Belmont, Watertown or Waltham? (Boston, Cambridge: middle-class, 2009, apartments)

[annitta]

Hello again!

This is my old thread
http://www.city-data.com/forum/massa...ex-county.html

So, we visited Boston area and we decided to look for a 2BR in Belmont, Watertown or Waltham.All 3 are about 10 miles from my husband's job (in Woburn) and are convenient to Boston and especially Cambridge (which we liked the most).We have increased our budget to 1300, but of course if we fing something cheaper it will be better.
I've noticed Waltham is less expensive than the other 2, so I was wondering-is the commute to Boston worse or it's just the area is not so good?Is Waltham a nice place at all?the criteria are in my previous thread.
We have been looking for a place on craigslist, but there haven't been much ads coming up lately compared to a month ago.And I see the same ads staying there for weeks-why is that?I am really worried we may not find anything when we come this weekend (aug.29-31)We are moving sept.19. can you recommend another site that is good to look for a place?

thank you guys!

[redpanda]

I think craigslist is probably the best site, but I did have some success previously with bostonapartments.com. If you work with an agent, he/she will have access to quite a few apartments and can give you the skinny on a lot of them, but of course then you have the fee to contend with (pretty hard to avoid it around here).

Given the choice of the above towns, I'd pick Belmont. It's a lovely town.

[brightdoglover]

Belmont is by far the nicest of the three towns. Waltham is a bit grittier, much more diverse, and has a sort of sophisticated Main Street area of ethnic food, movie theater, etc.
Watertown is a bastion of long-term residents, good access to public transport (bus from Watertown Sq. to Harvard Sq.) and the largest Armenian population around (therefore more Middle Easterners, mostly known by food available!)
I think all three are good places to live, Belmont the "nicest" and most boring, Watertown a solid middle, Waltham grittier in places. I do think, depending on what part of the town you live in, Watertown has the worst commute to Woburn, Waltham the best if you're close to 128, and Belmont fine, Rt. 2 to 95/93.
If you're concerned with schools, I'm sure Belmont is far and away the best.
September is when the great student influx happens, and most leases start on Sept.1. This can be true even if you don't live among students- there is just so much turnover, it might be hard to find something for September.
Waltham has a large number of relocation condo/apartments, I believe on Lexington Street, which is close to Rt. 2. Maybe you could grab something temporary and then look more at your convenience?
Best wishes on your move.

[holden125]

Agree that Belmont is the "nicest" of the three. All three have their less lovely blocks but Belmont probably has the fewest.

Waltham is farther from Boston than either of the other two, so that accounts for some of the difference in cost. I would not say it's "not a nice place at all" by any stretch. It has some pockets that are not so great, but there are plenty of nice restaurants, etc. there, and plenty of nice neighborhoods. The Cedarwood area and really anything north of Totten Pond Rd./Beaver St. is positively suburban. Along Main St. and the Moody St area on the south side are more urban than much of Belmont and Watertown. Some blocks in those sections are not so nice, others are nice. It really depends on the exact location in the town.

[annitta]

Thank you all!

How about this location Stearns and High St, Waltham?

we are eastern european by the way, Bulgarian to be exact,a lot of armenians come from Bulgaria, so maybe Watertown will be good for us

We probably won't consider belmont for now.I don't think it's for us-it's too expensive and although we could afford it, I don't feel comfortable among people that are much richer than I am

I don't know if distance to Boston is so important for us.I am a pharmacist and I would be looking for a job in either chains like CVS etc., or pharmaceuticals, like Merck for example.maybe this could give you a hint as to which one we should choose?

[brightdoglover]

Every town has at least one CVS, no problem. (I thought the job was in Woburn?)

[redpanda]

FYI, while Belmont does have a "wealthy" segment, it also has a large middle-class population. I also think you'll find that the "wealthy" in most closer-to-Boston suburban areas aren't your typical wealthy--they tend to drive Subarus and be rather unassuming. New England wealthy is not Boca Raton wealthy.

[annitta]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Every town has at least one CVS, no problem. (I thought the job was in Woburn?)

my husband's job is in Woburn

So, sorry for asking the same questions but-are schools in watertown very bad or they are just not as super-good as the ones in Belmont?Our son is only 6 months now but I don't want to move again when he reaches school age. And I've been trying so hard, but somehow I can't really find an apartment in Belmont in our price range, while I have about 5 showings in watertown for this weekend.I called a few brokers too, to help us find something in Belmont and if they do, we will definitely consider it!

Also, if we find something, what is the procedure, a few landlords told me I have to apply-what does that mean?How long does it take?I don't want to have to come back just to sign a contractWe do have good credit, but what else do we need to get approved?

[smarty]

From Boston Magazine 2009 HS ranking

Belmont - 29
Watertown - 45
Waltham - 55.

[meltinjohn]

Im most likely looking to move to Watertown based on proximity to Boston.