Brainstorming an idea! (Boston: renting, insurance, mortgage)

[MrLinderman]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

OP said Central CA, which probably means somewhere like Fresno (median home price $212k) and not somewhere like Monterrey (median $750k). California is a MUCH bigger state than Massachusetts and prices vary considerably.

And Massachusetts schools are better than california schools. There are some great public schools in California, but not really in towns where $100k is buying a house. The OP doesn't need to land in wellsely or lexington to find good schools.

No, but 100k with two kids lands you in Weymouth, not Hingham, or even Braintree. Not a bad life at all, but not exactly one of the towns that constantly get thrown around here when good schools are metioned.

[Cloudship]

You do realize that there are lots and lots of people who live in these communities who aren't millionaires, right? You may not have the biggest house in town nor drive an Audi, but yeah, you can make it work. The big thing really is what you are looking for. If you want easy access to the city for work, that is a different beast than a town that has great schools and lots of kid and familly things to do, but where the drive to work may be a bear. Quite frankly I find things tend to even themselves out. You will get paid a lot more working in the city, but expenses jump too - either living expenses or commuter expenses. You might make less living further out, but your housing costs and commute times are better.

One think to keep in mind, the scale is different here. An hour's drive in many parts of the country may very well take you a good 50 miles or more. Doing the 50 miles from Worcester to Boston during commuter hours might mean two hours or more. So be sure you factor that in.

I would also consider RI and New Hampshire. Keep in mind states are pretty small in New England.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by MrLinderman

No, but 100k with two kids lands you in Weymouth, not Hingham, or even Braintree. Not a bad life at all, but not exactly one of the towns that constantly get thrown around here when good schools are metioned.

And even then, things will still be tight.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

OP said Central CA, which probably means somewhere like Fresno (median home price $212k) and not somewhere like Monterrey (median $750k). California is a MUCH bigger state than Massachusetts and prices vary considerably.

And Massachusetts schools are better than california schools. There are some great public schools in California, but not really in towns where $100k is buying a house. The OP doesn't need to land in wellsely or lexington to find good schools.

I'm a MA native and been in Los Angeles for 10 years and I can attest that even neighborhoods where a small 2-3 bed house costs $750k-1 million in LA you may not be able to send your kids to public schools. Basically anything within the city of LA is going to have schools rated 3-5/10 on greatschools but home prices are still skyrocketing

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

I'm a MA native and been in Los Angeles for 10 years and I can attest that even neighborhoods where a small 2-3 bed house costs $750k-1 million in LA you may not be able to send your kids to public schools. Basically anything within the city of LA is going to have schools rated 3-5/10 on greatschools but home prices are still skyrocketing

Yep, and this is exactly the way it is in Boston, with slightly lower prices.

[canwedoit]

Is Braintree really that expensive? Couldn't the OP also go to Dedham or Malden? Not familiar with the schools there, though.

[MrLinderman]

Originally Posted by canwedoit

Is Braintree really that expensive? Couldn't the OP also go to Dedham or Malden? Not familiar with the schools there, though.

Yup, in the last few years Braintree has exploded. I've seen complete guts go for ~400k. A house in a town like Weymouth selling for 450 would probably be 600 in Braintree.

LOTS of cash buyers in Braintree too, which makes it even more difficult.

[yellowstatus]

OP, as a number of people have mentioned, you'll need to provide more information about your financial assets and current living situation to provide more actionable advice. There are many knowledgeable people on the forum who can provide excellent advice.

Boston is slightly less expensive than LA (~5-15% less) and substantially less expensive than San Francisco (30% less). This is my anecdotal experience. Boston is still among the top 5 most expensive metro areas in the United States. Sort of like arguing whether a hippo or elephant weighs more...

[Kate7776]

OMG!! I never expected to see so much replies to this post when I logged back in!! I subscribed to this thread to get notified by emails if someone posts a reply but never got any email. I don't know what I did wrong! I feel bad to be absent all these time.
Thank you all! I am sorry I provided very little information. I go over your questions and try to answer them.

-We currently don't have another source of income. We have a 500K house that still has a mortgage. I think we will end up with keeping only 100K after selling the house and paying back the loan.

-I am not interested in Boston necessarily. I like to be in MA though and as close to Boston as possible. I can't tolerate traffic in Boston if it is similar to LA. I am not an LA person.

-We would consider renting a house for the first 2-3 years before finding the area in which we would want to buy (/mortgage) a house. we would like to keep the rent between 2-3K.

-Public transport is not a concern. We have our own cars.

I am looking for the best education (we can afford) for my kids. A good neighborhood with a convenient proximity to a good library, a nice zoo, beautiful gardens, nice parks, science centers, Aquariums, If top universities are close by that would be an added bonus, because then my kids can benefit from quality summer camps and everything that those universities contribute to the society. I heard that schools in MA are highly ranked in US. But if we can't afford to live in MA I am willing to look at other states in East coast and would appreciate if you tell me which areas offer great schools.

Thank you for being honest. I hope my answers can give you a more clear image of our situation. Please fell free to ask any other questions that might help.

Thank you for your time.

[alidmc]

You really need to do some research to see where your husband will be working. Engineering jobs here are usually in the suburbs, not the cities. This could be a very good thing, housing cost-wise. Has your husband found potential employers, or does he have the opportunity to relocate with his current employer? Once you have some idea of where he will be working, we can suggest some surrounding towns that may work for you.

Many of the things you listed (zoo, aquarium, top universities) are in or near Boston in Mass. Gardens and nice parks are scattered throughout the state.

MA is generally expensive, but if you can keep the housing costs manageable, you may be fine. And I don't think traffic is anywhere near as bad as LA.