Working in Newton area of Boston - where should we live? (Waltham: rentals, condos)

[aliecat245]

My husband and I are moving to Boston for his job. He will be working in Newton. We are wondering where to live and are looking for the following: safe area where we can walk to restaurants, shops, etc., easy access to public transportation, we are young professionals but looking to start a family so we would like somewhere family friendly as well however we are not suburban people and would like to have city type living, we haven't decided if we are going to rent or buy, Would like to be no more than a 30 minute commute to my husband's job in Newton. Any suggestions as to where we should look?

[Bob Lanata]

Newton itself will fit your criteria and is a great place to live. I would look there first and then concentric circles on a map as to the surrounding areas. Waltham is pretty awesome as well. For City type living, how busy a city do you require?

[MikePRU]

Newton is made up of 13 different villages and each one has a unique feel. Some are a little more urban feeling and some are very suburban. I would take a look at West Newton. It has a really great commercial district with lots of great restaurants, bars, and a very cool art house theater. There are plenty of rentals and condos that are in walkable areas.

[snatale1]

You may want to look at Brookline, while it's a town, much of it will have the city feel you want, more so than Newton. Still walkable safe, and family friendly. Also in case your not aware (the wording of your post), Newton is a city, and not a neighborhood of Boston.

[aliecat245]

Yes I know Newton is a separate city - i guess I should have worded it a little different. We would love to live in a part of Boston but I don't think we can afford it. If we buy we are looking to spend no more than $325K and would want atleast a two bedroom. Would brookline allow for this?

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by aliecat245

Yes I know Newton is a separate city - i guess I should have worded it a little different. We would love to live in a part of Boston but I don't think we can afford it. If we buy we are looking to spend no more than $325K and would want atleast a two bedroom. Would brookline allow for this?

You can buy a condo for that price in Brookline the question is: would you want to? A two-bedroom unit in Brookline in that price range would likely be well less than 1,000 square feet, have no parking, no A/C, one dated bathroom, and a dated kitchen. Brookline is a great place to live but not cheap. Brookline, by the way, does not allow overnight street parking so you'd need to rent a space if your condo has no parking.

If you're insistent on urban than you might want to think about Brighton but Brighton is not as nice as Brookline for too many reasons to list. Newton on the other hand is a bit less urban (depending on the village) but you end up with a little nicer of a place and parking is much less of an issue in Newton as street parking is allowed overnight and condos at this price point often have driveways.