Moving from Midwest with kids-- Watertown, Newton, Arlington, Belmont? (Waltham: best neighborhood, neighborhood)

[dvanbrunt]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Best wishes to OP.

call me thick, but ... huh? Sorry, I don't get it. Can you fill me in?

[SoFresh99]

Originally Posted by dvanbrunt

call me thick, but ... huh? Sorry, I don't get it. Can you fill me in?

"OP" stands for "original poster."

[brightdoglover]

Yes, thank you. I read the OP's most recent post as having decided on Watertown and found a likely house, so just wanted to wish the best. (I never thought I was too heavy on internet jargon!)

[dvanbrunt]

Correct; I have an accepted offer. By the way, for the person who suggested Melrose, thank you. We visited there and saw a couple of houses, put in an offer and lost that one, too. Lovely town, though. I wish we had known about it much, much earlier-- we probably would have landed there. As it is, the clock has run out on my relocation benefit, and we needed to choose the best of what was available, and nothing else that met our needs was there currently. Really a pity since it had, in my view, the best of all worlds: Nice houses that are affordable despite having decent schools, very walkable, easy access to Boston proper, great community feel. I hope Watertown can live up to that, too!

[Martha39]

I come from the midwest myself. It took about 5 years to get over the culture shock but it might be an easier transition having a family and connecting with families. I was on my own.

[MArelo]

How do you like Watertown? We're relocating and have similar criteria - except a smaller budget. Looking for decent schools, but not "top tier."

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by rranger

You should re-read my post for tense ... My knowledge of Natick and Needham is perfectly fine, thanks. And, AFAIK one post-war 1,500 sq. ft. cape and ranch suburb is pretty much indistinguishable from another (MCAS scores notwithstanding). You are correct though, Needham has far more elegant, distinguished television towers than Natick can ever hope to have!

Give it up. I understand that you make money from selling the town - but that doesn't change things in the real world. Westwood laughs at Needham, much less Newton and Wellesley ...

I sell in all the towns you mentioned. I actually make more money when I sell in Wellesley and Newton because housing is on average more expensive in those towns vs Needham. However, what I actually do (hold on to your hat here) is listen to my clients when they tell me what their needs are and assist them in finding a town that fits their lifestyle best.

I also maintain that if you think Needham and Natick are comparable then you know little to nothing about either town. If you think there are not towers, dumps, and other unattractive features in Wellesley, Newton, and Westwood then you're fooling yourself. Also, most of the post WWII construction in Needham has been demolished to make way for new construction. If I push Needham a little more than other towns, it might be because I live here and I feel you get better value for your $$ here compared to neighboring towns. It's a little something called local pride. I would expect a displaced NY'er to understand why someone would like MA so much.

Originally Posted by dvanbrunt

Correct; I have an accepted offer. By the way, for the person who suggested Melrose, thank you. We visited there and saw a couple of houses, put in an offer and lost that one, too. Lovely town, though. I wish we had known about it much, much earlier-- we probably would have landed there. As it is, the clock has run out on my relocation benefit, and we needed to choose the best of what was available, and nothing else that met our needs was there currently. Really a pity since it had, in my view, the best of all worlds: Nice houses that are affordable despite having decent schools, very walkable, easy access to Boston proper, great community feel. I hope Watertown can live up to that, too!

I completely missed that this thread got updated. I'm glad you finally found something. I was really feeling badly for you that you were getting outbid so regularly.

[FHR82]

This is an old post, obviously, but considering two homes: one in Watertown (gut rehab, big lot, perfect layout) near Waverley Square, and the other in West Newton (needs some work, less ideal layout, but great lot) near the Waltham border. Kids are currently in private K-8 school. We like having a public school option - which for us Watertown is not - but are comfortable with private high school if necessary. It’s important to us to have walkability, economic and racial diversity, and an urban-ish feel. (FWIW, we previously lived in Needham, and I hated how suburban it felt.) What do people recommend? Price difference between the houses is fairly significant, and while we can afford both, we couldn’t renovate Newton house for some time.

[brightdoglover]

I don't have kids in the schools but lived in the Cambridge/Arlington area most of my working life. OP will have great choices in every town! Great access to work and Boston and fine neighborhoods. I don't think they can go wrong with those choices. Best wishes and I look forward to your posts, wherever you land.

[BosYuppie]

That neighborhood of residences that straddles West Newton and Waltham will 100% have the more urban feel. Moody Street is a treasure by the way.