Working in Cambridge and looking for nice towns to live that are 40 minutes or less commute by car or train (Boston: sale)

[jennie3000]

Hi,

I was hoping for a little help. I am a stay at home mom with 3 kids under 3 and we are looking to move out of the city but are new to Boston and not sure where to start.

We would like a 40/45 minute or less commute to Cambridge by car or train to work. We want a 3/4 bedroom home in a nice neighborhood. Our budget is 650K or maybe a little bit more. Needs to have a good school district and a decent town with things to do so I am not bored out of my mind. A nice place for little kids with cute restaurants. I'm not into hanging out with a bunch of snobby moms who complain about their life all day...is this too much to ask for in our price range? A pet friendly place would be nice too....

Thanks!!

[holden125]

It seems doable. Where in Cambridge is the job? It can make a difference. Since you can do 650 or so, I'd start in Arlington, Belmont, or Lexington. There are some places available in that range in those towns, all of which are very nice and convenient to Cambridge. Belmont has a commuter train that takes only a few minutes to get to Porter Square in Cambridge, where it's possible to change to the Red Line for access to Harvard, Central and Kendall Sqaure stations in Cambridge. There are also several decent bus lines from Belmont to Harvard. Arlington offers bus service to Alewife at the end of the Red Line, or to Porter/Harvard, as does Lexington, though that takes longer. For $7 a day you can park at the Alewife garage if you get there early enough, but Route 2 traffic is rough. Belmont and Arlington offer ways to get to Alewife, or elsewhere in Cambridge, through the back streets. Though confusing at first, learning these routes can save a lot of time.

[WhooFleuryScores]

I’m in a similar situation to you as well; right now interviewing for a potential job in Cambridge (I live in Chelmsford). Trying to figure out if I get offered the job what would be the best way to commute to Kendall Square (without riding the commuter rail the whole way). Ideally I’d like to park at one of the Red Line stops and then take the T in that way (and go home same way).

I may end up starting a separate thread on my scenario (not to hijack yours).

[molbio]

$650 will get you a very decent house in Acton. I don't even live in Acton but I happen to know that they have very good schools. Comparable school towns tend to have far more expensive homes.

Lexington, another option has a nice town center and is also closer to Cambridge. You might want to also look into Bedford, Belmont, and Winchester. Arlington also has a street full of walkable restaurants but I'm not as sure about their schools.

Depending on the metric you want to use (MCAS scores?), you might want to compare that to average sale prices on homes in those towns. MCAS scores are a good metric in that they kind of tell you how wealthy a town is or more specifically, how much of their budget is spent on education.

Top-scoring schools on the 2008 10th-grade MCAS exams - The Boston Globe - Boston.com

[pcampy]

Be sure to check out Melrose. I live there and commute to Cambridge every day. The commute driving on back roads (Fellsway East to Rt 28) is about 30-45 min. Taking the T is also an option, but will be more like an hour each way. It is a great town, safe and clean, but not snobby at all. It has a great down town and you should be able to get a nice house in your price range. Check out the east side between the Belleview and Mt Hood golf courses, but there really are no "bad" areas of Melrose.

Good luck!

[Beantown_mama]

I second Melrose. It is a very family friendly town - it was named Boston Magazine's best places for familes (The Best Places to Live 2008 - Boston Magazine). There are many playgrounds, parks, and if you have young kids, the North Suburban Family Network and the Melrose Family Room offer many places to meet other familes with young children.

The commute is about 1/2 hour drive to Cambridge. There are a lot of people in Melrose working in Cambridge since the commute is so easy. Melrose also has 3 commuter rail stops into North Station (15 minutes on the train) and there is the EZ shuttle from North Station that takes you all over Cambridge. The end of the orange line also stops in Melrose.

It has a very cute downtown some really nice restaurants.

[LizBee]

Arlington is the town that immediately comes to mind. It is hugely popular with young families like yours. Lots of restaurants, close to the city, a nice selection of houses in your price range. Lexington would be another good choice - it has a great downtown though you can end up in a location where you would be driving a lot. Winchester might be an option too - adorable downtown, close to Cambridge, a commuter rail station. Both Winchester and Lexington are more expensive than Arlington. I think if you spend some weekends going to open houses you'll start to get a feel for whether the town seems like a good fit since you'll see your potential new neighbors at the open houses.

Edited to add - I'm a big fan of Melrose too - I just love the downtown, it's got wonderful houses, and with the three train stations a huge part of the town is within walking distance of a train stop. That being said I would think depending on what part of Cambridge you're commuting to the drive could be a bit challenging at rush hour. I think that East Cambridge would be easier to reach from that neck of the woods but other parts of Cambridge would take longer (it can easily take more than half an hour to get across Cambridge itself at some points in the day).