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What about Burlington or Arlington? Burlington doesn't have the most exciting town center but it has one. Plus, there is tons of shopping and restaurants in town outside the center. Arlington has some very walkable areas too.
I'm guessing Burlington is not good enough for the OP. They want to be in a Tier1 community
Actually the adjacent towns Arlington, Belmont and Lexington each have a pleasant walkable central area. You'd find the town hall, library and several large churches within a few blocks of each other, interspersed with stores and restaurants.
I believe OP mentioned that Arlington didn't really impress them, which is fair.
By ppsqft, it's not much cheaper than Winchester, and it has far more areas with urban bones that feel less polished. Even mid-rise apartments!!!
But, I think Arlington seems like the perfect fit. And at $1.4M, you can get into those higher end areas of Arlington (OP just might not have found them yet).
Thanks for the suggestion and the insight on Reading – I think we should be open to reconsidering Reading. We did tour one house in Reading close to the high school, and really the neighborhood around the house was nice; and the high school itself looked great. The schools seem good (not top tier but pretty good). And as you mentioned the commuting access is great. It really was the downtown that seemed kind of "meh". But I think your hypothesis about the downtown improving with the ex-urbanite exodus seems very realistic, so maybe we should take a chance on that.
Do you have any favorite restaurants or shops in Reading you'd recommend?
Sorry for the delay; I see that you've decided to narrow your search to Winchester and Belmont, but here are some thoughts in case you decide to keep Reading in mind as "back-up" .
With two young-ish kids we really don’t get out much, but a few go-to spots downtown include:
Swiss Bakers
Caffe Nero
Avana Sushi (for takeout)
Bangkok Spice (for takeout)
Whitelam books (great independent bookstore for perusing)
Pamplemousse (excellent for gourmet foods, wines and sandwiches)
There are a couple of gastro-pubs downtown that are popular (Biltmore and Main & Bunratty Tavern), but we’ve never been. We had a nice Italian meal at Zucca. Also, rumor has it that a new restaurant is opening soon on Haven Street (this shoots off Main Street and I think has potential to develop as an upscale commercial focal point).
I should add that being in walking distance to an elementary school isn’t necessarily a great thing. We are just outside of walking distance to our elementary school (it’s about 1.5 miles) so we are eligible for bus service. Our friends just within walking distance aren’t and HAVE to walk their kids to school.
Interesting point I hadn't considered!
Quote:
Originally Posted by r_p
While choosing towns make sure you're comfortable with local rules/regulations and zoning laws etc. E.g., do you or your spouse intends to carry a firearm (not all towns will issue a LTC, see list here), do you plan on raising chickens in your backyard etc.
Good point. I would like to get an LTC – but, I don't think it's a strong enough consideration to sway our town preferences.
Quote:
Originally Posted by htfdcolt
I'd give Winchester the nod. Great town center, decent dining, 2 commuter rail stations, very quick to Logan (under normal times), and closeness to Middlesex Fells & Mystic Lake for walks/hikes.
We were very impressed with Winchester, including the town center – it seemed larger than the Belmont town center and just as charming. Winchester also gives me a shorter commute to Burlington (even though I am only planning to go in 2x / wk, its not nothing). With Belmont, in addition to the town itself we also like the proximity to Waltham (Moody's St restaurants) and Watertown (Target/Arsenal Mall, and I think they have a new development going up that should be sort of like a smaller version of Assembly Row maybe?). But overall I think we are also leaning toward Winchester – if we find something we like and can afford!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Amontillado
You have been casually accepting suggestions for buying in towns that are the most expensive locations in a very expensive region, and you're looking for features that will push prices higher still. The fact is that you want the same things that lots of people want, and the laws of supply and demand definitely apply. Have you compared desires with budget?
It won't be easy but I do think we still have a modest shot – especially because, as I noted in a recent update post, we've compromised on needing to be walking distance to the high school and the town center.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwj119
I believe OP mentioned that Arlington didn't really impress them, which is fair.
By ppsqft, it's not much cheaper than Winchester, and it has far more areas with urban bones that feel less polished. Even mid-rise apartments!!!
But, I think Arlington seems like the perfect fit. And at $1.4M, you can get into those higher end areas of Arlington (OP just might not have found them yet).
Thanks for all the map links in Arlington! You're right there are some neighborhoods there I hadn't seen before. I do want to keep Arlington on our radar. I was a little taken aback at first because it seemed like Arlington prices were starting to catch up to Winchester and Belmont – for example I remember being shocked when I saw that this house sold for 1.635M which was 360K over list – I thought Arlington had peaked. But, I might be reading too much into too few data points; maybe Arlington still is a bit cheaper than Winchester. Probably cheaper than Belmont too – my sense is that Belmont is even more expensive than Winchester especially when you account for how old a lot of the house interiors are in Belmont.
If we end up priced out of Winchester and Belmont even after relaxing our proximity to high school & town center criteria, then I think Arlington is probably our next best bet if we can swing it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nauset102
Sorry for the delay; I see that you've decided to narrow your search to Winchester and Belmont, but here are some thoughts in case you decide to keep Reading in mind as "back-up" .
