I need your help... Moving to Brookline/Newton specific (schools, commute)

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by TommyIrish

Edit: I would also like to add that if any of you know of any places inside of Boston itself with good public schools where I could likely rent a 2bdrm within the price range I mentioned, I'm open to ideas.

The school system in Boston proper is not well thought of with the exception of Boston Latin, but you have to test into BL and there are a limited number of seats.

[mmyk72]

OP, looks like you've done quite a bit of research before asking the forum here for advice. Very impressive I must say and it does sound like you have quite practical and realistic expectations and rationale for your choices. I enjoy reading your posts much more than those from people who ask questions without even knowing what they want in the first place or doing a small bit of internet search to get at least a little idea about the area.

I can see why you want to live car-free. I'm in the suburb so the car is not really an option, but a necessity. I can say if you can live without it, it does eliminate a lot of headache - accidents, unexpected car trouble, etc. as well as the costs you mentioned. I think Brookline is a great choice. Another town that may work is Arlington. I admit not as ideal as Brookline but it does have decent schools and public transport. I think where you end up working and which color T line you'll need to take can be a factor (although a lesser factor if you don't mind extra commute time as you mentioned).

[missionhill]

Within Boston itself are a number of good elementary schools like the Josiah Quincy school downtown. People seem relatively pleased with schools in the west zone--Roslindale, West Roxbury--and you might look for posts on that subject here by HenryAlan and Sharencare. Roslindale is a good place to live in many respects, not least a very walkable center which does cover the basics (unlike Newton's villages), has plenty of buses here and there, a commuter train into Back Bay, relatively affordable houses, and big park/woodland areas nearby. But it lacks the urban buzz of Coolidge Corner which has some high rises, a great bookstore and movie theatre, synagogues... you could almost be at Broadway and 72nd St. OK, not quite...

[sharencare]

I love Coolidge Corner and it's a great place to raise a family, so go for it. But in your search for jobs in Boston/Cambridge and if you find that maybe $2400 rent doesn't work for a family of four making $90K a year, I hope you don't give up on the dream. In my circle of miserly, professional / graduate, childless couples who make anywhere from $50K to $160K a year, we've been chided for paying the "expensive" rent of $1500 for 2.5 bedroom (no heat) in South Boston. They all have figured out strategies to live in the Boston area (Quincy, Somerville, South End, Dorchester, Cambridge, Newton, Malden, South Boston, Roslindale, and Jamaica Plain) in an "affordable" manner, and some of them are socking away huge amounts of equity on their condos while being close to all the Boston amenities. Of course, we don't need three bedrooms or the best of schools, but they are living in really nice accommodations without spending $3000. Anyway, I hear a lot of young parents enjoy Jamaica Plain. Lots of activities for children. West Roxbury is also great for families, but it is a more sleepy part of town and harder to access via T.

Personally, most of my friends went through BPS and they ended up doing well in life (Harvard, MIT, Wellesley, BU, BC). I went to Josiah Quincy for two years as a kindergartener, and I adored it--great diversity and a very safe environment even though we were bussed in. I guess my mom didn't get the public school she wanted, because the next six years I went to parochial school, and my memories of it are "meh". A couple of the kids were always disruptive, the class sizes were tiny and lacking in diversity, and I was bored. I spent the last six years at Boston Latin School. I did not do a lot of test prep to get in, but I also had a high GPA. I don't think it's anywhere as crazy competitive as NYC's exam schools. Personally, I think you can get a decent education out of BPS if you do your research; the diversity and opportunities in the city may offer your kids as good if not a better education than a lot of the surrounding suburbs. But sending your kid to BLS doesn't mean they are going to Ivy League automatically. They will have to work hard. I've had friends who went to Brookline High. They enjoyed going there. I'm sure Newton is fine, but I know people who sent their kids to North Newton, and they were not happy by how impersonal it felt. Some people would argue that BLS, is impersonal too, but I think in any school, it depends on the motivation of the student to reach out. I reached out a lot, and I could easily name 3-4 teachers and staff from BLS that I loved as much as my own parents...These Boston Public School teachers were amazing, rooting for us at after school activities, hosting barbeques in their backyards, slaving over recommendation letters, and much more. I think the mediocre teachers will always outnumber the outstanding ones, but a couple of damn good ones can make a huge difference in the lives of children.

Anyway, you should be aware though that they are re-doing the BPS lottery soon in the hope of reducing busing and luring back middle class families into the system.

