Most affordable place to live and commute to Boston (Cambridge: real estate, rental) - Massachusetts (MA) - City-Data Forum

farans · 06-27-2011, 11:57 AM

I am considering a role in Boston and was wondering: Where can my family of four rent a decent size house with three to four bedrooms in a nice neighborhood with good schools or under $2000 per month?

I want to commute in via rail and will work in one of two potential jobs located in either Cambridge or within walking distance to S. Street Station.

Does rent under $2k/mth in a nice neighborhood or suburb even exist in the Boston area? I am fine with a longer commute, so long as where we live is affordable and a nice place to live. Walkable, good schools, community, parks, safe, etc. I am coming from Chicago where renting a house for under $2k is doable, so long as it's not Lincoln Park. But for those who know Chicago, Roscoe Village or Andersonville are what we consider fine neighborhoods to call home. Oak Park is fine as well. What is comparable to that in Boston or the surrounding areas where we might start looking with a realtor with that price in mind?

Thanks in advance!

warrenjudkins · 06-27-2011, 12:32 PM

Are you talking commuter rail or regular subway as your desired commute? If you end up in Cambridge I'd look into Arlington - I really don't know how much houses cost anywhere in the Boston area but it is definitely one of the better bargains for communities in the area that are still mostly nice. Your commute would likely have to include the bus, though.

farans · 06-27-2011, 01:06 PM

Commuting if fine so long as it's a train. Don't care what kind. I am not a fan of the bus though. The Chicago bus is a depressing experience. Maybe Boston is better? Somehow I doubt it though. : )

warrenjudkins · 06-27-2011, 01:15 PM

I enjoy commuting by bus. I can't compare it to Chicago but I have never had an unpleasant time commuting by bus except that it isn't as reliably on schedule in the winter. The bottom line is that the nicer communities that are on the T are all going to be wicked expensive but there are some nicer communities that are more likely to be in your price range if you're willing to take the bus.

farans · 06-27-2011, 01:36 PM

Thanks for the reply. Can you recommend some bus friendly affordable communities worth checking out?

warrenjudkins · 06-27-2011, 01:56 PM

Well again it depends on where you're working. If you're in Cambridge I'd recommend Arlington or Watertown. Arlington's schools are probably a little better. If you're working by South Station Quincy is pretty affordable but I have no idea what their schools are like. You could take the T to work if you were in Quincy. If you want to live inside Boston, make sure to read up on their school system because your kids might not necessarily be going to schools in the neighborhood you live in. There are parts of Allston and Brighton that are decent and that community is certainly affordable. Actually, the part of Allston just over the river from Cambridge (where Harvard Business School is) before you pass over the Mass Pike is fairly nice and affordable. Jamaica Plain has a lot of very nice parks and very nice parts to it as well with affordable areas. I'd check craigslist for homes in your price range and just Google map the commute to either of the two jobs you might be working at to get a sense of what you're in for.

Bostonmania · 06-28-2011, 02:03 PM

Like you i hate commuting by bus, and i actually dislike boston's bus service more than chicago's, but i didn't stay long in chicago so maybe that's why. Oak Park is nice compared to a lot of boston suburbs, and the suburbs here are probably more expensive, depending on the schools and such.

I'd focus more on the surrounding area than actually boston itself. finding a nice 2br for 2000 is hard.
You will be hardpressed to find a really nice 3BR rental in a nice neighborhood, but it will be doable.
I'd second Arlington, because it has really nice schools, the train, and it's just pretty nice in general. I'm not sure what the pricing is like there, you would have to look around on real estate sites.
to the south Quincy would also be nice, it's more urban than arlington and i know you could find something to rent there. It has real nice schools as well, and the subway as well as the bus. Braintree's an option like Quincy except it's a town and it's further out, though still on the subway. \

to the north, Malden would be affordable and really convenient,on the subway but it is a more shady place than any of the others, and the schools aren't as good. I think it's a fine place to raise a family, but other people from the burbs feel it's not nice enough. The thing about being in the immediate area is if commuting by bus, train, or subway, you can get a monthly unlimited pass from the MBTA for about 40$, which lets you travel unlimited on the bus, subway and commuter rail zones 1-3.

bushpilotwannabe · 06-28-2011, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bostonmania

The thing about being in the immediate area is if commuting by bus, train, or subway, you can get a monthly unlimited pass from the MBTA for about 40$, which lets you travel unlimited on the bus, subway and commuter rail zones 1-3.

Where are you getting this? Correct me if I'm wrong since I don't live there (but contemplating a move), but it would appear from the links below that a monthly bus and subway pass goes for $60.

Adding unlimited rides on the commuter rail is free if you stay within Zone 1A, but I believe most, if not all 1A stations are in Boston proper. Beyond that, it gets more and more expensive the farther you go out, up to $250 for Zone 8 (Zone 9 is a little more, but the only station that far out is at the Providence airport). Don't forget to figure in the cost of parking if you wouldn't be within walking distance of your station. Of course, all that would probably be more than offset by the lower rents, so you'll just have to play with the numbers to see what works for you.

MBTA fares
Commuter rail fares
Commuter rail zone map

Bostonmania · 06-28-2011, 07:58 PM

Sorry about that man, I was getting the monthly bus pass and monthly link pass mixed up. its been a while since i've gotten a monthly pass and i put that in without thinking. oh yeah there is no free travel on the inner commuter rail zones, i also got that mixed up from when i was in high school and got the 20$ student discount monthly pass for unlimited travel on bus, subway, and commuter rail zones 1a, 1, and 2.

You are incorrect that all 1a stations are in boston, there is one in malden center, medford, chelsea, and cambridge/somerville area.
you are correct that the monthly passes are obviously more expensive further out, I was mixing up the different monthly passes since i was writing in a hurry. Thanks for pointing that out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bushpilotwannabe

Where are you getting this? Correct me if I'm wrong since I don't live there (but contemplating a move), but it would appear from the links below that a monthly bus and subway pass goes for $60.

Adding unlimited rides on the commuter rail is free if you stay within Zone 1A, but I believe most, if not all 1A stations are in Boston proper. Beyond that, it gets more and more expensive the farther you go out, up to $250 for Zone 8 (Zone 9 is a little more, but the only station that far out is at the Providence airport). Don't forget to figure in the cost of parking if you wouldn't be within walking distance of your station. Of course, all that would probably be more than offset by the lower rents, so you'll just have to play with the numbers to see what works for you.

MBTA fares
Commuter rail fares
Commuter rail zone map

bushpilotwannabe · 06-28-2011, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bostonmania

Sorry about that man, I was getting the monthly bus pass and monthly link pass mixed up. its been a while since i've gotten a monthly pass and i put that in without thinking. oh yeah there is no free travel on the inner commuter rail zones, i also got that mixed up from when i was in high school and got the 20$ student discount monthly pass for unlimited travel on bus, subway, and commuter rail zones 1a, 1, and 2.

You are incorrect that all 1a stations are in boston, there is one in malden center, medford, chelsea, and cambridge/somerville area.
you are correct that the monthly passes are obviously more expensive further out, I was mixing up the different monthly passes since i was writing in a hurry. Thanks for pointing that out.

No worries, just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. I'm a cheapskate trying to move from a cheap city, so I'm just trying to figure out how to save as much money as I can (within reason) if it works out. You're right about the stations outside the city limits, I was in kind of a rush too haha. I feel like those would be so close in, though, that the OP would probably want to look a little farther out given the budget.