Suburbs west of Boston (Brockton, Framingham: apartments, rent, high crime)

[bladematthewslp]

Hello, all.

I will be relocating to the Boston area to work in Needham and am looking for an affordable place to live not too far. I'm looking for an apartment just for myself - no kids or significant other. This may sound ridiculous but I'm looking for an apartment with rent $1100 or lower. Coming from the south, this will have to be my budget.

So far, I found some descent apartments in the cities of Foxboro, Brockton, and possibly Framingham. I have never visited these apartments personally because I'm not in the area yet, but the website and from what I can make out on Google Street View and apartment review sites, the neighborhoods do not look that bad. Are these places good cities to live in? What are the pros/cons of living in each of these cities?

Can you all recommend an affordable place to live not to far from Needham that is also descent?

[CaseyB]

Stay away from Brockton. It's too far, anyway.

Foxborough is a smaller town (it's where the Patriots play). Safe and adjacent to Rte.95 but still sort of far from Needham.

Framingham might be your best choice depending on what section of town.

[bladematthewslp]

Thanks for your quick response. I understand most of the cities I listed are about 25-30 minutes away from Needham. It seems most smaller cities with apartments in my budget are a good distance away.

In your opinion, what is Brockton like for you to suggest to stay away from the city?

[CaseyB]

High crime.

Also, Brockton and Foxborough are south of Needham, not west.

[bladematthewslp]

Ah, okay. Thank you. I should update the name of this thread, then. Other cities I am now considering are Canton, Marlborough, and Ashland. What say ye about these places?

[Nobodybody]

Going west of Needham, you have Wellesley (arguably most expensive town in MA), then Natick (great active family town, you can swing a small 1 br here on your budget), and then Framingham. Without kids, Framingham may be your best choice. It's more of a city when compared to the towns surrounding it, so, like any city it has it's good and bad parts. You get more for your money as the general feedback I get (I am not speaking with firsthand experience) is that the schools aren't on par with surrounding towns, but without kids this becomes a benefit for you. Framingham does have a commuter rail for Boston accesss too if that is of interest to you.

Brockton and Foxboro wouldn't be great spots to commute from. Dedham and Norwood to the south, however, would be other options for you.

[Amontillado]

Another one to look at would be Waltham. It's an unpretentious city, but not falling apart or full of drug dealers either. It's just the place for a not-fancy-but-OK apartment. (But it's north, not west. I assume compass direction isn't totally vital here.)

[bladematthewslp]

Thank you all for your help. I checked apartments in Dedham, Norwood, and Waltham. The apartments were very nice. It seems their apartments are several hundred dollars over my budget, though, which is a bummer because they are close to where I will be working.

[CaseyB]

Really, in Norwood? Well Canton is next to Norwood so that would be ok.

Ashland is next to Framingham.

I think Marlborough is getting a little too far west.

[bladematthewslp]

Yeah, you're right about Marlborough. It would be a 40 min drive to Needham.

Regarding Brockton, I understand the concern about crime. Before I made this thread, I saw an apartment review site that gave apartments along the Brockton/Stoughton border high ratings, including feeling safe and such. Does this sound about right - is Brockton overall unsafe or certain parts?