Family of 4. Possible job in Framingham. Good and bad towns/ areas of towns? (Worcester: rentals)

[ottomobeale]

Im 42 with wife and have 2 kids. I passed my phone interview and am going for an interview next week, and since I have a pretty strong hit rate if I get in front of people, I need info. The job is in Framingham.

Goals.
1) High. Usable public schools. Do they have to be the uber #1 district? No. They need to be decent and usable tho. I want my kids to be exposed to children of other professionals, skilled and semi skilled trades people. (Call it truck drivers, electricians, accountants, managers.) Mixed race (in stable area) is fine. Im not racist. I AM classist.
2) High. Im high level professional but not uber executive. I am not getting $150K so $500K houses arent going to happen. My wife is taking care of the kids another 2 and a half years so its my income only. Ill probably rent at first.
3) Medium. I grew up in suburbia. Id like access to a Target, a Superwalmart, HD/Lowes, a mall and all my big box needs within a decent distance. Im that know what you need-Go in-buy it-leave guy.
4) 40 mins or less from Framingham. (Im used to 1hr 15 mins). I usually do 6AM to 4PM if they let me shift the day.

Non goals.
1) It would be difficult for me to care even less about night life. Im an hour from Manhattan and I havent even been able to take my wife there. (though I want to... kids tho)

[scarletfire]

Framingham itself has a good socioeconomic mix and tons of shopping in town and in nearby Natick. The north side of town (zip code 01701) for the most part is more desirable and you can still find a rental for a reasonable price. Perhaps Westboro would be another good option - better schools, still lots of shopping, plenty of rental options. I'd say there is certainly a higher income mix in Westboro but there are still people with blue collar jobs. It's nowhere near as culturally diverse though. For rentals there are two big complexes: Avalon (newer and more expensive with great train access) and Windsor Ridge (easy access to Rt 9 and Mass Pike - I'd avoid the ones closest to the Rt 9 side of the complex just for noise factors but that's just me). You could also find a 3-bedroom single family rental home between around $1700-2000, depending on the neighborhood. I grew up there and find it a nice town. Traffic in the downtown area has gotten pretty congested but it sounds like with your work hours that wouldn't be so much of a factor.

[ottomobeale]

Much thanks (again) Scarletfire. Repped ya!

What do people think of Marlborough, Southborough, Milford, Northborough, Westboroughy, Hudson, Shrewsbury, Worcester, Clinton and the stuff between? Im not avoiding Framingham... I just need more than 1 choice of city because 3 BR rentals can be hard to come by.

It is fair to assume that safe areas east of Framinham increase my costs and west decrease them?

The employer is on the west end of Framingham.

Id like to get rent under $1800 and (yea I know, dream on, down toward $1600) My goal is saving money to put money away. The money I saved up on my last job is literally saving our butts now.

Diversity is not necessarily a goal. It is simply something I dont avoid. Im white and would live next to a black accountant in a heartbeat over a never employed able bodied white guy.

[holden125]

While things generally get more expensive to the east, I don't think Natick, for example, is more expensive than Southboro. You might find a 3-BR for $1800 in Newton, though it might be smaller than in towns to the west.

The towns you've named are all fine except: I'd avoid Worcester, which is a pretty large city with large city problems. Some nice areas but mostly in need of improvement, and the schools are too suspect to bother. I'd also personally avoid Milford. Clinton is kind of rural and boring, and I don't think the schools are that great, though people have defended them on here. Marlboro is maybe more traffic-choked and not quite as nice as Westboro or Southboro.

You can also check out Ashland, Hopkinton (maybe a little expensive) and Holliston. They are more woodsy than Framingham or Marlboro but close enough to Framingham and Route 9 shopping.

[scarletfire]

Southboro, Northboro, Westboro, Hopkinton, Holliston & most of Shrewsbury are nice with good schools. Hudson I think is fine. You might find Holliston a little sleepy but it is close by lots of shopping elsewhere (Milford, Framingham, etc) and has good schools and a quaint & walkable downtown with a general store, Internet cafe opening soon, children's park, tennis courts, and a few shops.

Marlboro schools aren't so hot by comparison.

Clinton is sort of a depressing area and I've heard reports of school problems.

Ashland has one of the largest hazardous waste sites in the country. I'm sure someone will jump all over me for saying this but it's true - there was a report by the public health agency connecting a cancer cluster to this toxic waste site, which still is not cleaned up.

Re: rental prices, I do know of a small 3bd single family rental home in Northboro for $1500. and I suspect if you look around you could find something comparable in Shrewsbury or Hudson.

Also, one thing: Do you have children under 6? If so, I'd ask if the home is deleaded.

[wellesleyres21]

medway and millis are good options. both are a little "sleepy" and "woodsy" like holliston but both are very safe. public schools in medway are strong, millis a little less so but still fine i think. medway is becoming more expensive but both towns have a wide range of houses and are still very affordable. franklin is a good option too, although a little farther from framingham, and is also much bigger (pop around 30K, vs 15K for medway and 6K for millis). medfield is also nice but quite pricey, but affordable houses can still be found.