We are planning to move to Boston (Brookline, Arlington: rental, condos)

[danbusca]

We would like to live in a nice neighborhood not very far from the Boston downtown area. We are looking for houses in the 300 to 400K range.

We would like advice on neihgborhoods. We only have a younger kid at 13 living in the house. The 2 older ones are away at college.

Regards,

Daniel.

[ppinckney]

Hello,
I have lived in Massachusetts my entire life. What type of school would you be interested in for your 13 year old? Public, private, etc. Also what type of neighborhood would you prefer? The commuter rail is an easy option to downtown Boston as well as the popular Back Bay area so your location can vary greatly. You can visit my website which has a wealth of information regarding locations, neighborhoods, demographics, etc. Hope this helps. I'd be glad to provide more information whenever needed.

[eevee]

300-400k and near downtown Boston? not going to happen! the further away you get from the downtown area, the cheaper it will get, though even on the outskirts of Boston, it'll be tough finding something for 300-400k that's not a small condo. that price range puts you in the sketchier neighborhoods like Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan (and even in those neighborhoods, you'll find little in your price range). also keep in mind SFHs are very few and very far in between. Boston is the home of the triple decker, and these populate most of the areas outside the brownstone condos of downtown.

if you could increase your budget to at least 500k, you may be able to find some smaller houses at the outskirts of Dorchester like Neponset (though public transportation is spotty here, it's convenient to highways) and maybe parts of Southie

as for schools, I sound like a broken record, but I'd strongly advise AGAINST Boston Public schools. unless you child can test into one of the exam schools, you'll find most of the BPS are under performing. the really bad ones are English High in JP (which may actually now be a charter school due to horrendous MCAS scores), Brighton High in Brighton, the Burke in Dorchester, and Madison Park in Roxbury (which coincidently shares a building w/ one of Boston's exam schools). I know squat about pilot and charter schools, but can't recommend a private school.

[MovingForward]

If you can push the budget to $450k, that will buy you a very nice 3-bedroom condo in Arlington, which is very convenient to the city.

[mhboston]

Try Mission Hill, on the Brookline line and serviced by the Green Line E and Orange Line. For that range, you can get a 1000 SF condo. I've seen nice single families for $500K You could also look into two-families on the Hill. They are going for about $650K, but you can rent the first floor for about $600-$800 a bedroom. There are two brand new ones on Iroquis Street.
Mission Hill is really fanastic. You can walk to the MFA, there is a new grocery store and great new restaurants. It's very walkable -- we drove 1200 miles last year. But at the same time, I sit on my back porch and look put at the city and listen to the crickets.
There are some downsides. There is still a disproportionate amount of rental units -- often occupied by college students. And walking up the hill from the subway in the winter isn't fun. But you get used to those things.
We have a great neighborhood association.
As far as schools, that's difficult -- but no different than anywhere else in Boston. Look for a good charter school (there are several) and your child will be fine.