suburb-a-phobe in Worcester (Boston, Cambridge, Quincy: condos, buying a house, neighborhoods)

[Drea6681]

Hi all. My name is Andrea. I grew up in Albany, NY and ran screaming to go to school in NYC, where I lived for four years. The idea of settling in the suburbs has always been nothing short of a nightmare for me.Anyway, I just recently moved to Worcester with my bf and am finding it to be not too bad (not NYC but enough of a "city" feel that I can adjust to). In talking about our future my bf is bringing up places like Framingham and Natick....both of which I understand to be....well......suburbs. Obviously Boston is too expensive (if money wasn't an issue we'd have stayed in NYC). And he doesn't really want to stay in Worcester. Does anyone know of any other towns in the area that are somewhat of a middle ground in all of this? Not too expensive, not too much of a suburb, doesn't suck? Thanks!!Andrea

[ogre]

A few more details might help people narrow the choices. Such as: Where would you be working, how long a commute can you handle, and basically is there any particular section of the metro area that would be especially convenient to the places you would need and like to get to? Also, "not too expensive" is a subjective term. An idea of your housing budget would help with determining suitable communities, as well as your preference on type of housing.

There are quite a few towns and small cities within the core area adjacent to Boston that have an urban feel. To compare it to your familiar turf, the NYC vicinity, think of the general idea of Yonkers, and some of the urban north Jersey towns directly across the river from NYC. If something of this ilk would work in terms of the needs I mentioned above, this would offer a more urban way of life. I do need to tell you realistically, that if you are thinking of finding something roughly midway between Worcester and Boston, there's not a whole lot that is truly urban. If you're looking east of Worcester and are not prepared to move fairly close to Boston, you may have to settle for finding a neighborhood in a basically suburbn area, which hints at something a little more urban than the general area. With more details on your needs and preferences it should be easier to determine this.

By the way, given the choice between Framingham and Natick, if you had to go with one of those two, I'd go with Natick. It's just a nicer town. But with some more info to work with, people should be better able to tell whether there are other options you'd like better.

[Drea6681]

Thanks Ogre.

Well the bf and I are actually gonna go drive through Quincy and Braintree on Saturday to look around. I work in Marlborough so that means I'll have about an hour commute, give or take, but I told my boyfriend I don't mind that if it means I like wear I live. We are looking into purchasing a condo in the 2-250K range and saw a couple decent listings in Quincy, and my boyfriend said he thinks the town has the kind of character I'm looking for.I had told him I realize we a4rent going to get a big city vibe, I just need something with more character than what I've seen in Framingham or Natick. I also heard recently that Natick does have a downtown which isn't bad so we're going to check that out too. He will be working in Cambridge so obviously if we move to the South Shore area he want have a commute issue.
He probably thinks I'm being a total snob about it (and yeah, maybe I am) but I know I'd be miserable settling in one of these suburban like areas that I keep seeing around here

[RMP059]

With the RE market tanking, some towns just north of Boston are more affordable than they have been in years. Somerville and Medford are very close to Cambridge and Boston, and both have an urban feel. Along the North Shore Salem is a nice little city, seems more like a tiny city than suburbs. Beverly is OK, some parts are very suburban, but there are parts that feel more citified.

If you're really wanting to stay Metro west, I don't have a ton of experience there, but most of it seems very suburban to me.

[boston mark]

Originally Posted by Drea6681

We are looking into purchasing a condo in the 2-250K range and saw a couple decent listings in Quincy, and my boyfriend said he thinks the town has the kind of character I'm looking for.I had told him I realize we a4rent going to get a big city vibe, I just need something with more character than what I've seen in Framingham or Natick.

Not sure how big of a place you're looking for, but I bought a 1 bedroom (750sq ft) newly built condo in South Boston for 200k in '06. The prices haven't gone up that much from what I understand, and it's much nicer than Quincy. There are 2 Redline stops so a commute to Cambridge would be easy, not to mention easy access to 93 and the Pike.

[ogre]

From your original post I got the idea that you were looking for places between Worcester and Boston. If you're considering Quincy, apparently you're not limiting yourself to that in-between area. Quincy is a good place to look for more of an urban character. It's one of those places located inside the urban core that surrounds older cities, more of a small city in its own right than a suburb.

I'm not well informed about the current prices of condos, so I can't tell you which towns might have condos in your price range. If the price is right, other places with that urban character, that would put you you closer than Quincy to Marlboro, are Watertown, Brookline, and maybe Cambridge or Somerville. The last two are a little farther from Marlboro, but still a bit closer than Quincy.

You might also check Waltham. Its character varies from urban to suburban depending on what part of town you're in. A lot of the urban parts are kind of run down, but there are a few condos in some nicer sections of the more densely populated areas. Waltham has less of that quirky urban character than some of my other suggestions--it's more like kind of your basic no-frills small city--but the central area does have a basically urban feel, and Waltham is about the closest town with that kind of feel you're going to find to the east of Marlboro.

Check Newton and Arlington for towns that are more of a mix of urban and suburban, that have some good small local shopping areas. If you're ready to look as far from Marlboro as Quincy, you might also look within the city of Boston itself. Boston Mark's suggestion, South Boston, is a possibility, though that area is just in the beginning stages of shifting out of its longtime character of being a tightly knit enclave where those who haven't lived in the neighborhood all their lives are shunned. You might also check the South End, Jamaica Plain, and maybe West Roxbury. The last suggestion might be better to have lower on your list of possibilities. I'm not highly familiar with WR, but overall it tends to have more of a dense single-family-house character even though it is technically part of Boston. It might be worth checking out, though, because it's on the fringe of the city, and may have some of those local city shopping areas, and it's a bit closer than Quincy to M'boro.

A word of caution about Natick: It is a nice town, but its character is predominately suburban. When I mentioned Natick in my earlier post, I did not mean to suggest that the town had the urban character you say you'd prefer, only to tell you that it's a nicer town than Framingham, if it should come down to a choice between those two towns. Downtown Natick is clean, and attractive in appearance, but short on the quirky little shops you find in urban neighborhood shopping areas, and for the most part the stores there close by 7PM. The town's commercial activity is centered more around a bunch of malls a couple of miles from downtown. Some parts of Natick will be within walking distance of a few really plain, basic local businesses, like sub shops, maybe a drugstore, but other areas are entirely residential. Some neighborhoods have nice old houses with character, while others are '50's suburban subdivisions. Natick is a pleasant town, and those older residential sections have more character than the classic picture of suburbia, but Natick's ambiance is first and foremost suburban.

[Drea6681]

Thanks for all your help guys! As of now, it looks like we're leaning towards Quincy. We went to an open house in the Falls last weekend and fell in love woth the place.Price was right but the condo fee's were through the roof (only draw back).Some parts of Quincy were REAL run down but these were very nice. We arent looking into Cambridge or Boston because it's too expensive. I've also been told that Watertown and Waltham are up there too.
Thanks for the info about Natick. We drove through the "downtown" area and kind of got the same feeling....pretty to look at but what's here? Looked like just a bunch of municipal buildings.
We liked Braintree a lot too, but that will probably be further down the line when we're looking into buying a house. Best part about Quincy and Braintree is that I can hop the red line and 20 minutes later I'm in Boston.

[brightdoglover]

Quincy would be great. A red line train runs to South Station and Charles Street (by the Common) in Boston, oh yes and Park Street, on the Common. You could easily walk to anything of interest in Boston.Another stop and four more are all Cambridge.
I agree that there's nothing with a slightly urbane/urban feel in the suburban areas east of Worcester. Just aren't.
Good luck- you should be able to find what you want!