Looking to buy in Brookline, Cambridge, Melrose - have we missed a likely spot? (Boston: renting, houses)

[Ex-London]

Hello wise forum members!

I have been lurking around here for 6 months or so, and I just want to say that the posts on here are super thoughtful & useful. Advice to others has really informed our house search so far, so I'm just posting now to make sure that we're covering all of our bases, so to speak. Any further advice anyone could give would be fantastic.

Basic data:
Looking to buy 2+ bed, 1.5+ bath, 1800 sqft min (if on smaller side would need option to convert basement or attic). Single family or attached, no duplexes or triples. Small yard. Prefer Victorians. Budget $1.2M.

Tricky part:
- must be able to commute to Back Bay (Copley sq) door to door without using car or bus in under 45min. Walking up to 15min (less than a mile)

- must be waking distance to at least some amenities (ie library, shop, grocery, park/playground, coffee, restaurant) - ideally some if these would be within 0.5mile, most within 1mile

- we have 2 small kids (not yet school age), so would like schools not to be dire. Test scores & ranking not so important, but involved & educated parents would be nice.

Other Nice Things To Have: frequent trains (1/hr) to Boston (not just at commuter times), community feeling, charming/vibrant town centre, some moms/dads around during the day (ie playgrounds neither empty nor-nanny only), zipcar nearby, walk rather than car culture, lack of strip mall type development, independent businesses

We are renting right now in North Cambridge/Davis Sq.

We have visited, seen houses & are strenuously looking in: Brookline, Cambridge, Melrose, Somerville, Charlestown.

We are basically priced out of north Brookline, and competition at the 1M mark in Cambridge is fierce - houses go on at 1M & sell for well out of our budget, hence we are now adding Melrose. We haven't seen much we like in Somerville or Charlestown but location is good so it could happen.

We're also keeping an eye on, but are less familiar with, Medford (west & around tufts), Newton (near highlands & centre), Winchester, JP (unsure about schools?), Belmont (have heard that town centre is unappealing)

Towns suggested to us but ultimately rejected: Natick, Needham, Quincy, Arlington, the rest of Newton, Wellesley, Roslindale.

So! Wise ones! Have we missed something? Are we rejecting a good possibility for spurious reasons? Should we be looking harder someplace we're just cool on? Are we looking hard someplace that isn't a good fit at all? Weigh in!!

Thanks so much!!
M
Ps. V unlikely but if anyone is familiar with London, we're looking for the equivalent of blackheath.

[woxyroxme]

My late aunt lived in a very nice Victorian on Hillside Ave. in Melrose, seems to be a nice area. Not sure if my uncle will keep the house or not since it is just him living there now.

[Ex-London]

Yes, we like what we've seen of Melrose quite a lot. Just not too much inventory right now that is close to the train & Main Street.

[Martha Anne]

So nice to see a post from an Englishman (? woman)! Sorry, I have not yet been to England and have a fun pen pal in Nottingham! She wants to house share with us.

OK: My family is originally from Cambridge and, unfortunately, Cambridge is so expensive. As you know, 1.2 million in Cambridge for a single family Victorian is hard to find in a nice area, but if I were you I would certainly use a Cambridge agent just in case. Belmont and Winchester are extremely desirable towns, in my opinion, for families, and they are so convenient to Boston and have great schools, libraries and a very well educated populace. I know someone who moved to Belmont so his kids would get a great music (classical) music education. I suppose that the arts are very much valued in these towns. You would be able to find a nice house in either of these towns, although, again, they are on the higher end. I would definitely look in these two towns. Newton, once again, is wonderful, and you might even consider parts of Watertown simply because the location cannot be beat. I have only visited Melrose and cannot comment. But I do know that Belmont, Newton and Winchester are highly sought after towns for the schools and I don't mean just test scores. They would be at the top of my list, personally. Best wishes!

[495neighbor]

The Victorians, the budget, the greenspace and the direct orange line ride to BackBay, Melrose or Winchester are your places. I would add Stoneham and Wakefield for someone with less of a budget, but they are farther out.

[timberline742]

Belmont is great, but except for a couple of commuter rail stops is is bus focused. One exception is if you're right near the Alewife bike path off Brighton St

[Ex-London]

Thanks for the replies!

Martha Anne, you seem to be familiar with Belmont. What's the downtown like? I read in another thread that it was on the less interesting/charming side, but I'm trying to get more feedback. I grew up in CT, so not really an Englishwoman but I've been there the last 10yrs & my husband is English.

495nighbor, thanks! WRT Winchester, it looks lovely. However, I'm trying to avoid places with an attitude of 'you have to have x income to be accepted' or have to join country club or play golf etc. I was concerned about this possibility in Winchester based on other threads. Can you comment?

timberline742, thanks for the tip. I would not have thought of that. Do you have an opinion about the town centre, as I asked Martha Anne?

[Brave Stranger]

Medford schools are below average & Somerville schools are terrible. Arlington would seem to check almost all of your boxes, but you seemed to have ruled it out. Watertown might be a good fit for you. Decent enough schools & affordable property, with quick bus access to the Cambridge T station.

[Ex-London]

Hi BraveStranger,

Yes, I know Arlington or Watertown would seem ideal. But we don't want to rely on busses. Our quirk I guess

[Brave Stranger]

Originally Posted by Ex-London

Hi BraveStranger,

Yes, I know Arlington or Watertown would seem ideal. But we don't want to rely on busses. Our quirk I guess

Belmont has commuter rail & excellent schools. You can find something in your budget there. Belmont Center is nice, but Cushing Sq, on the other side of town, is sort of drab with little to offer IMO. I should mention that the 73 bus from Belmont to Harvard runs from 5:00am until 1:20am just about every 10 minutes & you can get to the Harvard T stop in under 10 minutes. Hopefully a Belmont native will pop in here & give you a good scoop on the town.