Need suggestions on School/Living area in South MA

[GeoffD]

$400K is the I-495 belt unless you're buying old, small, and an iffy location. The only sub-$400K house I see on Zillow in Sharon is a 1,400 square foot ranch with Amtrak and commuter rail roaring by about 1,000 feet away.


Splitting time between Quincy and Cranston is kind of ugly since you'd have 5 days of rush hour traffic somewhere. Where in Quincy is this? If it's only a couple days per week in Quincy and you can walk from a T stop, I'd be tempted to locate myself in Rhode Island where a Cranston commute is easy and do Quincy by train to South Station and then connect to the Red Line.

East Greenwich and Barrington are usually #1 and #1A for school systems in the state. Housing costs are higher in East Greenwich. Property taxes are higher and housing costs are a bit higher. From East Greenwich, if I can get to a Quincy office using the Red Line and it's only a couple of days, I'd park at T F Green and take the commuter rail to South Station. Barrington would likely be driving to Providence and parking by the Amtrak station to access commuter rail. The Cranston drive would have some rush hour traffic on I-195 but that's usually a 10 minute delay.

I'm just throwing out alternatives you may not have considered. You pay a huge premium to be easily driveable to Quincy with a good school system. Barrington and East Greenwich put you on the coast so you have all the summer ocean attractions right there. The 495 belt suburbs you can afford are kind of a snooze.

[ramsdesk]

@bugelrex - Thanks for your comments. That is a good perspective. Ofcourse kids education is priority. I understand if the school has to be best, then there is a compromise to be made on the housing within this budget.

However, what would be a typical middle path.. a decent house (I could use your advice on the typical price) + decent education?

Thanks again.

[bugelrex]

Originally Posted by ramsdesk

@bugelrex - Thanks for your comments. That is a good perspective. Ofcourse kids education is priority. I understand if the school has to be best, then there is a compromise to be made on the housing within this budget.

However, what would be a typical middle path.. a decent house (I could use your advice on the typical price) + decent education?

Thanks again.

Unfortunately, when the market is good, everyone is looking for the same thing. You have to be richer than the next person or willing to take on more debt or be less pickier than the next person or put up with a longer commute than the next person. You get the idea

Another idea is just to rent in good school district for a few years.

Good school is very subjective, some ppl like to ensure the peer group are all studious, or they prioritize class size, or perhaps they prefer more diversity in the classroom

since one child is in high school and the other in middle school. You really only need access to good schools for 5 more years. Consider running the math for renting in a good district and then buying after they done with school