarded as those in some other towns west of Boston. I've heard the elementary schools are good, the middle school maybe not so good, and the high school better than the middle school but still not top-notch. To some degree this may be relative. Many towns in the western suburbs have really first-rate schools, so Natick's schools could be solid and still suffer by comparison. Still, bear in mind that there are towns within your budget that probably have better schools than Natick's. Natick is at least another option you might consider, if you like a town with more of a classically suburban feel.

A more upscale suburban town is Wellesley. This is only what I hear said, so take it for what it's worth, but Wellesley does have somewhat of a reputation for having snooty residents. It is a very clean, upscale town, though, with a fairly substantial downtown, and three commuter rail stops in town. There will probably be a fair number of properties in Wellesley which would stretch your budget, but others would be within range.

There are plenty of possibilities. I'm sure people will have other suggestions, but this at least gets you started. Best of luck with your move.

Last edited by ogre; 11-12-2007 at 03:07 AM..
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Old 11-12-2007, 04:18 AM
 
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ogre, thank you very much for the info! As soon as I read it, I immediately checked out the places that you mentioned at newenglandmoves.com and found some excellent properties in Newton, Brookline and the commute to and from the city is not bad as well. I've read that there are also great neighborhoods in the South Shore. Any thoughts?
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Old 11-12-2007, 05:52 AM
 
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I agree, with that budget, you have many many great choices.

My question, do you both work day hours, or are you shift workers/residents/whatever? I think the drive in from anywhere by car during for day working is dreadful. If you lived somewhere convenient to the Red Line train, you could easily get on one train and get off literally in front of MGH. If you went with another line (say, Green Line from Newton or Brookline), you'd have to go into Boston and change trains, which I would find annoying.

Brookline is a fantastic community, but I wouldn't really call it "suburban." Newton only a bit more so (welll, I guess the outlying rolling-hills areas are very suburban, but aren't near public transportation).

I do think driving in from anywhere would get old fast. Good luck. MGH is certainly a venerable place, and you should be able to find a very pleasing home and town.
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Old 11-12-2007, 07:50 AM
 
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You should check out the South Shore--20 minutes South of Boston...great neighborhoods, GREAT school systems, right on the beautiful ocean..check out Hingham, Cohassett, Scituate, Marshfield, Duxbury, & Norwell..beautiful towns to live in! These towns also just got a Commuter Rail called the Greenbush Line-it's SO convienant and only takes about 10-20 minutes to get in & out of Boston to South Station! Good luck !
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Old 11-12-2007, 08:42 AM
 
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Check out today's Boston Globe; there is a front-page article about the commute from the South Shore to Boston. They compared the commute via Boat, Train, MBTA and car (90 minutes!!!!). The Greenbush train line looks the best and is a bargain, too.

I would like to put in a plug for Lexington. Great town, fantastic schools, family-friendly, lots of things to do, and an easy commute to MGH (a few MGH docs in my neighborhood). If you leave Lexington before 7AM, it's a quick drive on rte 2/Storrow Drive right to MGH.
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Old 11-12-2007, 05:18 PM
 
Location: Metrowest, MA
1,810 posts, read 10,460,248 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by airedaly View Post
I would like to put in a plug for Lexington. Great town, fantastic schools, family-friendly, lots of things to do, and an easy commute to MGH (a few MGH docs in my neighborhood). If you leave Lexington before 7AM, it's a quick drive on rte 2/Storrow Drive right to MGH.
Lexington is a great town. One time, it took me 25 minutes just to get through Alwife station during rush hour. I guess rush hour is after 7am? At certain time of the day, it is faster taking the MassPike (Rt90) and Rt128.
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Old 11-12-2007, 05:36 PM
 
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Yes, the rush hour traffic is much lighter before 7AM. And, there are other roads to avoid the Alewife traffic, both inbound and outbound.
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Old 11-12-2007, 08:59 PM
 
3 posts, read 54,366 times
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Thank you all for the info. My husband and I have seen some wonderful properties in the south shore and it's one of our choices. He's a doctor and I'm a nurse at MGH so our work hours are pretty much unpredictable. We both agree that commuting in and out of the city may eventually take its toll on us so we're also considering some neighborhoods not too far from the city but also within acceptable traveling distance that would be conducive to our jobs. Any suggestion will be highly appreciated.
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Old 11-12-2007, 09:45 PM
 
Location: Plant City Florida
132 posts, read 470,426 times
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I loved Woburn and there was nothing wrong, in my opinion, on taking the T. We were on it very late at night and it was an enjoyable alternative to driving!! Foxboro is nice too! Good luck! sounds like you have many options and brightdoglover is a wonderful source!!!
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