Moving back to Mass- where to? (Boston, Quincy: new home, construction, best school districts)

[CaseyB]

You won't get much for that in Wellesley, certainly not 3000 square feet.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by Massback

Thanks all for the responses. To be more clear, one of us will be working in Boston Children's Hospital and the other at Harvard Medical school, but neither of us are doctors. Our kids are involved in a lot of extra activities, sports, music. So we want to have money for their activities after buying a house considering the taxes too. Its concerning that 1.2 million wont be nearly enough.
We are concerned about the size of Newton school district and the competition at Lexington. It may not work for us.
Realistically, can we expect anything decent in our price point in Wellesly? That was our first choice and then Winchester.

Harvard Medical School and Boston Childrens are right next to each other. If you guys have the same work schedule i'd just drive in from a place like Needham. I think Needham would be an easier commute compared to Winchester. It's about a half hour to 40 min drive. The commute via public transit would be longer, since the commuter rail really isn't convenient to Longwood.

Belmont would be another good option. And Wellesley too.

Basically anywhere other then Newton or Brookline i'd just drive in, the train isn't worth the hassle if you have multiple transfers and it's takes twice as long as driving would.

Originally Posted by CaseyB

You won't get much for that in Wellesley, certainly not 3000 square feet.

Yah looking there are options but they're closer to 2000 sf.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by Massback

Thanks all for the responses. To be more clear, one of us will be working in Boston Children's Hospital and the other at Harvard Medical school, but neither of us are doctors. Our kids are involved in a lot of extra activities, sports, music. So we want to have money for their activities after buying a house considering the taxes too. Its concerning that 1.2 million wont be nearly enough.
We are concerned about the size of Newton school district and the competition at Lexington. It may not work for us.
Realistically, can we expect anything decent in our price point in Wellesly? That was our first choice and then Winchester.

If you want to avoid competition, I don't recommend Wellesley. And, Newton is split North and South, and I believe Lexington is larger than either.

If we collectively move away from the MetroWest communities due to cost, Milton may be a really good secondary fit. You'll drive, but it's only ~10 miles from Longwood. Really nice community, and a bit more in the way of socioeconomic diversity. Strong schools, but not a Lexington or Wellesley, and less students than than both.

[MikePRU]

$1.2M is a lot of money. However, $1.2M is not a lot of money for a 3,000+ sq foot home that's completely updated in many of the towns mentioned. I ran a quick search on MLS and came up with only 60 homes sold over the last year that were that size in Needham, Newton, and Wellesley. Once I started crossing the split levels, the houses that weren't updated, and the houses on busy streets off the list, I was left with just a handful of homes. Granted the OP only needs one house, but there will be a TON of competition at that price from other buyers for homes like this.

Needham had the most homes that came up in my search and I have a lot of friends in town that commute to the Longwood area. Some of them drive. Some of them take the commuter rail. The trains that leave from Needham stop at Ruggles and many businesses run shuttles from there into the Longwood Medical Area. A few people I know drive to Chestnut Hill and hop on the bus. I also know a couple people who drive into Newton and hop on the green line.

Newton is also a great choice for obvious reasons. Wellesley probably had the fewest homes when I ran my search.

Originally Posted by mwj119

If we collectively move away from the MetroWest communities due to cost, Milton may be a really good secondary fit. You'll drive, but it's only ~10 miles from Longwood. Really nice community, and a bit more in the way of socioeconomic diversity. Strong schools, but not a Lexington or Wellesley, and less students than than both.

Driving from Milton to Longwood is not going to pleasant. It's likely well over an hour during commuting hours.

[Massback]

I am not sure if I mentioned incorrect, but we are NOT looking for a completely updated house or a new house. We are open to renovations and older homes. I think somewhere I misrepresented our requirement. We know we will not get an updated home but anything which needs some work is fine. Again we read all the comments and are working on readjusting our wish list. This is v helpful.

[ECPCVC]

Originally Posted by Massback

Thanks all for the responses. To be more clear, one of us will be working in Boston Children's Hospital and the other at Harvard Medical school, but neither of us are doctors. Our kids are involved in a lot of extra activities, sports, music. So we want to have money for their activities after buying a house considering the taxes too. Its concerning that 1.2 million wont be nearly enough.
We are concerned about the size of Newton school district and the competition at Lexington. It may not work for us.
Realistically, can we expect anything decent in our price point in Wellesly? That was our first choice and then Winchester.

Just look at realtor.com, Redfin, etc. If you see homes you like within walking distance to the commuter rail then you will know. We can’t really tell you what you will or will not be satisfied with.

On a side note, you should check out Westwood. You’d probably have to drive to the commuter rail, but it’s a very quick ride to the ruggles stop for longwood. Excellent schools.

[alidmc]

$1.2 mill should get you more than it does. You can certainly buy a house in Wellesley or Winchester in this range, but it will be smaller than you want, or in a less desirable area (near a highway, etc.)
I agree with ECPCVC-take a look at Westwood. It is a great town often overlooked on this forum. I also agree with the suggestion of Needham, though it seems as though offerings are pretty thin in this range.

[CaseyB]

Westwood is a great suggestion. Yes, there's commuter rail there.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Driving from Milton to Longwood is not going to pleasant. It's likely well over an hour during commuting hours.

Admittedly, I've never done the drive. By way of miles, it's close, but I understand that doesn't tell the story.

As for the Westwood suggestion, it's a good one. Being that there are choices in Needham at that price range, though, I'd give the nod to Needham over Westwood. And although most would agree that spending $1.2M in Natick seems a bit high, it's a good tier-two option.

[Massback]

Can anybody tell me which site you use to see the school rankings. Niche, school digger? which one. Coz when I checked newton schools, there is a vast difference in the rankings of newton schools in niche and school digger. Which site to use.