Best suburbs for commuting to Kendall Square? (Boston, Cambridge: houses, homebuyer)

[acpatel]

Posting here because I see that one should post in the state if one doesn't want to live in the city proper, but in the suburbs.

I just got a job in Kendall Square. Cannot figure out where to move to, or what commuting will be like.

Job location is near the Broad Institute if that helps.

Looking for:
a) good schools (no family but want to start one)
b) 3000-4000 sq foot house with a yard -- 0.25 to 0.5 acres (dogs)
c) 60 minute commute, am not at all adverse to using T or commuter rail or both for portions of the trip

Budget ~$700k for the house.

Does this sound like anywhere nearby?

Thanks,
Anand

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by acpatel

Posting here because I see that one should post in the state if one doesn't want to live in the city proper, but in the suburbs.

I just got a job in Kendall. Cannot figure out where to move to, or what commuting will be like.

Job location is near the Broad Institute if that helps.

Looking for:
a) good schools (no family but want to start one)
b) 3000-4000 sq foot house with a yard -- 0.25 to 0.5 acres (dogs)
c) 60 minute commute, am not at all adverse to using T or commuter rail or both for portions of the trip

Budget ~$700k for the house.

Does this sound like anywhere nearby?

Thanks,
Anand

You are going to have to compromise on either the square footage or quality of the schools, with your budget.

[kingeorge]

Welcome.You are coming to area with old homes, and huge demand for housing near and around Cambridge. Most places you will be able to afford have anywhere between 1500-2500 sq.ft.. Yard will depend on the area but you will probably have to settle for less yard, unless you push way out of metro Boston. Acton and Concord will have better yards but much longer commute. If you can live without best schools than Medford, Watertown, Melrose, Waltham, Quincy.

For great schools I would recommended Arlington and Belmont with possibility of Acton and Concord if you do not mind having longer commute. Maybe you could add Winchester as well. Commuting in and out this general area is not fun.

Since your job is in the tough area to commute to, so many people are looking at the same areas and towns because they work in Kendall too; and want good schools as well. Few communities that are better poised for commute to Kendall and have great schools are in much demand, which pushes prices up constantly, and forces homebuyers to compromise.

You will need to know if you have any designated parking at work or not. Where it the T station? Close, far away? Lot can depend on these little facts. If you can drive in, that can open more possibilities. If you can walk to T than you should stay closer along Red Line. Good luck!

[Amontillado]

This seems like a tough assignment, with the worst part being the size of the lot you're looking for. Land is just too valuable to have large lots in easy commuting range, unless you have a heap of money to spend. You might manage to achieve what you're looking for in Acton or Littleton, or one of the towns near the Fitchburg commuter line, with the plan being to change to the subway at Porter Square. Other rail lines are much harder to use, as the connection to Kendall would be longer.

Personally I'd compromise on the school quality, because you're several years away from having kids to worry about. But houses on large acreage tend to be in towns with the best schools anyway.

[MikePRU]

I think you're going to have a heck of a time ticking all the boxes on your list. Easy commuting towns with good schools are the most sought after and therefore the most expensive. As I see it, have to choose which is most important: the large house, the short commute, or the good schools. At $700K, you're just not going to get all three in the Boston area.

[Elllz]

Medford

[SoFresh99]

Kendall is impossible. Live in Arlington and take the bus to harvard or alewife to catch the red line. You will be living in 1700sqft. with a small yard but the commute will not make you want to die and will take slightly less than an hour. Bus to Alewife means you will get a seat on the subway if that is important to you and the ride is 5 stops, getting on at Harvard may mean standing but it is only two stops.

ETA: You can go to the MBTA website and see the bus routes that hit Alewife and Harvard, see how long they take at the pm5:30ish run and then triple it to account for traffic/late/early busses.

[jamesgale]

Westwood, Medford, Alrlington, Belmont, Dedham, Norwood, Quincy

[Shizim]

Originally Posted by jamesgale

Westwood, Medford, Alrlington, Belmont, Dedham, Norwood, Quincy

Medford schools are blah. And the lots are tiny. Belmont lots aren't huge and 700k doesn't go far there. Norwood and Westwood make no sense as they are South of the city. Ditto Dedham.

[Brave Stranger]

Littleton if you don't mind catching the rail. There's really nothing in the Boston area that gets you what you want. Arlington would be good for the commute, but house size & lot size are not going to be anywhere near what you want. 3000sf, if you can find it in Arlington with a decent yard would run you close to 1 million.