Possibly relocating from DC to Boston Area (Cambridge, Quincy: condo, home)

[SilverSpringto?]

My wife and I are considering a move from Silver Spring, MD (suburban DC) to the Boston area. Most likely, one of us would work near South Station and one may work in Cambridge.

My in-laws live in Westwood, so we'd like to be no more than 30 minutes from them.

Other considerations would be close to public transit with a commuter tail or T ride of no more than 30-45 minutes to get to work; good schools, etc. We currently live in a very racially and economically diverse area and if we could find a community like that it would be a big plus.

We'd ideally like to spend no more than $550,000 for a home.

Any suggestions?

[kmann-sherborn]

I'd say for commute, distance to Westwood, schools, and some degree of economic diversity maybe Natick. or you could try Needham, which has very well rated schools & is closer to Boston, though home prices are a lot higher and there's less diversity. For more diversity, have you thought about Cambridge?

[bostonguy1960]

Milton. Not on a commuter rail, but near the N. Quincy red line into S. Station.

It features some diversity with a black community, probably nearer the Mattapan neighborhood of Boston for the diversity factor, but not sure how majority blacks may be even on that side of town. I understand public schools continue to be strong.

Milton was ranked 5th best place to live in 2009 by Money (but I don't think it cracked top 10 last year, but that's the unpredictability of those surveys. no?).

Near the wonderful Blue Hill for hiking & skiing.

[JeffPersons]

I would look at Brookline MA. For 550K you would be looking at a 2 br condo but its a great place to live. It has diversity socio-economically as well as architechurally. Also South Station and Westwood are both 30 minutes away. The former by the Green Line which is ubiquitous in Brookline north of RT9 and the later by automobile. I love Brookline and I have some more info on my site.
Hope this helps, Jeff Persons