Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Wayland, Sudbury, Weston? (Boston, Cambridge: condo, buying a house, neighborhoods)

[AudreyHepburn36]

Hello everybody!

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Boston from Los Angeles this year, and he is likely going to be working for MIT Lincoln Labs out in Lexington. We are probably going to buy a house once we get there, and we are looking at Lexington, Concord, Weston, Sudbury, Lincoln, Wayland, etc. I wondered ...

1) Why are Lexington, Weston and Concord so expensive? Can we get as much or more bang for our buck in Sudbury and Wayland?
2) Why are Sudbury and Wayland so """cheap"""? I see that you can buy a huge house for 1.2-1.4 in these towns, which is peanuts compared to where we live. We are likely thinking of buying a house in the 1.2-1.6 range. Maybe can go up to 1.8.
3) Are the public schools in Lexington so much better to make living there worth the price tag? We don't have kids yet, but likely will within the next year or two.
4) Any other towns that we should consider? I work from home, and so we are really only worried about my husband's commute.

By the way, we met in Cambridge, lived there for about five years, and I just love Lexington and Concord, especially for their downtowns and all of the Revolutionary War history. I've never been to Weston, Sudbury or Wayland, at least not that I can remember.

Thanks so much in advance!!!

[maclel]

We just went through the same decision just a few months ago and landed a house in Lincoln. I actually started a thread which you should probably read if you're considering Lincoln https://www.city-data.com/forum/mass...t-lincoln.html. I'm probably biased towards Lincoln

1 - Lexington is inside the 128, everything there is more expensive - not that the commute is necessarily better depending where one works given the lack of commuter rail or subway alternatives. Weston just has more expensive houses than any other suburb and people who are willing to shell out a significant amount of money feel more protected buying in Weston, thus begets a premium. It is also very well located, with the easiest access to the pike of any of the towns you listed. Concord is actually more of a tale of two cities. Houses walk-able to the town center are certainly more expensive, but houses further away are not.
2 - Sudbury and Wayland are more distant from the highway arteries. Again the further out you go the more bang for your buck. If you checked houses in Harvard you can buy even cheaper.
3 - The education your kids will be getting is very comparable in all towns. The difference is that Lexington has the highest Asian population, which far and away score other ethnicities. I suggest you go to the report cards site from the Commonwealth and filter results for "white non-hispanic" only to get more of an apples to apples comparison. I think having a low teacher to student ratio is a more important metric and Lincoln is the best of the state in this metric at ~9. You should also find out how many days per week they've done in person this year as that will give you a sense about the relationships between teachers and parents (again, we were very pleasantly surprised Lincoln has done in-person 5 days all year).
4 - I think you got the right towns. You could also consider Belmont, but only if you value proximity to Cambridge. The schools this year there have been a disaster (I know of a family who's rented a condo in Lincoln just to send their kids to school here). Lexington is more urban-suburb with smaller lots while the other towns you listed are more rural-suburb. You should drive a bit around to get a better feel for each town. Personally I'm less of a fan of Wayland and Subdury given the proliferation of McMansions.

Let me know if you have any more questions about Lincoln. These couple houses just went under contract in your price point to give you a sense of the market:

https://www.redfin.com/MA/Lincoln/38...3/home/8558473
https://www.redfin.com/MA/Lincoln/38...3/home/8558897

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by maclel

2 - Sudbury and Wayland are more distant from the highway arteries. Again the further out you go the more bang for your buck.

IOW the commute to say Downtown starts to get long from those two towns. To the Lab it wouldn't be bad but I would definitely take that into consideration. Could look at Arlington or Winchester if you want something more urbany.

[r_p]

Originally Posted by AudreyHepburn36

Hello everybody!

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Boston from Los Angeles this year, and he is likely going to be working for MIT Lincoln Labs out in Lexington. We are probably going to buy a house once we get there, and we are looking at Lexington, Concord, Weston, Sudbury, Lincoln, Wayland, etc. I wondered ...

1) Why are Lexington, Weston and Concord so expensive? Can we get as much or more bang for our buck in Sudbury and Wayland?
2) Why are Sudbury and Wayland so """cheap"""? I see that you can buy a huge house for 1.2-1.4 in these towns, which is peanuts compared to where we live. We are likely thinking of buying a house in the 1.2-1.6 range. Maybe can go up to 1.8.
3) Are the public schools in Lexington so much better to make living there worth the price tag? We don't have kids yet, but likely will within the next year or two.
4) Any other towns that we should consider? I work from home, and so we are really only worried about my husband's commute.

By the way, we met in Cambridge, lived there for about five years, and I just love Lexington and Concord, especially for their downtowns and all of the Revolutionary War history. I've never been to Weston, Sudbury or Wayland, at least not that I can remember.

Thanks so much in advance!!!

Weston is the richest town in the entire state, mostly old money. Lexington is expensive due to its school system (very popular with Asians). Concord is a bit far from Boston. Sudbury and Wayland are somewhat similar and offer more value.

Wellesley is good too but like Weston its not cheap Good luck!

