Most desirable Massachusetts suburb? (Boston, Cambridge: fit in, home, neighborhood)

[BostonMike7]

What is the criteria for what makes the poll and what doesn't? I posted before the poll was up, but still stick by my choice, with others not appearing on the poll as 2nd or 3rd choices. Why are only those particular suburbs deemed "desirable" and not any others?

[OutdoorLover]

I like Newburyport. I am a pretty down to earth guy, and while virtually every town here is more expensive, I wouldn't prefer them.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

I like Newburyport. I am a pretty down to earth guy, and while virtually every town here is more expensive, I wouldn't prefer them.

But Newburyport is its own place. Newton is a suburb; it wouldn’t exist as we know it without its entirely suburban relationship to Boston. Same for Wellesley, Weston... Newburyport, Salem, Marblehead are places with their own histories and identities. Now all included in the Boston consolidated statistical area (or whatever it’s called) and many residents commute to jobs elsewhere. Does that make them suburbs? I’d say no.

[Volitans]

Concord resident here. Jaw dropping natural beauty and elite school system are 2 of the biggest pros. Very pricey real estate and ugly commute to downtown Boston (I work in the Pru) are 2 big downsides. Could be a bit more diverse but that is changing fast, esp. being sandwiched between Acton and Lexington. Overall we love it here.

[mmyk72]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Native is a very good alternative.

Yep...close to half the price of Needham. Trade off is the 20 additional mins if your commute is into Bos each day. Downtown Natick is getting new storefront spaces and added 1 trendy restaurant and a new lux condo building. It seems to be getting more high end.

[SalamanderSmile]

This is sort of a weird list of places, where’s Wayland, Weston, Lincoln, Dover?

With money and commute no object my vote is Concord, but if I have little kids and a commute I am Needham all the way. Big kids and a commute and its Arlington for me.

While Winchester is nice it suffers from being along that rt.1/93 corridor of hellish density that you couldn’t pay me to live in again. Marblehead and Hingham are nice but suffer from accessibilty problems. Newton and Belmont are too dense for me but they do have pockets of desirability.

[G1..]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

What is Lee a suburb of? Albany?

Pittsfield.

[chicagoliz]

My choice would be Brookline, but since that's not on the list, I guess I'll go with Newton.

Originally Posted by Coloradon

what is a town like Needham but slightly less expensive?

Originally Posted by mwj119

Arlington and Melrose immediately come to mind, though the delta between Arlington and Needham is not large. I actually considered throwing Arlington on the poll.

I'm not sure Arlington is really like Needham, although I really liked both towns. I'm not sure, either that it's necessarily less expensive. We looked in both, and saw homes in the same price range in each. It was actually tougher, though, to find a place in Arlington because it didn't have as many SFH's available. It is less expensive in the sense that there is more higher density housing than in Needham, so that does make it less expensive. But for a similar house, they're about the same.

Originally Posted by massnative71

Natick?

I think this is the closest.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by SalamanderSmile

Marblehead and Hingham are nice but suffer from accessibilty problems. Newton and Belmont are too dense for me but they do have pockets of desirability.

Hingham has one of the best commutes to downtown Boston of any Boston area suburb, by boat.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by SalamanderSmile

This is sort of a weird list of places, where’s Wayland, Weston, Lincoln, Dover?.

Being that your list of towns are more similar than different, I included Concord and Lexington on their behalf. Lincoln is identical to Carlisle. Wayland to Sudbury. Weston is very, very similar to Dover.

And, in 2018/on CD, you hear more about the towns I listed. I think ppsqft in places like Needham, Arlington, and even Bedford prove that desirability of the new home buyer is vastly different than it was 20 years ago. On a ppsqft basis, Arlington is 30% more expensive than Wayland. Surprised? That’s the demand these days.