What are possible good communities to move to w/ good commute to Kendall Sqare? (Boston: for sale)

[dsjlin]

I'm hoping to get some perspective/suggestions about different communities to move to that will be a decent commute for my husband who works at Kendall Sq - we're buying our first home soon (trying to decide where), are limited by our funds (i.e. can't afford Lexington) I stay at home with my two young children, and would like a modest home with a yard, or a townhome if need be. We prefer quiet, but not isolated. Does anyone have a suggestion or two? Any ideas and perspective will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Amontillado]

Arlington, and travel via bus to Alewife, then Red Line.
Melrose or Malden, travel via Orange Line to Sullivan, then CT2 bus.
Somerville, travel via bus route 85.
Anywhere that connects to South Station, then Red Line.
Quincy or Braintree, travel via Red Line.
There's also the EZRide shuttle from North Station. That lets you get from suburban trains to Kendall.
Medford, perhaps. You can get a bus to Harvard Square, or to Sullivan.
Would you consider living in Cambridge itself? Probably not "quiet" though.

[dsjlin]

Yes, we've definitely considered Cambridge, Arlington, Medford, Brookline. But our money (max 400k) only gets us a condo there. Tempting, but I'm afraid of the condo trap and condo-living for kids vs a home. So we've explored some towns that have more affordable homes for sale, w/ a decent commute to Cambridge...we love the shore towns and quieter towns with more green open space. So now just trying to find one that has a good commute-time in. It appears, like you said, that either NStation or SStation works with either the EZRide or Redline. So we can go North or South, maybe North is a faster commute? We like Marshfield, and there are some homes there in our price range, but the train ride is an hour! And driving to the greenbush train is 20mins additional! Or I suppose he could drive to Braintree and redline it in, but he works a regular shift so the drive could prove frustrating over time. So I was wondering if the north shore towns maybe have a better commute in than south shore does? There seem to be so many towns up north to choose from. Hopefully someone could recommend a north shore town with a good train schedule in. We've considered Braintree since it seems the only place on the redline with a more suburban feel, but our money doesn't go far there. I guess I'm hoping to get more for our money by going out further - a home, with a yard, and a quieter town, but not have a killer commute into Cambridge each day that will make us want to move in a year. Does anyone know what Salem is like, Beverly, Swampscott, Ipswich? We drove to Russell Orchards once and loved that area we drove through to get there (we came from Concord). Might we like that area if we like Hingham, Scituate, Norwell, Hanover?

[NotAPrincess]

Keep in mind that if a train ride is "only" 40 minutes, you still have to add on time at each end for getting to and from the train, waiting for connecting train/bus, etc. A 40 minute train ride can very, very easily turn into an hour and a half door-to-door commute.

I would look into Wakefield and Melrose. Quick ride on the orange line into downtown crossing, then switch to the red line. Depending on where his office is, he might also be able to walk from the bunker hill community college stop.

Another option might be Watertown. Their schools aren't top ranked, but we have friends who live there and say that class sizes are small and the teachers are good. Watertown is very well connected by bus.

You could also try Belmont. On the Watertown side of Belmont there are some townhouse/condos that might work. Belmont schools are great.

One other idea would be Acton. It's kind of far out, but you can take the commuter rail into Porter Square and switch to the red line to Kendall. It's a great town. There might not be anything in your price range, but you never know. Very quiet there.

Good luck!

[Amontillado]

I suggest you call some real estate agents in towns you're interested in, and ask what they think the offerings are likely to be. They get their money by bringing buyers and sellers together, so they're motivated. Personally I'd go for a closer-in town because nobody ever gets paid for the time spent on buses and trains (and certainly not for time spent in traffic jams). You might give on the quality of the schools if you plan to move elsewhere by the time it matters to your kids.

Places that haven't been mentioned yet are Saugus (yes, there is more to it than the Hilltop!) or Stoneham or Burlington.

Actually the way the real estate market has been lately, $400K might get you more than you think.

[dsjlin]

I know, I hear you about the closer-in town bit, not getting paid for commute time. I told him he's got to work on that Plus they say one of the 'happiness' factors is having a 30min or less commute time, believe it or not. Hence, I'm trying to figure this out and find some nice towns with good commuting options into Cambridge. Melrose has an amazing commute, like 15 mins on train, plus 15 EZRide, and travel time to get to rail in am...that's pretty good. Plus you can drive in from there and it's not too far. But I haven't found a home there yet for my budget.

So I will check out Saugus - haven't seen what's available there yet. Been watching Stoneham, Melrose, Burlington, Medord and Watertown - it's just that they are more city-ish, and I'm hoping for more country-ish. I think I'll go spend a day exploring all the coastal North Shore towns. I'm curious what it's like in Lynnfield, Swampscott, Ipswich, Wenham, Hamilton, Beverly - and how they differ from South Shore coastal towns. If I could live near a lot of green with a slight salt water feel in the air, I'd be real happy, and keep the commute under an hour. Thanks for the ideas!

[ogre]

Those North Shore towns you're asking about (Lynnfield, Beverly, Salem, Wenham, etc.) are mostly nice. Lynnfield has a fairly typical pleasant suburban character, Salem is more urban--more a small city--than the others (and does have its faded neighborhoods mixed in with nicer areas), Beverly has its urban and suburban neighborhoods both, and Wenham, Hamilton, and Ipswich are more low-density, leafy suburban towns. Ipswich also is somewhat of a tourist destination, due to some fancy little shops downtown. Some of those towns have high costs of living. I guess you never know whether you might dig up a bargain, but you're likely to find the housing budget a challenge in Wenham and Hamilton, and likely at least somewhat of a challenge in Lynnfield and Ipswich. Another issue with some of these towns is the length of the train ride, and the point made above that you have to add in time to and from the train, and transfers to other modes of transit upon arrival in the city.

I think the towns Amontillado and NotAPrincess have suggested are especially good possibilities. Aside from the towns they've suggested which you've already ruled out, these towns are all worth a look. I'd suggest giving Braintree a good close look, even if it pushes the limits of your housing budget. For some reason Braintree seems to have relatively (for the Boston area) modest housing costs, while still being a pleasant suburb, with good transit access to downtown Boston thanks to the red line.

I'm not sure how soon schools will be an issue, and whether you may have moved by that time, but I'll add Waltham as another suggestion. The schools have a so-so reputation, but Waltham could be a decent possibility if schools aren't an issue for now. The downtown area has a somewhat urban feel, but the rest of Waltham is modest, pleasant, house-with-a-nice-little-yard suburbia, and there is public transit access to Cambridge from downtown: commuter rail to Porter Sq. in 20 min., then red line from Porter to Kendall.

[kmann-sherborn]

Lynnfield is a beautiful. We have several clients who wanted that area because it has well rated schools & is a very attractive community. I like Hamilton & Wenham a lot too - they share a school system and receive high marks for their schools as well & have commuter rail service. There are larger home lots there. I've had a few clients who thought Hamilton-Wenham was a little too sleepy but some love it. I think they're beautiful areas. My other faves on the north shore are Manchester and Marblehead but Marblehead is a little harder to get in and out of.