Affordable housing = Mission impossible (Boston, Cambridge: day care, home, good schools)

[massnative71]

Your requirements:

1. Commuting range to Cambridge
2. A neighborhood that doesn't feel so sleepy or rural
3. Would love restaurants nearby
4. Love sidewalks.
5. Schools are important.

If you drop one of those from your list, it will open up a lot of options. You decide which one.

[xtf]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Your requirements:

1. Commuting range to Cambridge
2. A neighborhood that doesn't feel so sleepy or rural
3. Would love restaurants nearby
4. Love sidewalks.
5. Schools are important.

If you drop one of those from your list, it will open up a lot of options. You decide which one.

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm curious what towns you'd have in mind if we dropped no. 1 from the list.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by xtf

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm curious what towns you'd have in mind if we dropped no. 1 from the list.

Franklin, Mansfield, Westborough, Shrewsbury, come to mind. Possible to commute from those places, but wouldn't be fun.

Also some foreclosures on the market in closer in places, like Melrose and Braintree.

[alidmc]

What towns did you find sleepy? That may help us suggest towns. Right now, inventories are extremely low anywhere near Boston. There are 14 active listings in Melrose. 5 of them are condos and the rest are in higher price ranges.
If you are patient, you may find a single family 3/2, but it will probably need some work and may not be in the greatest location.

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by Surf123

I would like to buy a single family house 3/2, relatively updated home for no more than 450k. However it seems impossible to find a home in commuting range to Cambridge is a neighborhood that doesn't feel so sleepy or rural. I don't need nightlife but would love restaurants nearby and would also love sidewalks! Anyone have any ideas on where to look? Schools are important.

Originally Posted by MrLinderman

Hi

I want everything. But I don't really feel like paying for it.

You won't get anything within an hour commute of Cambridge with good schools and 3 bedroom for anywhere near 450. Maybe Malden, or Saugus, or Framingham, but their schools aren't very good.

Originally Posted by Dm84

What you want doesn't exist. It's pretty much that simple.

Although difficult, it is possible. We just sold our 3 bed, 2 bath, 1900sqft, 2003 built colonial home in North Hanover for $400K. Good schools, safe town, 15 minutes to Braintree T, and about 35 mins to Cambridge (non rush hour).

The key is having a good agent that can get the "inside" scoop that a home is in the process of getting ready to list, days before it actually gets listed. Don't wait for an open house. We got an offer and accepted 3 days after listing (we didn't even do an open house). The young couple that bought the house were the first ones to request a private viewing, the same day we listed it. You just have to be ready to drop everything you're doing and go look at homes, because if you "just wait till the weekend", they'll probably be gone.

[Dm84]

You're not commuting from Hanover to Cambridge in under an hour during rush hour so I'm not sure why you're using that as an example of what the OP is looking for.

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by Dm84

You're not commuting from Hanover to Cambridge in under an hour during rush hour so I'm not sure why you're using that as an example of what the OP is looking for.

Why are you assuming the OP is driving during rush hour? He/she didn't state their work hours. I'm in the office at 6am and leave at 2pm. If the OP had flexibility or a similar schedule as mine, it would be 100% doable in under an hour. Its roughly 20 miles into Cambridge from North Hanover.

I used to work in North Waltham off Winter St when we first moved to Hanover. That was a 37 mile commute, yet still took me just shy of an hour.

If the OP has flexibility in when they can get into/leave the office, it'll open up a lot more options.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by vtecluder617

Why are you assuming the OP is driving during rush hour? He/she didn't state their work hours. I'm in the office at 6am and leave at 2pm. If the OP had flexibility or a similar schedule as mine, it would be 100% doable in under an hour. Its roughly 20 miles into Cambridge from North Hanover.

I know how far it is. I also know the vast majority of people don't work 6 am-2 pm for a variety of reasons. It's much safer to assume someone is working standard hours.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by vtecluder617

Why are you assuming the OP is driving during rush hour? He/she didn't state their work hours. I'm in the office at 6am and leave at 2pm. If the OP had flexibility or a similar schedule as mine, it would be 100% doable in under an hour. Its roughly 20 miles into Cambridge from North Hanover.

I used to work in North Waltham off Winter St when we first moved to Hanover. That was a 37 mile commute, yet still took me just shy of an hour.

If the OP has flexibility in when they can get into/leave the office, it'll open up a lot more options.

Most people work close to the standard hours, which is why rush hour exists in the first place. If the most typical scenario were not OP's scenario, OP would usually state that in his query. Obviously, working off-hours changes the traffic calculation, but it doesn't make sense to assume that a person does not have what the vast majority of people have.

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

Most people work close to the standard hours, which is why rush hour exists in the first place. If the most typical scenario were not OP's scenario, OP would usually state that in his query. Obviously, working off-hours changes the traffic calculation, but it doesn't make sense to assume that a person does not have what the vast majority of people have.

It appears to me that more and more companies are becoming very flexible due to the increase of overall traffic (that has been the case for me in my past 2 positions with different companies). If the OP has to be on the road during the worst of rush hour, then only Cambridge and towns that border Cambridge will work for him/her.