Need Neighborhood advice - family relocating to Boston from IN (Cambridge: condos, townhomes)

[relocomom]

Hi, I have found all the info on this site to be quite useful in an upcoming relo from Indianapolis to Boston. I am hoping some folks familiar with the area will be able to give me some guidance on which neighborhood(s) to look at on an upcoming house hunting trip.

I will be working in Cambridge near Kendall Square. As most folks, I ideally am looking for the "golden ticket": commutable from Cambridge, nice area, not too pricey. In particular, the following are very important to me:

1) Great schools, middle school and high school in particular
2) Commuting distance - 30-45 mins would be ideal, 40-60 would be do-able
3) Space - looking for typical suburban colonial house with decent yard. I'd love to have an acre but can live with anything over .25 acres. I don't want an urban feel or neighbors right on top.
4) Price - Would love to get something in the $400-500K range, but can go up to $600K if it was the perfect house

I've seen lots of towns mentioned on the posts here such as the "W" towns, Belmont, etc. but those feel too urban for me. I've looked at homes online in Grafton MA and Windham NH and those are more the feel that I am going for. Trees, room to spread out, nice land. However, from what I've read, Grafton and Windham are not really within reasonable commuting distance. True? Any other communities you can suggest?

Thanks for your help!

[relocomom]

One other bit of info...I am not particularly interested in public transportation. Perhaps when I visit and see the traffic I will change my mind! But for right now, my company has parking near the office that I can use and I plan on driving.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by relocomom

Hi, I have found all the info on this site to be quite useful in an upcoming relo from Indianapolis to Boston. I am hoping some folks familiar with the area will be able to give me some guidance on which neighborhood(s) to look at on an upcoming house hunting trip.

I will be working in Cambridge near Kendall Square. As most folks, I ideally am looking for the "golden ticket": commutable from Cambridge, nice area, not too pricey. In particular, the following are very important to me:

1) Great schools, middle school and high school in particular
2) Commuting distance - 30-45 mins would be ideal, 40-60 would be do-able
3) Space - looking for typical suburban colonial house with decent yard. I'd love to have an acre but can live with anything over .25 acres. I don't want an urban feel or neighbors right on top.
4) Price - Would love to get something in the $400-500K range, but can go up to $600K if it was the perfect house

I've seen lots of towns mentioned on the posts here such as the "W" towns, Belmont, etc. but those feel too urban for me. I've looked at homes online in Grafton MA and Windham NH and those are more the feel that I am going for. Trees, room to spread out, nice land. However, from what I've read, Grafton and Windham are not really within reasonable commuting distance. True? Any other communities you can suggest?

Thanks for your help!

You should seriously reconsider towns lke Arlington and Belmont-- Belmont especially, since it's not really that urban, and it has a fantastic school system.

You might change your tune about public transit, especially since Kendall has its own stop on the Red Line..

If you finf that the close-in streetcras suburbs are not for you, then you'll probably want to go to the MetroWest areas around RT#495; you should keep in mind that Boston is very old city, and while it does have some post WW2 neighborhoods, it doesnt have them to the same extent as a city like Indianapolis; you may have to adjust your settings a little, or just accept a long commute..

Some communities to consider: Belmont, Arlington, Winchester, Burlington, Stoneham, perhaps some sections of Watertown and Waltham, etc.

Let me stress this point: you really need to reconsider Belmont; you may not have seen all of it..

[relocomom]

MassVt, thanks for the info. I've looked on some of the realty sites and don't see much in Belmont in my price range other than townhomes or condos? Is that price do-able?

I've seen some nice homes in Holliston and that looks to be in commuting distance - any info on schools/neighborhood feel?

Also I've seen really nice homes in Shrewsbury and Windham,NH - too far to commute to Kendall Sq?

[CaseyB]

I really think that places like Shrewsbury and Windham would be too far to commute on a daily basis. It's not just the traffic, but traffic + bad weather. Maybe take a look at some towns like Westford, Littleton, Groton.

[relocomom]

CaseyB, thank you for the suggestions. Groton looks like exactly what I am looking for in types of homes. Do you think the commute is reasonable? Could I make it in an hour?

[CaseyB]

Yes, except for bad weather.

[gf2020]

Groton to Kendall Square in an hour during the morning commute? Not a chance. It's about 50 minutes with no traffic.

To drive in to to Kendall, you want to live off of Route 2 or Route 93. I would look at Acton (west on 2) and North Reading (north on 93). Both towns will put you within an hour commute and offer houses with some room to spread out in the $400-600K range.

[mp2c]

Look at Westborough or Northborough. Westbough is 10 minutes closer than Grafton and is similarly on sub side of suburban. It also has a commuter rail for those two or three blizzard days each year. There really isn't much urban about the closer W such as Wellesley or Weston.

[ogre]

Holliston may be borderline as far as commuting time is concerned. It may look close enough to Kendall on a map, but throw in traffic during rush hours, and staying within your preferred commuting time is iffy. Westborough is even farther away, and would most likely fall outside the commuting time you're seeking.

It sounds as if you want an area that is really woodsy and with a low, low population density rather than a typically suburban kind of town. If a more suburban town will work for you, then you might take a look at Lexington and Winchester, both being close to Cambridge. Housing in these towns is expensive, but some digging may well turn up something.

If locales that are suburban rather than out in the country will work for you, a town you might want to check out which is a little farther than Lexington or Winchester from Kendall, but still fairly close, is Bedford. Just try to avoid neighborhoods near Hanscom Field, so you can be sure that airplane noise won't be an issue.

At the high end of your housing budget you may be able to find something in Wayland. That's a bit tricky because properties are likely to be more expensive in the northern and central neighborhoods, which are the more low-density, wooded sections of Wayland, but Wayland is at least worth a look.