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Old 12-30-2013, 04:57 PM
 
Location: Portland, ME
234 posts, read 357,766 times
Reputation: 250

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I am looking to relocate to the Boston area with my girlfriend and would like some advice on where to look for housing. I work in the Portland, Maine area and will be bring my job with me likely only needing to commute once every week or as needed due to having the ability to work from home. I would like to keep that commute around 100 miles or so. I am also trying to be forward thinking so I'd like to live somewhere with a reasonable commute to both Waltham and Burlington for IT/Tech job possibilities. My girlfriend will be looking for admin type work (accounts receivable/billing/etc) so I'd also like to live somewhere that is within striking distance to as much of the metro as possible.

With that said, here are our wants in order of precedence:

1) Reasonable commute to both Waltham and Burlington
2) Quick access to a subway station or a zone 1A commuter rail station OR quick access to late running busses
3) 100ish mile commute to Portland, Maine
4) FIOS (less important than the other 3, but would make up my mind with all other things being equal

We have no kids or plans for kids, so schools aren't important. I've found the following areas and would like some help narrowing them down. We want to rent an apartment and are comfortable spending $1,250-$1,750 a month. These are in no particular order.

Oak Grove area
Alewife area
West Medford area
Belmont near a bus stop
Newton near a green line stop or bus stop
Medford or Malden near an orange line stop
Watertown near a bus stop

I am also certainly open to areas I have not found/considered. Thank you very much in advance!
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Old 12-30-2013, 06:01 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,585,524 times
Reputation: 4797
Of these that you have mentioned:

Best for commuting and budget: Oak Grove, West Medford, Malden and add Melrose and Wakefield, maybe a rare small apartment in Winchester and perhaps Woburn

Outside your budget:
Alewife area, Belmont near a bus stop, Newton near a green line stop or bus stop, Watertown near a bus stop
Additionally Newton and Watertown would be terrible for the Maine commute
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Old 12-30-2013, 06:05 PM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,938 posts, read 36,728,963 times
Reputation: 40634
495, you don't think one could find a small one bedroom for that in the Waverly area of Belmont?
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Old 12-30-2013, 06:13 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts
6,301 posts, read 9,585,524 times
Reputation: 4797
Quote:
Originally Posted by timberline742 View Post
495, you don't think one could find a small one bedroom for that in the Waverly area of Belmont?
It is getting much harder. There might be a building or two. Even Watertown is escalating. I have been looking towards the future myself. It seems north of Boston gets the most for the money these days.

Also if one has to travel to Maine, the fewer of the major highway intersections like route 2 and 128 one has to go across the better.
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Old 01-01-2014, 06:59 AM
 
Location: Portland, ME
234 posts, read 357,766 times
Reputation: 250
Thanks for the info. I checked with my cousin who just sold her house in Malden for one in Danvers because her kids are getting ready to start school and she said it is great for people with no kids who want city access.

Is FIOS pretty widely available in Malden or is it limited to certain main streets?
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Old 01-02-2014, 10:32 AM
 
304 posts, read 770,745 times
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I would say Melrose (near Oak Grove) or Woburn (near the Anderson T)
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Old 01-02-2014, 10:59 AM
 
Location: North of Boston
3,671 posts, read 7,359,721 times
Reputation: 3640
Not sure why you would want to live in Greater Boston at all now if your job is in Portland. Your girlfriend can certainly find work in the Greater Portland or Greater Portsmouth area. You're renting so there is no real need to be too "forward thinking" and compromose your quality of life now. If you choose to change jobs to Greater Boston in the future you can always move then.

If you're convinced you want to be in MA, then I would stick with rentals in the Burlington, Woburn, Wakefield, Peabody area, to give you the best commute to Maine and the best opportunities for your girlfriend.
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Old 01-02-2014, 11:40 AM
 
Location: Portland, ME
234 posts, read 357,766 times
Reputation: 250
Honestly it's because we both love Boston and are looking for a little more excitement. We do both have jobs here in Portland but find ourselves frequently wanting to go to Boston for sporting events, concerts, etc, and I think it would be fun to make this move to a new urban lifestyle now while we are still young with no real commitments. Most of my family lives in the areas between Stoneham and Andover so it would also be nice to be closer to them.

My job is able to be remote 75+% of the time which would make my total commute time no more than it is now on a weekly basis, so that part of the planning isn't as important to me as the city access. I also haven't been actively pursuing career opportunities in Boston because of the commitment I have here, but I'd certainly keep those options on the table if I move hence the reason I'm trying to find the "compromise" area for the first lease.

Thanks for all the advice given so far everyone!
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Old 01-03-2014, 12:07 PM
 
15,692 posts, read 20,203,443 times
Reputation: 20858
Honestly, i'd look for an area close to 95 a little bit up on the North Shore. You can hope on 95 to commute to Portland, and when you want to go visit boston, simply hop on I-93 south for a 20 minute (except rush hour) drive down into the Boston area.

Waltham, Bedford, Burlington, Woburn, Lexington is about the area I am thinking of.
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Old 01-03-2014, 12:44 PM
 
Location: MA
675 posts, read 1,689,097 times
Reputation: 929
Medford, Malden, Woburn, maybe even Burlington
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