Safest and cheapest Boston suburbs? (Quincy, Newton: apartment, for rent, crime rate)

[Kinipela78]

I currently live in Nashville and am considering a move to either Denver or Boston.

But I'm running into trouble while doing cost of living research for Boston because I'm unfamiliar with all the suburbs and where I would want to live.

Any suggestions on how I can find out the safest and most affordable areas I should start researching on rent.com?

I've heard a ton of rumors that Boston is super expensive to live in but a poll I read online said that Boston was an affordable city. I'm confused!

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[ogre]

Regarding safety, there might be some exceptions scattered here and there, but most Boston suburbs are pretty safe. Many are very safe.

"Affordable" is a relative term. Generally, the Boston area has a higher cost of living than most areas in the U.S., but some info on your approx. housing budget would help us get an idea what areas around here might work for you.

There are some other details that can help narrow the possibilities:

Where would you most likely be working, and how long a commute can you handle?

Would you want convenient access to public transit?

Is school quality an issue?

What kind of feel would you want in a place to live (suburban, semi-rural, urban, etc.)?

[jayrandom]

Safe and affordable are both relative terms and generally are at odds with each other. The third variable is usually commuting distance from downtown Boston. Safe in particular is a rather insidious term, serving as term to describe both crime rate and also as a proxy for the general affluence of a town. In general there are no places that are relatively safe, affordable, and particularly close; there are places that meet any two of those requirements and a some that meet only one.

For a large urban area Boston as a region is safe compared to other urban areas (just going off of crime statistics) and some of the suburbs are ridiculously safe (i.e. people leave their doors unlocked). As to affordability, even those places that are considered affordable here would be on the upper end of other cities. Of course, if you're coming from NYC or SF or LA or a handful of other places it's actually noticeably cheaper. Coming from Nashville, though, you may be in for some sticker shock.

As an example my wife and I paid $1450/month for a two bedroom apartment in a safe town about 10 miles from downtown.

I could list a bunch of towns, but it would probably just be more effective for you to list:

a) where you'll need to commute to
b) your budget
c) how much space you want
d) what you're looking for in a town

and then people can recommend good suburbs based on that. Good luck with your decision.

Edit: I took too long to edit my response, so I apologize for it being so similar to Ogre's.

[ogre]

No problem. At least now we know for sure the OP really knows the kind of info we need to work with in order to make suggestions.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

In general there are no places that are relatively safe, affordable, and particularly close; there are places that meet any two of those requirements and a some that meet only one.

As you've suggested, it depends on what constitutes "affordable," but by Boston standards I would say Quincy and Watertown do a pretty good job of meeting all three. Perhaps I'd add Beachmont. Even Arlington and Waverley in Belmont aren't too bad for rent.

[lz1982]

I second what Holden mentioned. Would also add Melrose and parts of Newton. I think Winthrop is also relatively cheap and pretty safe, although you have to take a private bus from the T. It runs often but costs extra money on top of a subway pass.

Now, none of these places are "cheap" by Nashville standards. You're not going to find a two bedroom apartment for $700 or anything like that, but $900-$1000 for a one bedroom is doable in many of those areas.

[DoctorRain]

Avoid Billerica, Tewksbury or Wilmington.

[bgrasser]

Weymouth might be for you!

[lily_w]

Waltham/Watertown or Natick/Framingham. GL!

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by DoctorRain

Avoid Billerica, Tewksbury or Wilmington.

Why?