Affordable Alt lifestyle nearish to Cam/good schools... (Cambridge, Belmont: fit in, renting)

[Moira]

Hi! We just moved to Belmont MA (renting) from Southern Africa (we met in San Francisco). We chose Belmont because of the "good" schools and proximity to Cambridge. However, we are wanting to consider alternative areas because of the pain of what our money would buy us. Our daughter starts kindergarten in September so that is a priority. After reading some posts, I am wondering about Acton as a community? We want to be near people like us- interested in the environment, politics, and not into the sugar diet/tv-video game stuff (although we certainly found the same problems in Africa!) We are finding like-minded people here, but, we can't afford this area. Any ideas? Thanks!

[LovelyBoston]

I grew up in Acton, and love it there. Like Belmont, it is quite expensive, but there are some affordable areas -- Indian Village for single family homes, and then Nagog Woods for townhouses. The schools are excellent -- it is one of the top districts in the state -- plus you can choose which of the 5 elementary schools to enroll your daughter; there are some real differences among some of the schools, so that's a nice perk, I think.

Like most of Mass., it is a fairly liberal area in terms of politics. If you feel you fit in socially in Belmont, you will feel fine in Acton as well. It is a quieter community, as it is farther from the city, so that's something to keep in mind if you like the activity of Belmont.