Where should we be looking? (Boston, Worcester: 2015, condo, townhouse)

[ashcav]

I'm trying to create a list of towns/cities for our upcoming home search (sometime in 2015).

Facts:
- young married couple with dog, plan to have 1-2 children in the next 5-10 years, prefer Public schools
- one spouse works in Waltham, one works in the Kenmore area
- budget max of 475K
- current commutes are 1.5-2 hours each way, would like to reduce that to an hour each way if not less (my spouse has to be at work by 8am, I usually am at work by 6:45am to avoid as much traffic as possible)
- would like diversity (so most South Shore towns are out)
- 3 bed, 1.5 bath, small yard

Current list: Quincy (in non-flood zones and certain school districts), Milton, West Roxbury ... maybe Canton or Braintree.

Where else should we consider? Pros and cons?

TIA

[scratchie]

Originally Posted by ashcav

- would like diversity (so most South Shore towns are out)

Unfortunately, this rules out most North Shore towns as well.

Current list: Quincy (in non-flood zones and certain school districts), Milton, West Roxbury ... maybe Canton or Braintree.

Commuting from most of those places to Waltham could be pretty bad if you have to take I-95/MA-128. I don't think it would take more than an hour on most days, but that road can get jammed up really badly, a few times a month (at least).

[Ninotchka P]

Why not Waltham itself?

[gf2020]

Originally Posted by ashcav

- would like diversity (so most South Shore towns are out)

Not sure what that is supposed to mean?

With a budget to $475K I would think Waltham itself would be on your list and maybe Framingham for a closer in suburb. Both those locations will give you much shorter commutes than 1.5-2 hours each way.

[ashcav]

Originally Posted by gf2020

Not sure what that is supposed to mean?

With a budget to $475K I would think Waltham itself would be on your list and maybe Framingham for a closer in suburb. Both those locations will give you much shorter commutes than 1.5-2 hours each way.

It means most South Shore towns aren't very diverse and I'd like more diversity. I grew up there (South Shore).

Waltham doesn't appeal. Framingham was on the list at one point, so maybe we should add it back on. Natick is also one we've considered. Arlington but it's out of our budget. Melrose maybe. I hem and haw on Watertown and Somerville.

We'd love Cambridge but there's no way money-wise not even if we did condo or townhouse.

Just trying to make sure we're not missing a good area because we're so used to the South Shore and further south.

[Shizim]

Originally Posted by gf2020

Not sure what that is supposed to mean?

With a budget to $475K I would think Waltham itself would be on your list and maybe Framingham for a closer in suburb. Both those locations will give you much shorter commutes than 1.5-2 hours each way.

i think he is implying that most surburbs are not diverse on the north or south shore. I cant speak to the south shore but thats pretty accurate for North.

What about Natick? if you go in at 6:45 there shouldn't be much of an issue getting to kenmore. and waltham from Natick is less than an hr.

[goyguy]

Sadly there's still the inevitable trade-off between "diversity" and "good schools," with the rare exceptions of some places where a small fortune is needed to afford a home. If middle-caliber public education isn't an insurmountable obstacle I'm not sure why Waltham "doesn't appeal." Much of the north and east sides hold an inviting variety of house styles (ornate Victorians to 1920's Colonials to 1960's split-levels and on and on.) Gore Place, Hardy Pond, and other peaceful expansive parks are "right there," as are your everyday supermarkets (with a Market Basket opening soon) as well as plenty of fun "ethnic" grocers. The "Restaurant Row" along Main and Moody St's makes for an easy and close-by night out.
Medford and Malden are similar in the sense of being small melting-pot cities with "everything you need" within their boundaries and some great housing BUT "iffy" schools. (Like in most urban public academic systems, with motivation and proper guidance an aspiring student can still qualify for top-tier colleges when 12th Grade rolls around. However, the spoken and unspoken expectation of this one finds in communities like Brookline is mostly absent.)

