Which town to buy house in (Cambridge, Natick: how much, neighborhoods, schools)

[Rad524]

How is the school system in Burlington?

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by Rad524

How is the school system in Burlington?

They're respectable. As someone who isn't from that area and rarely drives through there, I usually group Burlington, Wakefield, Reading, Stoneham, Wilmington and Tewksbury together as a good bang for your buck. To me their school systems rank better than average, but are not top tier. They are not at the same level as Lexington/Winchester or even Bedford, but are much better than Woburn and Billerica. I'm sure someone more local can give you more specific information but you really can't go wrong with any of those towns in your price range. Burlington does differ from those other towns in that it's more commercialized so you have more amenities nearby.

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[mmyk72]

I'd advise avoid having to drive south on 128 in the morning. It's bumper to bumper.

For example: Burlington to Waltham is horrible, but Waltham to Burlington is a breeze.

[3cents]

Originally Posted by Rad524

How is the school system in Burlington?

According to schooldigger.com , Burlington ranks 175th (of 325 districts). Depending on how willing are you to weigh house vs. town, but I'll prefer my original suggestions of Bedford 65th, and Arlington 68th. Additionally, if you prefer more 'leafy', then go for Bedford. Arlington houses are closer together, but its location is great. Burlington has large malls, which I don't prefer.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by 3cents

According to schooldigger.com , Burlington ranks 175th (of 325 districts). Depending on how willing are you to weigh house vs. town, but I'll prefer my original suggestions of Bedford 65th, and Arlington 68th. Additionally, if you prefer more 'leafy', then go for Bedford. Arlington houses are closer together, but its location is great. Burlington has large malls, which I don't prefer.

The problem with Bedford and Arlington is price. A typical house in Bedford costs around $700k. The only thing you will find under $550k in good condition is either really small or on a main road. Most of the houses you see in this price range are fixer uppers. In Arlington there are plenty of homes in the $550k range, but they are on 5000 sf lots, tiny, maybe part of a triple decker, or in need of work.

[3cents]

There's no denying that Bedford and Arlington are more expensive than Burlington, so the OP has to weight each town's + vs -

In a recent related thread, I've posted the below, which I'll just reproduce here since I think it is relevant:

Originally Posted by 3cents

I think the quickest way for the OP to narrow down the town list would be the following:
1. go to schooldigger.com and list out the top N school districts, where N=50 or 100, etc. according to how 'good' do you want the schools to be
2. from the list above, cross out those towns with unreasonable commute
3. then go to redfin.com, select sales of past 3 months or sales of past 1 year, rank those sales in $$ amount, and look at the median sales price (e.g. you'll quickly find that Winchester, Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Weston, Belmont, Newton, etc. will be above your price range).
4. By now, you'll probably only have a handful of towns to work with. Drive around those towns, get a feel for the town differences. Go to redfin.com , look at past sales in those towns in your price range. Are they acceptable to you? Sign up for email alerts with redfin.com. Go to open houses. Let reality sink in.
5. If you realize that your budget isn't going to get you an 'acceptable' house, you'll probably want to up your budget. If so, go back to step 3 above and repeat.

I've looked at houses for close to 1 year before I bought in Winchester. Along the way, I've:
- iterated through steps 3-5 multiple times
- upped my initial budget by $100K
- bought a modest ranch well below the median price. Yes, it is old and it needs some attention.
- accepted the fact that I'll be living beside a double-yellow line street
- with the same budget, I could've bought a Colonial with 5 bedrooms, arched driveway, along a quiet street, in another town with equally good schools, but about 50-60 mins commute to Cambridge.
- probably the least updated house along the street

But what I've gained:
- 15 mins drive to my work place
- great lively town
- super convenient access to lots of stuffs and places
- top schools

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by 3cents

There's no denying that Bedford and Arlington are more expensive than Burlington, so the OP has to weight each town's + vs -

In a recent related thread, I've posted the below, which I'll just reproduce here since I think it is relevant:




I've looked at houses for close to 1 year before I bought in Winchester. Along the way, I've:
- iterated through steps 3-5 multiple times
- upped my initial budget by $100K
- bought a modest ranch well below the median price. Yes, it is old and it needs some attention.
- accepted the fact that I'll be living beside a double-yellow line street
- with the same budget, I could've bought a Colonial with 5 bedrooms, arched driveway, along a quiet street, in another town with equally good schools, but about 50-60 mins commute to Cambridge.
- probably the least updated house along the street

But what I've gained:
- 15 mins drive to my work place
- great lively town
- super convenient access to lots of stuffs and places
- top schools

I think that's fantastic advice! Obviously not everyone has the same priorities when they look at homes, but the steps you laid out works for every potential homebuyer. Those are the same steps I used when I initially bought my ranch in Natick several years ago, but unfortunately I didn't count on my kids outgrowing the house since they were so little back then (actually one wasn't even born yet). Even after upping my budget by $300k, I still had to move further away to get the house and school system I wanted.

[Rad524]

Does anyone have any idea on the schools in bedford, mainly the public schools and also the overall activities for kids within the town? There are lot of mixed reviews about the town, any suggestions?

[Scriptkitten]

Moved to Bedford a year ago with preschoolers and LOVE it.

Kids enjoy the town offered sports and activities. Very active parenting organization called Bedford Family Connection. We have all made lots of friends. The community is friendly and feels close knit without being unfriendly to newcomers. The bike trails and nature activities are amazing.

I like that shopping is convenient. Bedford has the necessities and Burlington isn't too far away when you need "brandland"

My kids aren't at the schools yet but every parent I know is very happy with them. The schools rank really well. What's nice is that all the kids stay together from k-12. There are 4 schools....
K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12. They don't split up the elementaries by zone...it's by age. I think it helps the community feel tightly knit... At least that's what I'm told.

[3cents]

Originally Posted by Parsec

I think that's fantastic advice! Obviously not everyone has the same priorities when they look at homes, but the steps you laid out works for every potential homebuyer. Those are the same steps I used when I initially bought my ranch in Natick several years ago, but unfortunately I didn't count on my kids outgrowing the house since they were so little back then (actually one wasn't even born yet). Even after upping my budget by $300k, I still had to move further away to get the house and school system I wanted.

Congratz on your growing family!
Natick is a great town. I almost bought a small but great ranch in Natick, but ultimately had to reconsider because when my wife and I tried out my commute from North Cambridge, we decided that it's too much to bear. That experience helped us to refocus our priorities.