[kingeorge]

I will warn you not to go into any lease without a clear idea where will you be working. You will be doing disservice to yourself and your family. Boston area can have some hellish commutes, if you do not do your homework. I will also assume that you do not have extended family network here. Your wife would need to fend for herself and kids alone at all times, if you are commuting 3 hours every day. Do not go from one extreme to the next. Even Brookline can loose its luster fast, when there is too much stress.
When the right time comes, people will gladly help you again, regardless of where in the MA your new job leads you.
Good luck.

[measured1]

Originally Posted by kingeorge

I will warn you not to go into any lease without a clear idea where will you be working.

Just want to strongly second this. It's hard enough to find a good job without saddling yourself with commute criteria. And what if your dream job ends up being around one of the I-95 office complexes? You could find a nice village nearby that offers a semi-urban feel that still gives you and your family the quality of life you're looking for. (Walkable town centers......I'm thinking Needham, parts of Lexington, some villages in Newton....)

The Brookline urban experience could well be where you end up (fingers crossed for you) but you don't want to live there and reverse commute.

And as an aside: Brookline has some less urban areas where a car would be necessary also

[TommyIrish]

I absolutely agree with you; the goal is to find the job first, then the rental. Once the time comes I will do heavy, heavy job searching and focus in on areas that are have reasonable commutes from where I want to live and hope something works out. After exhausting options (which hopefully doesn't happen) I will expand the search and if it eventually leads to living in a different place, that is something I will have to deal with. I don't have any direct family in Boston personally, but my wife's cousin is there now and she has some extended family there, though I don't know how close they are. I believe one of her friends from high school relocated there for work at MIT as well.

While I admit I didn't grow up "wanting" for necessities, I did grow up quite poor and ran into a lot of road blocks along the path of life that could have resulted in me turning out as a very, very different adult. That said, rather than say: "my life sucks, I'm going to be bitter and resentful", I used that energy to drive myself to something better. I have had a few set backs along the way, but I have reached places people always told me I would never reach. When I set my mind to something, there is little that will stop me from accomplishing it. I am old enough to have learned that you have to leave room for adjustments, however concentrating on what you actually want, not what you can "kinda, sorta deal with" is the best route to achieving what you actually want. Keeping that in mind, I have my goal set and I am ready to do what I have to do in order to make it work. It will take a lot for me to give up this pursuit and I'm simply getting too old to settle for something else because before you know it, you've settled for something else your whole life and you're 70 years old and chances of changing it are all but gone. Please don't take that to mean that I won't compromise on anything, I'm just going at it with the mindset of "no compromise until compromise is the only choice".

Anyway, thank you again for all of the input; I do very much appreciate it!

[queenbee78]

Newton is a great place to live but also very very expensive. Are you planning on buying or renting? I live in Newton and there is a train stop and 2 bus lines that go through here. There is lots of little shops around here as well. Very kid friendly. I hope you find what you are looking for.

[dsanfacon]

I moved to Newton 6 months ago (from north of Boston). Newton is quite expensive, my husband makes close to $130k year and I honestly feel "poor" here! I am a full-time student so do not work myself. There are a few things I wish I had looked deeper into before moving here. After school care is not cheap and the options that are available fill up quickly. If your wife works when you are here, then you will possibly need after school care. Newton has an early-release every Tuesday of the school year, how I missed that I still do not know! So, you need childcare for every Tues from 12:30 on. We were able to find a wonderful sitter and at $17 an hour that is not cheap. Activities for the kids is another thing to think about. In our previous city my daughter did gymnastics and we paid roughly $140 for an 8 week session. In Newton, it is double. The school our daughter attends is in Waban and we are so pleased with the school. Even little things like grocery shopping is much more costly here. The supermarket options are Shaw's, Star Market, Roche Bros....these are a bit more costly than the one I used to shop at. Lastly, if you are in Newton I agree that you would definitely need a car. The city is far too spread out. The traffic is rough too, there are times of the day when I will not venture out because I know I will sit in traffic. We will stay in Newton because we do not want to have to change schools for our daughter again but if I could re-do the move I would not choose Newton. We only moved here because my husband had been doing an awful commute for 5 years and we had to move closer to his job. He would sit in traffic for almost 2 hours each way.
Best of luck to you

[robrobrob]

My sister lived in both places. Newton was really more suburban. In fact when she moved there they had to buy a second car.

As a parent, what the previous poster said is very important. Activities can to be expensive. Since the OP oldest child is 5, he may not even understand just how time consuming and difficult it is to get your child to soccer practice after work. So, depending on your respective commutes your kids may have a tough time participating if your wife goes back to work full time.

My wife and I thought it was tough when we had two kids in daycare but it is much harder now to get the kids to their activities now that they are older. My point is really that it may be tough for your wife to work full time and have your kids enrolled in a lot of activities. Additionally, sometimes a car is necessary to shuttle your kids to an activity.