Cambridge, feeling Lost (Boston, Somerville, Malden: apartment, to rent, day care)

[sleepoptional]

I'm most certainly going to be working in Cambridge next year. My guess is that I'll be making ~70K/year and supporting a wife, 2 kids under two years old and 2 small dogs.

I am lost as to the logistics of commuting verse cost. Sometimes it seems like the further out from Cambridge you live the cheaper, but then you have to consider commuter fees (rail, T, parking at commuter station, etc)

1. DRIVE. How easy is it to commute to Cambridge is I plan on getting to work by ~6:15am? How hard to get home if I leave at 6pm? How expensive are monthly garages in Cambridge?

2. COMMUTER RAIL. I could live way far out and take the rail to Porter Square and hope on the red line or walk to Cambridge. How hard is it to get a seat going in and going home on the rail? How fast do parking spots fill up at commuter stations? Is this a convenient option?

3. RED LINE. Live somewhere on the red line. Most of these options are in betweeners to me. Still seem expensive to rent, plus slightly inconvenient travel.

4. LIVE IN CAMBRIDGE. It looks like if I search really hard I can find a 2 bedroom apartment for `2K on the skirts of Cambridge. If it's within 3 miles I could cycle to work nearly year round. 2 feet of snow certainly is a problem.

Basically, I am having a hard time figuring out how difficult it is going to be for my family to rent an apartment and me work in Boston. Assuming I want to see my family and not be stuck commuting all day. My wife could get a job, but 2 children in childcare is expensive and we'd like her to stay home if possible.

Seriously, thanks in advance for any help.

[nishokie]

welcome.


i would recommend looking at somerville, belmont or arlington. if you want to stay on the red line you can look at alewife. you can find 2 bdrms in these areas anywhere from $1700 to $2500 and sometimes higher.
there is street parking available but a reserved parking can range anywhere from $100-250/month. you can also bike to work from any of these areas to cambridge.

Originally Posted by sleepoptional

I'm most certainly going to be working in Cambridge next year. My guess is that I'll be making ~70K/year and supporting a wife, 2 kids under two years old and 2 small dogs.

I am lost as to the logistics of commuting verse cost. Sometimes it seems like the further out from Cambridge you live the cheaper, but then you have to consider commuter fees (rail, T, parking at commuter station, etc)

1. DRIVE. How easy is it to commute to Cambridge is I plan on getting to work by ~6:15am? How hard to get home if I leave at 6pm? How expensive are monthly garages in Cambridge?

2. COMMUTER RAIL. I could live way far out and take the rail to Porter Square and hope on the red line or walk to Cambridge. How hard is it to get a seat going in and going home on the rail? How fast do parking spots fill up at commuter stations? Is this a convenient option?

3. RED LINE. Live somewhere on the red line. Most of these options are in betweeners to me. Still seem expensive to rent, plus slightly inconvenient travel.

4. LIVE IN CAMBRIDGE. It looks like if I search really hard I can find a 2 bedroom apartment for `2K on the skirts of Cambridge. If it's within 3 miles I could cycle to work nearly year round. 2 feet of snow certainly is a problem.

Basically, I am having a hard time figuring out how difficult it is going to be for my family to rent an apartment and me work in Boston. Assuming I want to see my family and not be stuck commuting all day. My wife could get a job, but 2 children in childcare is expensive and we'd like her to stay home if possible.

Seriously, thanks in advance for any help.

[NotAPrincess]

I second what nishokie says. If I were you, I'd start looking in Arlington and Belmont. Somerville is a fun place to live, but the school system is a couple of tiers below Arlington and Belmont. Living in Cambridge will be tough with dogs and I think you might have a tough time finding something you'd like. Maybe it's worth looking there first to see if you can find something though.

IMO, minimizing commute time is a huge component of quality of life. The advantage of the towns listed is that you can take the T, or they're also bikeable in good weather.

You might want to ask your workplace about parking/transportation. Many companies offer parking or free T passes. My husband and I both work in Cambridge (for different employers) and each pay about $100/month to park. As to your question about driving, if you're driving at 6am it'll be easy. 6pm will be terrible (but doable....I do it every day).

One thing to be aware of is that it's tough to find an apartment with young kids because of the mass lead paint law. Basically, the law says that landlords must delead an apartment if a family with kids under 6 lives there. In practice this means that landlords don't want to rent to families with young kids. It's horrible and illegal and unfair, but it's also currently the way things are.

I love living in this area, and I don't want to dissuade you. But, it'll be tight money-wise. Everything is expensive. For example, the day care center that we use charges over 2K/month for infant care, and only slightly less than that for toddlers. There are cheaper options if you'd consider a nanny share or in-home day care, though.

Good luck!

[NotAPrincess]

oh, another option might be Melrose. You can take the commuter rail from there into North Station. Prices are cheaper and the schools are pretty decent.

[Amontillado]

"hope on the red line"--now there's a Freudian slip.

But Porter Sq is in Cambridge, so there's no issue of "walking to Cambridge" when you get there. Whereabouts will you actually be working?

You might also consider Medford or Malden. Not spectacular places, but there is the #96 bus from Medford Square to Harvard, or buses to Sullivan and then the CT2 to Kendall, or the Orange Line then the Red Line (2 subway lines to hope on!) Or Watertown, which has bus links to Harvard also.

If you're renting and your kids are small, you don't need to worry about schools yet, and the first few grades aren't that important anyway. Plan to save some bucks and buy a house somewhere with good schools later.

[tickybox]

Cambridge is very expensive, and at least when I lived there, the public schools were not that great. Somerville is a great place, but more oriented to student life.

Belmont and Arlington can definitely be very nice areas to live, and have doable commutes.

Parts of Medford can be extremely pleasant as well, and there are bus lines that run from Medford Square right into Porter Square and Harvard Square. I've biked the distance from Medford to Harvard Square, and while it's certainly doable, it's not very bike friendly.

I don't think I would opt for Malden if I had two small children.

Melrose is better in terms of being a nice starter home area, with lots of young children and parks, and a nice small downtown feel. The Commuter rail will get you to where you can switch to the T, or you can take the bus to the Orange line to the Red line. That might seem like a lot of stops, but I know people who do it, and get to work in about 45-50 minutes.

[Lefleur]

I think it's also important to add: Where in Cambridge are you going to be working?

If you're working someplace near Lechmere, for example, that's a whole different set of options/ideas than if you're working in Central Square (for example).

You reference the Red Line so I think a lot of posters are assuming that your job is convenient to the Red Line (e.g. Alewife, Central, Harvard, or Kendall stops), but I just wanted to check on this aspect.....it could impact our suggestions.

[DreamworksSKG]

Do me a favor and look into a home in Winchester
great school system, ---Arlington would be good too, both towns are close by to Cambridge within a 10-20 min drive back roads.