Family relocation to Cambridge area - Belmont, Winchester, Lexington, Concord, Needham? (Newton: neighborhood, schools)

[J1NL1]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

OP - we are in Belmont, been there about two years with kids, and very happy with it. We both work in Cambridge and I am in Kendall square three days a week....so somewhat similar situation as yours.

My take on your questions :

- All of the towns that you mentioned are great choices .... and there are many more besides. We are fortunate in MA to have such such good public education options, albeit at a high housing cost, but it can make picking a neighborhood difficult. It is essentially a compromise between commute distance, size/age of house and size of lot, amenities, and budget. We chose Belmont because we thought it gave us the best compromise, for the things that were most important for us. We ruled out most of the towns that you mentioned due to commute distance, and had similar concerns about pressure (perhaps unfairly) in the Lexington school system.

- My commute (drive) to Kendall during rush hour is 25-30 mins .... and is 25 mins most of the time. Although Belmont borders Cambridge, your commute would be very dependent on where you live in Belmont and where you work in Cambridge. For example, I could see how living on Belmont hill and working in East Cambridge could easily add 10+ mins to that.....it can take 30 mins to drive across all of Cambridge on its own. I can't speak to the public transport options/timing. Seems like you are open to an hour commute which opens up many more towns.

- The schools in Belmont are excellent and provide a great balance between academic rigor and arts, which was also very important to us. Highly engaged teachers, great school resources, very involved parents. Our kids have adjusted very well and love it here so far. From your list of towns, we have friends with kids in Needham, Concord, Winchester who are likewise very happy.

- $1.25M for a 2,500+stft house not needing work will be very difficult in Belmont, which is crazy when you think about it. Also, some of the 2,500+sqft listings often include converted basement or attic in the overall square footage. Most of the housing stock in Belmont are ~2,200 sqft center entrance colonials that were built in the 1920's and 30's, with very similar interior layouts, and small lots compared to the outer burbs. Some have extensions/bump-outs in the back. I found Redfin to be the best site to see what you can get for your money based on previous sales .

- As others have said, overcrowding in schools is an issue in many/most towns, and Belmont is not immune from this. The tax rate is relatively low here, primarily residential based, but high property values means a high tax payment. Two big apartment complexes coming on line will add pressure to the schools, and a new high school just got approved that will need funding. I don't see a tax raise having any impact on house price/desirability in Belmont .... as long as the high paid STEM and Finance job sectors in Boston, and especially Cambridge, continue.

More inventory will come online in all towns as the spring market opens up so I would not be too disheartened with supply yet.

Good luck with your search!

This is all such helpful insight sawyer2. Thank you!

It's true, the $1.2m budget in Belmont basically gets us what we have currently, with probably the same level of renovations needed that we had when we bought it years ago. There is something psychological about wanting to upgrade on something...anything moving to a new area to take the sting out of leaving a place we love. For us it is definitely schools but it would just be so nice to feel like we don't need to go through major renovations again. But to get that we have to sacrifice on commute. Really a tough call.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by J1NL1

Do towns generally keep up with tax assessments? Our area just did one after maybe 50 years (!) and many people were hit with increases of up to 60-70%. Even before that it was not uncommon for 1m single family homes to have annual property tax bills of $26-36k. Let's just say, unexpected massive tax hikes are something that concern me.

IIRC, the state requires cities and town to do assessments every 3 years.

[J1NL1]

Just an update, we found a house in Needham, close to Hersey station. After a few months I'll report back the commute time to Kendall via commuter rail/red line so hopefully it will help others. Thanks again everyone for the input. Was all very helpful!

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by J1NL1

Just an update, we found a house in Needham, close to Hersey station. After a few months I'll report back the commute time to Kendall via commuter rail/red line so hopefully it will help others. Thanks again everyone for the input. Was all very helpful!

Welcome to Needham! Are you buying that yellow house on Great Plain Ave?

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by J1NL1

Just an update, we found a house in Needham, close to Hersey station. After a few months I'll report back the commute time to Kendall via commuter rail/red line so hopefully it will help others. Thanks again everyone for the input. Was all very helpful!

Congrats! Needham is a great town.

[BostonTankah]

Originally Posted by J1NL1

Great feedback everyone, thanks. It is a corporate relo so my husband will move up there soon and I'll hang back with the kids until we close on a house. So we have some time to see what the spring market looks like but I really want us to join him shortly after the school year ends in NY. My oldest is in pre-K but the cutoff is different in MA so he will not be eligible for Kindergarten in the fall. I am concerned about the low inventory in Belmont. Maybe we will get lucky and something will pop up to our liking soon.

My friend in Winchester mentioned a shuttle from North Station to Kendall Sq. Anyone try this?

Another friend suggested Lynnfield, he commutes to Kendall Sq but on slightly off peak hours. He said the homes are newer there and the schools also very good. I hadn't even considered up north because it looks too far on a map but perhaps I was mistaken. He said it also has great airport proximity.

You could be in Cambridge in 30 minutes from lynnfield off hours. I live in Marblehead and commute to Somerville .
It's next to Cambridge.
Good schools, expensive houses like you want, ocean , and you can get to subway.

[rethcir]

I think 30 mins lynnfield to Cambridge is an exaggeration. I have friends up there. It's probably more like 40-45 depending what part of each town, and at rush hour it's gonna be way more.

Lynnfield definitely a nice town though.

[sawyer2]

Originally Posted by J1NL1

Just an update, we found a house in Needham, close to Hersey station. After a few months I'll report back the commute time to Kendall via commuter rail/red line so hopefully it will help others. Thanks again everyone for the input. Was all very helpful!

Congrats and enjoy ... Needham is a great town

[Wendela]

I love Winchester.

If you like a busier town center with solid, diverse restaurants, commuter rail, strong schools (not super STEM centric), and a strong sense of community then you may be happy there. They have beautiful homes, whole foods and a relatively easy commute to the airport and Boston.

All of the towns you mentioned are possible....kind of depends on the feel you want. Lincoln is out on your budget though. Lexington might be tough on 1.2 for a center entrance colonial too. That might get you one that needs new kitchen and baths.

[J1NL1]

Just wanted to follow up and share a little more information about my husband's commute to Kendall Square from Needham, in case it can help someone else considering the same.

We bought a house near Hersey station close to 95, near Dedham line. He has parking at Kendall next to his office. If he leaves between 6:45-7:15am, it usually takes him 50 min by car, and 1 hr door to door. After 7:15am it takes him an extra 15 minutes due to traffic.

Coming home, he has never left prior to 7 or 8pm, and it takes him 40 min driving. I'm sure you'd have to add another 15-20 min during rush hour.

He hasn't taken the train as it doesn't run often enough for his schedule but it will be nice to have the option if the weather is really bad and there are major traffic delays.

So far, we love Needham. We moved here from Westchester NY and it has many of the same qualities we enjoyed about living there. Friendly community, sidewalks throughout the neighborhood and walkable to schools, central location to many shopping hubs, commuter rail and easy highway access. Tons of kids activities both in town and nearby (I'm taking kids to activities in Newton and Norwood all within 20 min from our house).