With two young-ish kids we really don’t get out much, but a few go-to spots downtown include:
Swiss Bakers
Caffe Nero
Avana Sushi (for takeout)
Bangkok Spice (for takeout)
Whitelam books (great independent bookstore for perusing)
Pamplemousse (excellent for gourmet foods, wines and sandwiches)
There are a couple of gastro-pubs downtown that are popular (Biltmore and Main & Bunratty Tavern), but we’ve never been. We had a nice Italian meal at Zucca. Also, rumor has it that a new restaurant is opening soon on Haven Street (this shoots off Main Street and I think has potential to develop as an upscale commercial focal point).
Good luck with your search!
Thank you for the recommendations! We've been to different locations of Swiss Bakers and Caffe Nero and enjoyed them both. The Avana Sushi storefront looked so tiny whe we walked by it, so it is a relief to hear that they make good sushi. Regretfully we totally missed Haven Street on our walking tour.
You make a strong case for Reading! I don't know if I'm ready to put it ahead of Winchester/Belmont/Arlington just yet, but for enough of a price different it is tempting..
Sorry for the delay; I see that you've decided to narrow your search to Winchester and Belmont, but here are some thoughts in case you decide to keep Reading in mind as "back-up" .
With two young-ish kids we really don’t get out much, but a few go-to spots downtown include:
Swiss Bakers
Caffe Nero
Avana Sushi (for takeout)
Bangkok Spice (for takeout)
Whitelam books (great independent bookstore for perusing)
Pamplemousse (excellent for gourmet foods, wines and sandwiches)
There are a couple of gastro-pubs downtown that are popular (Biltmore and Main & Bunratty Tavern), but we’ve never been. We had a nice Italian meal at Zucca. Also, rumor has it that a new restaurant is opening soon on Haven Street (this shoots off Main Street and I think has potential to develop as an upscale commercial focal point).
Good luck with your search!
Nauset102, you really have us reconsidering Reading. In addition to the comments in my previous post, I had a couple more questions:
I've heard from a few folks that the W/SW neighborhoods of Reading are considered the nicest parts. But the house we toured some time back was a little bit north, near the high school; and it seemed like a really lovely area – beautiful houses, lots of green. So I'm just surprised that this part of Reading is never mentioned in the same breath as W/SW Reading in terms of desirability. Is that because it isn't near the commercial district? What is your take on the neighborhood of Reading around the high school? It also has a higher-rated middle school than W/SW Reading, although lower-rated elementary school.
What is the best restaurant for seafood in or around Reading?
If we end up priced out of Winchester and Belmont even after relaxing our proximity to high school & town center criteria, then I think Arlington is probably our next best bet if we can swing it.
That's a reasonable plan, but they're all pricey. However, in those towns you'd be paying a premium for being close to Cambridge/Boston, and you say you really need to get to Burlington most often. It does make sense to consider that some day, you might want to commute into the city, but should you pay a heap of money (assuming that you actually have a heap of money) to make it easy to do something that you don't actually do? I'd say the Reading option makes more sense.
That's a reasonable plan, but they're all pricey. However, in those towns you'd be paying a premium for being close to Cambridge/Boston, and you say you really need to get to Burlington most often. It does make sense to consider that some day, you might want to commute into the city, but should you pay a heap of money (assuming that you actually have a heap of money) to make it easy to do something that you don't actually do? I'd say the Reading option makes more sense.
Yeah the affordability question is important.
Can you truly afford a 1.5m house or would the cheaper house in reading be more appropriate? Reading makes the most sense for you today and in the foreseeable future so why gamble on hypothetical future circumstances?
Can you truly afford a 1.5m house or would the cheaper house in reading be more appropriate? Reading makes the most sense for you today and in the foreseeable future so why gamble on hypothetical future circumstances?
Mm, on the affordability front, we really can afford 1.5M – mainly based on our combined incomes; our down payment would just be 20% – but it does put us in a position where if either one of us were to lose our job and/or end up in a lower paying job, then all of a sudden the mortgage would become a major financial stressor. With a somewhat cheaper house, even 1M – 1.25M, we would be able to breathe slightly easier in that situation. And of course a cheaper house also would let us save and invest more to grow our wealth faster (I am not considering house appreciation as wealth here because that is only wealth that we'd be able to access when we sell, which we hope not to do for a long time).
The counter-argument is: you only live once, so why not spend your days in the town that you love the most, if you can afford it. If we buy a 1.5M house in Winchester and worst case scenario one of us loses our job and has trouble finding another job at similar pay, we could then sell the Winchester house and buy in a cheaper town at that time (assuming whichever of us lost our job would have found another at lower pay).
Mm, on the affordability front, we really can afford 1.5M – mainly based on our combined incomes; our down payment would just be 20% – but it does put us in a position where if either one of us were to lose our job and/or end up in a lower paying job, then all of a sudden the mortgage would become a major financial stressor. With a somewhat cheaper house, even 1M – 1.25M, we would be able to breathe slightly easier in that situation. And of course a cheaper house also would let us save and invest more to grow our wealth faster (I am not considering house appreciation as wealth here because that is only wealth that we'd be able to access when we sell, which we hope not to do for a long time).
The counter-argument is: you only live once, so why not spend your days in the town that you love the most, if you can afford it. If we buy a 1.5M house in Winchester and worst case scenario one of us loses our job and has trouble finding another job at similar pay, we could then sell the Winchester house and buy in a cheaper town at that time (assuming whichever of us lost our job would have found another at lower pay).
Sounds like 1.5m is a stretch.
What is your annual household income?
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