Moving To Boston area (Newton, Brookline, Watertown, Melrose, etc) (Cambridge: apartments, to rent)

[Alakowe]

Hi everyone.

We're looking to move to the Boston area (Mum, dad and 5yr old) from Atlanta. Only visited Boston a long time ago so dont really know the city. Job is close to down town so want to stay close as possible but looking for good recommendations of neighborhoods with good schools for the little one.

Looked at a lot of houses out there and not sure whats a better option: buy or rent. Either way both are expensive in comparison and we are used to new houses so that's also something to contend with. I know I listed some neighborhoods in the subject but those were the few some mentioned after asking around. We would consider others as well.

Then any thoughts on moving by year end. Not sure if it would be snowing by then so something else we are discussing.

Thanks a lot for your advice.

[redplum33]

More info is needed. Most importantly, your budget. It would also help if you provided your housing wants/expectations, desired commute time, and a better idea of what part of the city where you'll be working.

[chicagoliz]

We need your budget, whether you want access to public transit, whether you want a single family house or a townhouse or a condo.

[Alakowe]

Ok. Commute time to downtown Boston near Copley center preferably within 30 mins. Havent lived in the north east before so the concept of getting around other than a car is foreign. Have a young kid and he is 4 so a good school area is a must. Based on what ive been seeing, any budget i had in mind (capped at $800K) is a joke. Is it just better to suck it up and rent even though it may cost an arm and 2 legs. We had a 2200SFT house 20 mins from downtown atlanta (about 10 miles) with all its crazy traffic and the house was about $300K. Does this help you appreciate our dilemma?

[bugelrex]

I believe you may be able to rent a 2br, 1ba 1000sqft apartment (a clean but unrenovated 100 year old) in the north side of newton for approx $2500 a month.

Example(just an example, no availability)
https://www.rent.com/massachusetts/n...ts-4-100068346


Good schools and 30-40 min express bus to downtown.

[timberline742]

Double your commute time and accept that, and then come back at the situation.

[bjimmy24]

Well, unfortunately this is not a unique ask, and you and everyone else in the area wants what you want, but others have 2-3x the budget. I'm not sure a 30 minute commute anywhere actually exists unless you're walking.

[missionhill]

Of the towns you mentioned the first two have rep for excellent schools but they're very affluent, expensive and close-in communities. Watertown is similar in location, not as expensive and not as highly rated although ratings & rankings are always questionable at best. There are many less expensive towns than those four. Some are farther out and more suburban, some are closer in and like nothing you'd see around Atlanta (i.e., houses very close together) and others that don't fit neatly into those categories. A few to look into: Waltham, Reading, Natick, Canton. Decent schools, nice suburban neighborhoods. More like 60 min to Copley Square. Except for the trip to work you're not going to be car-free in any of these communities; that would only work right in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Somerville and a few others where you can walk to things and the bus-subway-streetcar coverage makes car-free living feasible.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by Alakowe

Ok. Commute time to downtown Boston near Copley center preferably within 30 mins. Havent lived in the north east before so the concept of getting around other than a car is foreign. Have a young kid and he is 4 so a good school area is a must. Based on what ive been seeing, any budget i had in mind (capped at $800K) is a joke. Is it just better to suck it up and rent even though it may cost an arm and 2 legs. We had a 2200SFT house 20 mins from downtown atlanta (about 10 miles) with all its crazy traffic and the house was about $300K. Does this help you appreciate our dilemma?

Yes -- Boston is a very high cost housing market and it does suck. We moved from the Philadelphia area, which is also much less expensive and had to spend WAY more money on a house that is nowhere near as nice as our old one.

If your budget is up to $800K, you do have some possibilities, but you'll have to sacrifice something. For example, you could get a condo in that price range in some of the towns you mentioned. You might be able to get a duplex or even a house in Melrose.

As far as renting versus owning, that's really a personal decision. If you don't think you'll be in the home for very long, renting probably makes more sense. Sometimes it makes sense to rent for a year or two while getting to know the area, but that means you will be moving twice. I don't know if your employer is paying for the move, but if you do the rent for a year and then move, that second move is paid for by you. The one positive is that your child is young enough that if you do move in a couple years, it won't be a huge deal. (If your child was 12 years old or something, then you most likely would not want to leave whatever town s/he started school in and then you'd be limited. But since your child is just 4 now, even if s/he starts kindy and first grade in one school, moving to a new one won't be too traumatic.) Even if you want a single family home, it might still make sense to rent an apartment/condo for a year to get a feel for the area.

If you will not consider a condo and really want a single family home, I'd look at Natick. They have a commuter line to Boston, so the commute wouldn't be too bad. And it's still reasonably accessible to Boston by car and on weekends, etc, as well as to a number of other employment centers if you ever change jobs or your spouse gets a job.

[GeePee]

Originally Posted by Alakowe

Ok. Commute time to downtown Boston near Copley center preferably within 30 mins. Havent lived in the north east before so the concept of getting around other than a car is foreign. Have a young kid and he is 4 so a good school area is a must. Based on what ive been seeing, any budget i had in mind (capped at $800K) is a joke. Is it just better to suck it up and rent even though it may cost an arm and 2 legs. We had a 2200SFT house 20 mins from downtown atlanta (about 10 miles) with all its crazy traffic and the house was about $300K. Does this help you appreciate our dilemma?

If you were to double your budget or triple your commute time you would be okay. 30 mins to Copley on the T is if you lived right on top of a T station, you could do it from JP, Roxbury, Forest Hills... for $800k maybe near jackson Square these days you could find something in the 2500 ft2. But that is not exactly the nice part of town.