[Jacconn]

Some of those towns are pretty sleepy and far from Boston. They’re almost all single family homes on large lots, aimed at families with kids. If you don’t have kids yet, and are years away from using a school district, I’d personally move closer in to the city where there are more likely to be activities you’d enjoy and more DINKY couples. Sudbury/Weston/Wayland in particular have a very rural feel where it’s harder to meet neighbors (acre+ lots) and nowhere to walk to. So for that reason, I’d personally prefer Winchester, Arlington, Belmont or Newton which have more density, walkability, and access to more urban areas, while still have SFH neighborhoods with excellent schools if and when you need them.

[robr2]

One other thing to keep in mind is that there is only one entrance to the main Lincoln Labs facility which is on Wood St. in Lexington. Traffic during normal times is horrendous in the area. You can access Wood St. from either Mass Ave. or Hartwell Ave. Adding in the commute time from Wayland or Sudbury might dissuade you but if you're used to LA traffic.....

I knew may LL that lived in Lexington. Easier commute, great town for education and activities, easy access to Boston and Logan Airport.

[AudreyHepburn36]

Thanks so much everyone!

You all bring up very good points. We are both 32, don’t have kids and probably won’t have kids for another year or two. I do worry about being the only early-30s without kids in some of these towns (and as a result feeling lonely and isolated, especially in the winter). I work from home and plan on doing so forever if I can, but if I did have to go back to work, it would probably be in Cambridge, Lexington or downtown. I also worry about buying a house in Wayland or Sudbury, and then maybe in a few years having to commute from there to Cambridge or downtown, which sounds like it would be tough.

That said, my husband and I both grew up in “rural” suburbs that are quite similar in feel to Concord and Lincoln. I have driven through Lincoln many times and love it, and I seem to remember that it had a very small downtown area near the train station (and then that little area where the public library is). I do love the Codman Estate and the trails behind it. Love all of the conservation land in Lincoln. Is Lincoln a reasonable commute to and from the Lab? Wellesley seems a bit far away from the Lab? I do like downtown Wellesley a lot too.

I also like the aesthetic and history of Lexington, but find it a little hustly bustly ... honestly I think that I prefer Concord, and all of the Transcendentalist history there. I also like the idea of having more space and land. Are Arlington and Winchester more urban than Lexington? I don’t really like towns with a lot of traffic and cars, especially after LA. I guess I will have to decide what’s more important ... buying the forever house, having more space and land, being closer to trails, etc., or being closer to downtown, shops and restaurants and people our age ... it’s a hard decision! Do Concord and Lincoln have early-30s without kids or with very young kids?

Thanks everyone!

[masssachoicetts]

Weston? Too boring... everyone I know from here brags.
Lincoln? Too secluded.
Wayland? Too country. I get anxiety here.
Sudbury? Not bad. I know a few people from here who are absolute messes. Put a bad rep on Sudbury for me.
Concord? I like Concord.
Lexington? My favorite of the bunch. Cool people, dont to earth.. and most diverse (relative) of these bunch.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by AudreyHepburn36

Thanks so much everyone!

You all bring up very good points. We are both 32, don’t have kids and probably won’t have kids for another year or two. I do worry about being the only early-30s without kids in some of these towns (and as a result feeling lonely and isolated, especially in the winter). I work from home and plan on doing so forever if I can, but if I did have to go back to work, it would probably be in Cambridge, Lexington or downtown. I also worry about buying a house in Wayland or Sudbury, and then maybe in a few years having to commute from there to Cambridge or downtown, which sounds like it would be tough.

That said, my husband and I both grew up in “rural” suburbs that are quite similar in feel to Concord and Lincoln. I have driven through Lincoln many times and love it, and I seem to remember that it had a very small downtown area near the train station (and then that little area where the public library is). I do love the Codman Estate and the trails behind it. Love all of the conservation land in Lincoln. Is Lincoln a reasonable commute to and from the Lab? Wellesley seems a bit far away from the Lab? I do like downtown Wellesley a lot too.

I also like the aesthetic and history of Lexington, but find it a little hustly bustly ... honestly I think that I prefer Concord, and all of the Transcendentalist history there. I also like the idea of having more space and land. Are Arlington and Winchester more urban than Lexington? I don’t really like towns with a lot of traffic and cars, especially after LA. I guess I will have to decide what’s more important ... buying the forever house, having more space and land, being closer to trails, etc., or being closer to downtown, shops and restaurants and people our age ... it’s a hard decision! Do Concord and Lincoln have early-30s without kids or with very young kids?

Thanks everyone!

I think I'd look in Concord, 1st. I don't know what it is, but I get creepy vibes from the people I've seen in Lexington. Have you seen downtown Concord? It's very nice.

[Jacconn]

I can’t imagine moving to any of these towns without kids, IMO. I genuinely think you’d struggle to meet others without kids that aren’t empty nesters. The whole appeal of those places are big houses, yards and good schools - which people with kids value, but others don’t, or at least not enough to pay $1.4M to live there. I live in Winchester and everyone l’ve met moved to town from Cambridge, Southie, Seaport or Charlestown once they outgrew their condo (2nd kid came along). Not one came pre-kids.