What's it like living in Lexington? (Boston, Newton: renting, house prices, schools)

[lindsaycg]

I've been posting quit a bit lately as my family and I work towards finding a town to settle down in. We're renting in Newton but it's just not the right feel for us. We like Needham a lot and if we can find a house in the particular section of Broadmedow (close to the school and the Hersey train) then we would strongly consider settling there....however....I'm always on the lookout for other areas for us! My latest find....Lexington. Fell in love with the charm and history right away. I also know their schools are excellent and that there are wonderful kids programs via parks and rec, etc. that we could take advantage of (we have a 5 and 2.5 year old). And I love all the everyday conveniences.....Stop and Shop, drug stores, dry cleaners, liquor stores, Starbucks, D&D, etc....all right in town!! Not to mention all the adorable shopping in the downtown area....and the mall is super closeby as well!
So now I ask.....what's it like actually living there? The house prices actually seem a bit higher than Needham, however you seem to get a bit more property and privacy which we love. Although taxes do seem higher as well. What is the actual community of people like there?
What do people dislike about living there? Also, just HOW competitive are the schools? I'm a bit nervous after several people mentioning that its a "pressure cooker" for kids. I want our kids to excel but I also want them to feel like they can be kids.....they have their entire adult lives to be stressed out!
As usual, any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

[MikePRU]

I really like Lexington and I would agree with your assessment that it's definitely more expensive than Needham. Average lot sizes tend to be a bit larger as well. I also think Lexington is a little more charming as it does have more historic value. My biggest complaint about Lexington are the commuting options. There's no train service in town and the major route into Boston is Rt 2 which is not a fun drive. I've had clients who have bought in Lexington who don't commute into Boston and they love it there. The town center is really nice.

The area of Needham you're focusing on is lovely. I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but there's an interesting new listing on Tudor Rd. At $650K, that's a pretty low price point for the area and it looks like the kitchen has had some updating done. Plus, they just ran a natural gas line up Tudor Rd last year so you could convert if you wanted to.

[IDASpaceman]

Expensive.

[lindsaycg]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I really like Lexington and I would agree with your assessment that it's definitely more expensive than Needham. Average lot sizes tend to be a bit larger as well. I also think Lexington is a little more charming as it does have more historic value. My biggest complaint about Lexington are the commuting options. There's no train service in town and the major route into Boston is Rt 2 which is not a fun drive. I've had clients who have bought in Lexington who don't commute into Boston and they love it there. The town center is really nice.

The area of Needham you're focusing on is lovely. I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for, but there's an interesting new listing on Tudor Rd. At $650K, that's a pretty low price point for the area and it looks like the kitchen has had some updating done. Plus, they just ran a natural gas line up Tudor Rd last year so you could convert if you wanted to.

Mike you are ALWAYS SO HELPFUL!! Can't thank you enough for always responding to my posts!
The top of our range is $1.2M ....although that is def stretching us a bit thin which we'd rather not do. Just saw the house on Tudor you're speaking of.......def needs a ton of work, but for that area I'm wondering if there would be a way to extend and renovate. Thanks again!

I agree with what you're saying - no train from Lexington is hard and w/ traffic I'm sure the drive will be 45mins at best and closer to 50mins to 1 hour.

[claiz]

I live in Lexington for only 1 year but so far I really like the town. As others mentioned, Lexington is expensive, and the property tax is higher than some of the surrounding towns. What you get in return however, is a well-run town with good services. The town finance is solid, broad tax base, excellent town services including the school, town shuttle buses and recreational service, but also show up in other details. Roads actually got repaved, street tree got planted, phone calls to town office actually got returned, there are continual improvements to town facilities, etc. My kids are 4 and 2 so they have not experienced the school system yet. The comments I heard however has all been good.

Commuting option to Boston, as MikePRU said, is not good. I commute to downtown Boston daily for work (MBTA bus then redline), I grew up with daily long commute anyway so it's do-able for me but certainly a negative.

[lindsaycg]

Originally Posted by claiz

I live in Lexington for only 1 year but so far I really like the town. As others mentioned, Lexington is expensive, and the property tax is higher than some of the surrounding towns. What you get in return however, is a well-run town with good services. The town finance is solid, broad tax base, excellent town services including the school, town shuttle buses and recreational service, but also show up in other details. Roads actually got repaved, street tree got planted, phone calls to town office actually got returned, there are continual improvements to town facilities, etc. My kids are 4 and 2 so they have not experienced the school system yet. The comments I heard however has all been good.

Commuting option to Boston, as MikePRU said, is not good. I commute to downtown Boston daily for work (MBTA bus then redline), I grew up with daily long commute anyway so it's do-able for me but certainly a negative.

Very curious to know how long that commute is for you. My husband works in the Back Bay area.
Thanks for responding to my post. The town seems just so lovely....guess now it's a matter of being able to afford it as well as being willing to deal with the commute.

thanks!

[claiz]

I commute relatively early (7am in, 4pm out) so traffic is not an issue. Still it takes 1 hour because of bus route is long. If you drive to Alewife+park+Red Line to South Station is around 45 mins all inclusive with no traffic. I assume the traffic (especially driving to/from alewife with parking) can be pretty bad during rush hour though. I don't like driving since in a bus at least I can read.

As for housing, anyway good under $1 million has insance competition. From $1-1.2 million though probably has a lot less compeition. Good luck!

[495neighbor]

I sometimes drive to the Alewife red line from Acton. On an average day, I cannot believe how fast it is to get down route 2, once past 128. It's only a 5 miles drive, mostly 4 lanes. This would include nearly all of the Lexington exits. I would say typical commute from Lexington to Boston, using Alewife would be 35 to 45 minutes.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by claiz

As for housing, anyway good under $1 million has insance competition. From $1-1.2 million though probably has a lot less compeition. Good luck!

I put in an offer today in Lexington for a client that was WELL over asking and someone apparently offered more. This is happening in a lot of towns right now though.

[lindsaycg]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I put in an offer today in Lexington for a client that was WELL over asking and someone apparently offered more. This is happening in a lot of towns right now though.

the market is so extremely hot right now! it's def also happening in needham. mike, that place you brought to my attention in needham...already under contract! houses are flying like hot cakes it seems!

any thoughts on the "pressure cooker" lexington schools?