Best area in Mass??? (Boston, Newton: real estate, low crime, houses)

[sthrngrace276]

We currently live in a small town in Florida, but we are planning to move to Mass in May '08. My husband wants to live near Boston, and I want to keep the country lifestyle we currently have but we need great schools for our kids. We have three children;one in high school, one severely hearing impaired, and one in elementary still. Where would be the best place to live????

[sthrngrace276]

Thanks so much!! I will definitely check it out!

[2KidsforMe]

Hi sthrngrace! How "county" is "country" to you? Maybe we could offer more suggestions?

[sthrngrace276]

We currently live in a town so small it is basically Mayberry. I’m not necessarily looking for something that quaint, just not a “big city” like Boston. I would just like an area where the houses actually have decent sized backyards, low crime rate, not extremely expensive, close enough for my husband to commute to Boston, and an excellent school system.

[spktrader]

Those areas that have signs saying "leaving massachusetts"

[wayno]

sthrngrace276:

Weston is certainly nice, with the things you are looking for, but very $$$. Wellesley is next door and also $$$. Newton is a nice town along with Belmont, though Belmont is closer to the city. The other issue is commute time. Eastern MA is pretty dense, so if the job is in Boston, living near the commuter rail may be a good option. There are also some nice communities on the north shore (the area north of Boston on the narbor) like Beverly. Straight north are more nice towns like Andover & N. Andover. Again, these are pricey, but have good schools (hence the demand). Concord, Acton, and Lexington are all nice as well.

Basically, the farther you are from the city, you get more "rural", less expensive, and longer commuted.

[smarty]

Originally Posted by sthrngrace276

We currently live in a town so small it is basically Mayberry. I’m not necessarily looking for something that quaint, just not a “big city” like Boston. I would just like an area where the houses actually have decent sized backyards, low crime rate, not extremely expensive, close enough for my husband to commute to Boston, and an excellent school system.

There are many vague words used. As "decent size" or "close enough" could mean different things to different people.

"Decent sized" backyards. I assume lot size about an acre (44K sq ft). Look outside Rt128/Rt95.

"Close enough" commute to Boston. I would assume an hour. That would keep you inside Rt495 unless you commute at off peak hours like 5-6am.

"not extremely expensive". I would have to assume $450-500K for a 4 bedroom. As the entry level house is about $350K-500K for many towns. If you are looking for $350K or lower, you will have to look outside of RT495.

Check out bostonmagazine.com. Best of Boston. They have a list of towns median housing, crime rate, taxes, SAT scores, ... etc.

[tineka6]

Dover MA is nice

[vter]

Check out Ipswich, Essex, Rowley area. Very beautiful, on/near the ocean, and an easy train ride into Boston.

[bluewatergirl]

Hi, sthrngrace -
What is the approximate range you hope to spend on housing?
Are you looking at placing your children in MA public schools?

We are currently living in central MA, about a 45-minute
commute from Boston via car or rail.
Even here, the real estate prices are fairly steep . . .
especially if you're looking for a house with a bit of land,
and we are far from happy with our public schools.
We are actually in the process of moving (out of state)
because of quality-of-life issues - pollution/traffic/noise
and safety issues have become a major source of concern
for us with a growing family.

Someone mentioned Newton as a possibility - I do know
that they have a good rep still for their school system.
But again, it's a pretty expensive community.

We have friends who live in Hamilton/Wenham area whose
kids went through the schools there and they are very
happy with the school system and town.

Best of luck to you!
Feel free to PM me if you want, with any questions.

BWG