Can we walk downtown? Can I commute to Boston easily? (Newton: renting, new home)

[curlystraight]

Trying to decide on a city/town for a new home for my young family - we are in our late 30s and have two babies and two big dogs. Prefer a place with other like-minded educated, active people in the community. Open space is nice. Being able to walk to a restaurant or the local library is important. Culture is a must, within easy driving distance.
Prefer not to live in a subdivision...would love to be able to find a house with character and a good size yard, that's walking distance of a cute downtown or village area.
Probably $400,000 range. Will be commuting to South Station.

[goyguy]

The most suitable inner-ring suburbs in that price range are Milton, Watertown, Norwood, Belmont, Arlington, Dedham, and Melrose. Each has a "downtown," in fact Arlington has two commercial hubs to complement the near-continuous string of stores and restaurants along Mass. Ave. Dedham and Watertown contain malls within their boundaries too. All of these communities have MBTA connections to South Station.

If you were to look at the commuter-rail map on mbta.com, you'd at least have an idea of the names of towns containing or near a train station as well as get an idea of travel distance from the city. You could then consult here again with questions about any given community. I can, and sometimes do, go on and on when an inquiry this general hits my screen. But more importantly, there're folks in this forum from "all over" waiting in the wings to sell you on their hometown the minute they spot its name.

[brightdoglover]

The above-mentioned towns do fit some of your requests, but not the price range. It's the problem with most towns that have easy access to public transport- the price goes up accordingly, because it is so desirable to live there.

[mcsummer]

400,000 would just about get you something in Melrose right now. We love the commute and the fact that it is it's own independent city that offers most amenities you need without having to leave. Restaurants, hardware store, grocery stores, clothing stores, library, preschools, etc.

Only problem - South Station is not the easiest to get to - North Station is a piece of cake, though.

[haberstroh]

I'd suggest Walpole. We just moved here last August and like it very much. It is more suburban -and although a little sparse in shopping and restaurants- we have beautiful open spaces and sports activities. Downtown is not super nice but they are working on a revival plan and a new library. Schools are pretty good although not top ranking like Newton or Belmont. Commute is no problem into South Station. $400000 is not all that much but you could find a smaller colonial, cape or ranch here in that price range.
You could also consider Canton which is similar in all the above minus the prison we have in town ;-)

[curlystraight]

Thanks so much for replying! We'll have to check out Walpole on our of our weekend jaunts. We go out to lunch and drive around the town and talk to people that we see.

So far we have gone to Mansfield, Easton, and Hopkinton.

[curlystraight]

Originally Posted by mcsummer

400,000 would just about get you something in Melrose right now. We love the commute and the fact that it is it's own independent city that offers most amenities you need without having to leave. Restaurants, hardware store, grocery stores, clothing stores, library, preschools, etc.

Only problem - South Station is not the easiest to get to - North Station is a piece of cake, though.

Yeah, I think that we need the easy commute to South Station to make our lives easy. Thanks!

[curlystraight]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

The above-mentioned towns do fit some of your requests, but not the price range. It's the problem with most towns that have easy access to public transport- the price goes up accordingly, because it is so desirable to live there.

Thanks! We are looking and hopefully will make the right decision. Leaning toward renting out our current home so we don't have to worry about selling in this market.

[brightdoglover]

Does Hopkinton have any access to public transport to South Station? I don't remember it being so.
You might consider Littleton. Commuter train to the red line, very much a smal town feeling, although it's not overly walkable, being a former farm town. Good library, lots of community involvement in kids' activities, a couple of very nice lakes with public access. Your budget would work fine here. (Disclaimer- I live in Littleton, although have no kids). The Long Lake area is the more modest housing, but I think it has a better density for a neighborhood feeling, and certainly houses in your price range.
Schools are quite good, I gather.