Belmont is surprisingly if not shockingly affordable, provided you focus on the Waverley Square section and along the southern and eastern fringes. The schools are top-notch - but frankly from experience as a onetime employee of that system, and through much observation over the years, I've seen that there's an overabundance of brats in the town. ("Class-ism" reigns supreme.) You'd also not exactly be part of a human mosaic as the Black/Hispanic population stays at virtually nil and Metco can only do so much, though a noticeable faction of Asians (primarily Japanese and Indian) has settled there. All the same, my sensibilities speak only to and for themselves.

Natick is also not a bad idea - perhaps Canton?

[gf2020]

I think I know what you meant.

I just thought it was interesting to actually put it on your list. The real question is what do you mean by more diversity? Different races? Different economic backgrounds? Different education? Diversity of housing stock? You'll need to define that before you can hone in on any of these towns.

Shizim and I both live in a North Shore town that would not be considered diverse by any measures. Honestly, when I moved here 9 years ago, diversity of any kind was not something on our list. My wife wanted to be in this town and we waited until we found a house that met our requirements at a price that we could afford.

I always recommend to people that they find the town that they want to live in first and then wait for the right house to come along. Comparing a house in one town with a house in another town gets dangerous because there are too many variables to consider.

You say you would love Cambridge but Cambridge isn't particularly diverse. There may be some diversity of color because of the students there but the residents are still 70% white, 15% Asian and 10% black and the median family income is high by Greater Boston standards. Framingham, for example, is more racially diverse: 65% white, 15% Hispanic, 10% Asian; and has a much greater diversity of income levels.

So what are the features of Cambridge that you like that you may be able to find in another, more affordable town? That's the kind of process you need to use to narrow down the list of towns before you even start to evaluate individual properties.

I will also caution you on the whole North Shore vs. South Shore thing. I grew up closer to Worcester so I never knew such a debate existed. However, my wife is a born and raised North Shore girl and she would never consider living south of Boston. Her college roommate was a born and raised South Shore girl and she would never consider living north of Boston. Just be careful if you consider taking you or your spouse out of your comfort zone.

[scratchie]

Originally Posted by gf2020

I think I know what you meant.

I just thought it was interesting to actually put it on your list. The real question is what do you mean by more diversity? Different races? Different economic backgrounds? Different education? Diversity of housing stock? You'll need to define that before you can hone in on any of these towns.

I think it's pretty clear what people mean when they speak of diversity these days. Presumably the OP doesn't want her kids to grow up only around kids who look just like them.

You say you would love Cambridge but Cambridge isn't particularly diverse.

LOLWUT?

There may be some diversity of color because of the students there but the residents are still 70% white, 15% Asian and 10% black

That's like the United Friggen Nations compared to most Massachusetts towns.

I will also caution you on the whole North Shore vs. South Shore thing. I grew up closer to Worcester so I never knew such a debate existed. However, my wife is a born and raised North Shore girl and she would never consider living south of Boston. Her college roommate was a born and raised South Shore girl and she would never consider living north of Boston. Just be careful if you consider taking you or your spouse out of your comfort zone.

A lot of people want to live near the area where they grew up, because they know the area very well, and they probably have friends and relatives there. Nothing particularly unusual or "caution-worthy" about that, IMO.

[ashcav]

scratchie is right on with their post. I grew up in a town that was 95%+ white, and the town I currently live in is as well. I'd like more diversity than an overwhelmingly white upper middle class suburban experience, that's my personal preference. I understand why others would choose towns like I grew up in that's why they are expensive and popular.

Cambridge is much more diverse than most South & North Shore towns. No place is going to be perfect, lol.

My husband grew up north of Boston, so we have ties in both places.

Waltham doesn't appeal because it's not particularly easy to navigate, and is more office parky than I'd like. Just my experience. But I'll consider it and explore the area more.

Thanks for the insight - gives us a lot to think about and consider!