Thinking about moving to Massachusetts (Boston: real estate, apartment, to rent)

[beckthepeck]

My husband and I are thinking about moving to Massachusetts from Madison, WI when my husband has finished school in December.

We have a baby and dont have the time or finances to make a trip there to visit the many different villages, so we are really looking for any help from locals/people with experience of the area. We will be moving in January smack bang in winter so we really need some help!

My husband plans on getting a job in Boston and commuting from a village in Mass. Neither of us have ever been there before and so we are wondering which areas are reasonably nice with an EASY commute to Boston. I say easy because I have been doing my research and it seems even some of the closer towns to Boston take longer to travel there than ones further away! So I guess what I really need to know is what are the best, most effiecient train lines.

We cant afford to buy straight away so we plan to rent for our rest year and hopefully we'll have a better idea of where to settle and buy a house. Any idea on where might be a good place to rent within easy access of Boston? Any advice would be much appreciated!

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by beckthepeck

My husband and I are thinking about moving to Massachusetts from Madison, WI when my husband has finished school in December.

We have a baby and dont have the time or finances to make a trip there to visit the many different villages, so we are really looking for any help from locals/people with experience of the area. We will be moving in January smack bang in winter so we really need some help!

My husband plans on getting a job in Boston and commuting from a village in Mass. Neither of us have ever been there before and so we are wondering which areas are reasonably nice with an EASY commute to Boston. I say easy because I have been doing my research and it seems even some of the closer towns to Boston take longer to travel there than ones further away! So I guess what I really need to know is what are the best, most effiecient train lines.

We cant afford to buy straight away so we plan to rent for our rest year and hopefully we'll have a better idea of where to settle and buy a house. Any idea on where might be a good place to rent within easy access of Boston? Any advice would be much appreciated!

Boston is exciting but can be VERY expensive.

It would be easier to answer your question if you could be more detailed in your requirements. Where will your husband be working? What you are looking for in a rental--a studio apartment or ? how much will you be willing to spend per month? Are you looking for an vibrant youth-oriented community or a quieter bedroom community? Will you be worried about schools yet? What do you consider an easy commute? Where you should look depends a great deal on what you are looking for.

[beckthepeck]

My husband will be working for one of the govt departments. We will need a two bedroom. I consider an easy commute one whereby the trains are reliable and there are options with lines. We arent looking to live in Boston, we know that is expensive. We have a baby so somewhere child-friendly. Basically a reasonably nice place, doesnt have to be picture-perfect I know that would be very expensive, just somewhere nice and safe. We prefer somewhere where you can easily walk into town, to the library, restaurants etc. Doesnt have to be a buzzing town or anything but nothing too sleepy either.. Jeez i wonder if we will ever find anywhere!

[Russia25]

Youll be hardpressed to find a "village" in eastern mass thats easy to commute to boston.

The quaint little New England towns youre thinking of are West of I-495 in the state. Inside 495 is predominantly towns small in land area and high in population density. Theres def some nice towns but few with "small town charm" that youll be looking for. Not to mention costs of real estate in the future for you guys.

The homes in my area go for 300k but out near boston they go for 450k