Moving to Boston

[mirloe19]

thanks massnative71 - we drove through Malden and crossed it off our list, i thought maybe there are parts of it that are nicer, but we'd really rather not get into that - it's so hard to know what's in a good neighborhood when you're 1000 miles away.
Beantown mama - thanks so much for the info on melrose, you are right about the yards and we aren't thrilled about it, but actually have a pretty small yard where we are now, so something comparable will work for especially with all of the parks. We love Thai! yay!
Anyone have any thoughts on Natick and how it compares to Melrose? we do plan to take the train if we end up there.

[Beantown_mama]

Natick is a cute town but it is a lot further away from the city than Melrose. It is also a bit more suburban. And the traffic can be terrible if you live too near the mall. But it is a cute town too. We looked at it before we decided on Melrose (it was just too far away from us, we are pretty urban people).

[lz1982]

Natick has an older downtown and then newer malls along Route 9. I think it's a pretty safe town. Traffic can be bad on Route 9.

Nice thing about Melrose is, if it's a nice day you can walk to the subway from many parts of town, instead of relying on the commuter rail. In Natick you don't have that option.

[Beantown_mama]

Melrose also has a beautiful public golf course since you said you were interested in golf:
Mount Hood Golf Course - Melrose, MA Patch

[ogre]

Second the suggestions of Arlington and Wakefield. Without knowing your housing budget, I don't know about this one, because it's expensive, but if it's in the budget, Newton would be worth a look. Newton Centre and West Newton are a couple of neighborhoods with a bit of a suburban/urban mix, and some local eateries.

Lz1982 and Beantown_Mama gave you some good info on Natick. It's a very suburban town. There is a nice clean downtown, with some local small stores and an interesting community arts center, but most of the dining options are chain restaurants in the malls along rt. 9. Natick is very nice, but might not be what you're looking for if you really prefer the urban/suburban mix in Melrose.

[Chloe74]

Some very nice, safe areas that are family oriented with a variety of housing options, easy access to public transit and reasonable commutes into Boston are Newton, Arlington, Watertwon, Belmont, Wellesley, Lexington, Winchester and Brookline. These areas typically have very expensive housing however they are wonderful communities that are very safe and combine that urban/suburban experience with easy access to all the amenities you listed. There are properties in your price range in these communities but you may have to sacrifice some square footage and you might want to consider a condo in addition to a single family. Good luck with your search. If you have questions about any of those areas I would be happy to answer them. If you are interested in experiencing Boston more directly as opposed to the suburban experience I would explore Newton, Belmont, Watertown, Arlington and Brookline - very easy access to the city and cambridge.

[kiggy]

You also may try looking into Stoneham -- it's a cute little town ten miles from Boston. Short drive to Oak Grove from most parts. Houses might be more reasonable than Wakefield.

[Natmccat]

Lived in Back Bay for 10 yrs before moving to Ashland to raise our family 25 yrs ago. Commuter rail, mass pike, 495' route 9..... Easy commute for husband working in Boston. State parks in all surrounding towns. Daughter graduating HS 7 th in class. Worked in school system for years and respect it's dedication to education. Natick is close by, have friends raise their children there. Very close to route 9, lots of good food and shopping. Just saying.