Moving to Massachusetts, working in Waltham (Boston, Cambridge: apartment, lease, houses)

[Nina14]

Hi All,

I will be moving to MA in a couple of months and would like some suggestions on where to rent:
I am looking for a 1brd apartment
Budget in $1000 to $1500 (depending on what's included in the lease)
I prefer the suburbs, rural areas, withing drivable distance to Waltham
I don't care much for the city or night life but maybe a town with a gym, a mall and movie theater

Thanks a bunch!

[scratchie]

Waltham is one of the epicenters of traffic congestion on Rt. 128. Lots of office parks, and not particularly well-served by public transportation. So you're probably going to want to look fairly close to your job unless you don't mind a long commute (e.g. 10-15 miles away could be a 45-60 minute commute depending on where you're coming from).

I don't really have any specific suggestions, unfortunately. There are a lot suburban/rural towns along Rt. 2, which is convenient to Waltham, but I think traffic is going to be an issue on that road during rush hours as well. There are some pretty suburban parts of Waltham itself which might be your best bet. Otherwise, I would guess that you might be better off living somewhere where you don't have to commute by highway (but that's purely a guess as I've never driven that sort of commute during rush hour and I have no idea if you could find an apartment in that price range in Weston or Lincoln or one of the close-by suburbs, which are pretty pricy in general).

[kingeorge]

Your option is to stay in Waltham, or go to Belmont, Watertown, Burlington. Closer to work, better. One decent bed apt. will probably cost you on a high end of your budget. There are few very rural areas in the area where you will be working, Lincoln being the only one, and probably more expensive than your desired budget.

You have gotten some good advice from Scrathie. Traffic in tough. Keep close.

Good luck.

[495neighbor]

Look in Chelmsford, Westford, Acton, Maynard in your price range. Lots of green space and there is new shopping The Point in Littleton that is getting many fun casual eating places, a new Starbucks (hopefully a nice big one like the Belmont or Lexington ones) AND a new movie theater. I do the Waltham drive from Acton often. It is about 30 - 45 minutes depending when you leave the house. No need to deal with route 2 or 128 once you learn the back roads.

[johngolf]

Nina

You could find an OK apartment in Waltham in your price range. Waltham is up and coming with some interesting places to eat/drink. Some say the schools are mediocre but that is not an issue for you. Rent for year. Learn if you like the job and area before making other decisions.

[masshawk]

I see places on Padmapper for rent <$1500 in Burlington, Bedford, Billerica, Maynard, and the north side of Framingham. While none of them are exactly rural, they all have quieter, woodsy neighborhoods with the houses spread far apart. Burlington and Framingham have large malls and movie theaters and I'm assuming some gyms. Bedford is the most upscale town of that group, Framingham and Billerica the cheapest.

If you don't mind driving a little further, you could try Hudson or Marlborough which have access to more rural areas.

[Nina14]

Thank you all for the great tips.
I forgot to mention that my work days will start at 6:30 am (not sure if this well help avoid traffic).
I also don't mind increasing my rent budget to maybe $1600-$1800 if this means living in a peaceful green neighborhood.
Best,
N.

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by Nina14

Thank you all for the great tips.
I forgot to mention that my work days will start at 6:30 am (not sure if this well help avoid traffic).
I also don't mind increasing my rent budget to maybe $1600-$1800 if this means living in a peaceful green neighborhood.
Best,
N.

I'd go with West Concord, Acton, Littleton, Westford. All within 30-45 min drive. I would personally live closer to work (aka, Waltham itself) and get out into the woods on the weekends.

06:30 start time will help immensely. Any later and you could be looking at a horrible commute from these places. How late will you work? If you plan to live west of Concord on Rt. 2 the rotary can drive you to insanity.

[Scriptkitten]

That rotary is so awful

[soal]

Currently live in Waltham (South Side near Moody).

I would recommend starting in Waltham especially if you've never lived in MA. I moved here because of a job in Waltham at a startup and Waltham was the only place I could afford (tried to find a place in Medford/Cambridge but was way too expensive) - after all these years, I really appreciate the fact that Waltham is in the 'Middle' of the major cities. Its 15 minutes to North,South,East & West of all the major cities. Its just 20 minutes to the airport and Boston.

You'll appreciate the word 'Reverse' commute if you ever have a change in jobs in a different location.

Later when you're settled in, then you can make the decision. IMO, spending time in traffic should be avoided if at all possible - especially when you have an opportunity to be able to make that decision now.