HELP: need to find a town that is safe, quiet, family-oriented and not-so-expensive (Boston: rentals, transfer)

[sealseal123]

Hi, my family is moving to MA in 2 to 3 months, and we have no clue where to start to find a place. We would love to hear about your suggestions and opinions.

I will be working at Boston (most close-by station is Harvard, red line), and I hope we can find a place that is within 1 hour of commute. Good public transportation to Boston is a plus but not absolutely indispensable. We don't mind if the community is urban, suburban or rural as long as it is safe and quiet. We have a 3-year-old daughter and are expecting a new baby. We value family life a lot and hope the town can provide good resources for the kids. Nothing fancy. Story time from local library, safe playgrounds, kids activities in town or in near-by towns. Lastly, we hope the housing can be around $1500.

Just a little background. We are currently living in Blacksburg, a small town in VA, and we love it. It is safe, quiet but have a lot to offer for us and the kids. We would love to find a place that is close to this type of urban setting.

[timberline742]

How many bedrooms for $1500? If two, you can probably still find something (though it will take some work) in Arlington. I know a few people that pay around that there, though it is probably considered on the low end now. Commute would be easy as it gets.

[sealseal123]

Thanks for the reply timberline742. 2 bedrooms will work for us. Is Arlington a safe place to stay, especially if we are living in the relatively low-end places.

[timberline742]

Arlington is totally safe.

[brightdoglover]

Arlington is a great location for all of OP's preferences. Bus directly to Harvard Square takes about 15 minutes down Mass. Ave. Arlington is remarkably crime-free, especially given its amazing location abutting Cambridge and Somerville. The "lower-end" is my preferred area and is very family friendly. Best wishes on your move.

[kingeorge]

Welcome. You might need to rethink higher budget as rents are going through the roof lately. COL is really high. There is a lead issue as well, and could potentially make it more expensive for you because of your kids ages. You will be working in Cambridge, not Boston. It is overall very desirable area, and also very competitive RE market since demand seems often higher than available units (we have tons of students due to great number of universities and schools)

If you could go to $1600-$2000, that would be much easier for decent kid friendly 2-beds within easy commuting distance to Harvard Sq.

I would suggest Medford, Waltham, Acton, or Maynard, I think you would have hard time finding much in Arlington in your price range. It is great town to live in, and if you find something, jump on it immediately.

Maynard would work if you have parking at work, since there is no good option for commuting via public transportation from there. It should be much cheaper than Arlington or Medford.

If not Maynard, then Acton might be very good choice since it has commuter rail into Porter Sq, and from there you can hop onto Red Line or walk to work rest of distance. I am not sure what you will find for $1500 but I think chances are better further out you go.

Medford is decent town, rents might be higher as are in Arlington, but this is not bad area to check out if there is something available in your price range. Waltham is also closer to you work then Acton or Maynard (both Acton and Maynard are somewhat "sleepy" and little more country then the rest of towns i have mentioned).

Waltham has areas that are very poor, with many recent immigrants, but it is not unsafe, and it might offer something in your price range. Some neighborhoods are very family oriented and nice. There is mix between old families, students, young professional moving in...Medford has similar vibe as Waltham to some extent.

Arlington would be by far the best place, but your need better budget.

As someone said earlier on another post, bring warm clothes, and lots of money. You will need both.

Good luck!

[timberline742]

I dunno, it can be done for 1500. Not easily. It can be done though. There is a pretty nice looking 2 bed in E Arlington on CL for 1450 right now.

Again, not easy, but putting in the work is pretty worth it over commuting out to Maynard or Acton.

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I dunno, it can be done for 1500. Not easily. It can be done though. There is a pretty nice looking 2 bed in E Arlington on CL for 1450 right now.

Again, not easy, but putting in the work is pretty worth it over commuting out to Maynard or Acton.

We agree. But there are other factors here at play.

Often off-season rentals might have better price, and what they can find will depend on when OP is looking. Height of the season might not be as easy, since he will be competing with tons of young people and couples without kids, students, etc..It is not impossible, but it is much harder when everyone else is looking as well. Places come and go, almost overnight.

Lead is also something often conveniently forgotten, but it has huge impact on what will be available to OP. De-leading is very expensive, and who would want possible headache and cost for fairly low rent by Eastern MA standards? Family with young kids, and smaller budgets are in terrible disadvantage because of the MA lead laws, but let's not dwell on it. It is what it is.

Acton and Maynard would give them nice family oriented communities with possibly nicer place to rent (Acton is more sought after), but trade-off would be commute, of course. I think OP will need to chose what is more important.

[sealseal123]

Thanks for all your replies. I really appreciate all the info. I think Arlington would probably be our first choice if we can find a place within our budget. We don't really mind some commuting and quiet (sleepy) environment, so Maynard and Acton are on our radar as well. Finding a place is really overwhelming especially given our family size and budget.

What about some towns that are even a little further (if my geography is correct), like Franklin, Norwood, Clinton. It seems like they offer some decent places with reasonable prices. Are these towns good for family, more expensive, safe, etc.? Like I said, a little commute is not too much a problem (I am ready to sleep in the office in snow days if it is absolutely necessary...).

[kingeorge]

You can move that far out if you want to see your family only from time to time. Acton and Maynard are already over an hour door to door each way Franklin be like 90-120 minutes each way. Clinton is not as good, Norwood maybe if you can deal with more complicated commute.

In general commute to Cambridge is little bit easier from the west and north. South of Boston, South Shore as they call it here, seems always in rush hour, and overwhelmed by traffic even on weekends.

But, if you want to know Canton, Walpole, Franklin are all good cheaper places but usually best for people working in downtown Boston, not Harvard Sq. You would have an additional leg to your daily commute that is often a complete wild card in terms of time needed to get to work or home, and might make you miserable long term. My advice would be to try to stick to one mode of transportation without needing to transfer multiple times if at all possible.

Another thing to consider is that by going far out of Boston, your train ticket is going into $200-300 a month, and that money IMHO is then better spent on higher rental budget and $50 monthly commute from Arlington which will make you much more available partner and parent. Long commute is big additional cost on your time, and wallet, and not worth it when your family is so young.

You could look at Melrose, Wakefield, or Reading if you really think that longer commute is not as big deal.