Can't decide where to live! (Boston, Newton: condo, high school, university)

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by babsy2013

Am I too picky?

Without knowing you personally I don't think any of us can answer that. Let me say this though. I have a friend who was house searching for the past 4 years. She started her search in Weston, but was too picky (especially considering her price point of $1 million). As home prices started to rise in 2012 she was priced out of Weston. She started looking in Wayland and again was too picky, but last year prices rose sharply. This year she finally settled on a smaller house in Wayland when she could've had the same house in Weston 4 years ago for a million. I'm just scared you'll be priced out of Winchester by the end of this year and you'll have to settle for something in Andover next year.

[3cents]

Originally Posted by babsy2013

So, didn't get the house in Winchester

Wondering if you could share which house is this?

[babsy2013]

Originally Posted by timberline742

Maybe, but it is a big investment.

Why no to the cemetery? It would be quite on the side... I would hope.

yes that is for sure..... Fact is that you see it from one of the room and although there are trees so I don't have a complete view , you can see it from the porch. Plus I think, when we have to resell it it would be a problem (our agent told us that Asian people would never buy a house near a cemetery - that is about 1/3 of the market here). I don't know how it is perceived here I mean maybe people won't visit you if you live near a cemetery (and it's an ACTIVE one). I am afraid I feel I have to be respectful and not making too much noise or , like , not having a BBQ when there is an interment.....).

[babsy2013]

Originally Posted by Parsec

Without knowing you personally I don't think any of us can answer that. Let me say this though. I have a friend who was house searching for the past 4 years. She started her search in Weston, but was too picky (especially considering her price point of $1 million). As home prices started to rise in 2012 she was priced out of Weston. She started looking in Wayland and again was too picky, but last year prices rose sharply. This year she finally settled on a smaller house in Wayland when she could've had the same house in Weston 4 years ago for a million. I'm just scared you'll be priced out of Winchester by the end of this year and you'll have to settle for something in Andover next year.

Hi Parsec, actually Andover is still on the list I like it. But am I wrong or you meant it in a negative way? Is there a reason why you do not like Andover? School maybe? or commute?

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by babsy2013

yes that is for sure..... Fact is that you see it from one of the room and although there are trees so I don't have a complete view , you can see it from the porch. Plus I think, when we have to resell it it would be a problem (our agent told us that Asian people would never buy a house near a cemetery - that is about 1/3 of the market here). I don't know how it is perceived here I mean maybe people won't visit you if you live near a cemetery (and it's an ACTIVE one). I am afraid I feel I have to be respectful and not making too much noise or , like , not having a BBQ when there is an interment.....).

I can actually see that happening because first generation immigrants from China are extremely superstitious. I know this is anecdotal, but in my local paper's real estate section I do see a lot of people with Asian last names buying houses on main roads. My theory is they are trying to get the best bang for their buck (school system comes first, size of house comes second due to having large families and live-in grandparents, then neighborhood vs main street location comes third).

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by babsy2013

Hi Parsec, actually Andover is still on the list I like it. But am I wrong or you meant it in a negative way? Is there a reason why you do not like Andover? School maybe? or commute?

Please don't misunderstand my post - I didn't mean it negatively at all. I just meant Andover is cheaper than Winchester due to being further away from Boston. You might get priced out of Winchester if you don't pull the trigger this year and Andover will be the only town left in your price range next year. I know I sound like a housing bull, but it's more out of fear than anything else. I'm not a real estate agent with ulterior motives

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by babsy2013

yes that is for sure..... Fact is that you see it from one of the room and although there are trees so I don't have a complete view , you can see it from the porch. Plus I think, when we have to resell it it would be a problem (our agent told us that Asian people would never buy a house near a cemetery - that is about 1/3 of the market here). I don't know how it is perceived here I mean maybe people won't visit you if you live near a cemetery (and it's an ACTIVE one). I am afraid I feel I have to be respectful and not making too much noise or , like , not having a BBQ when there is an interment.....).

Ok, I get that.

Originally Posted by Parsec

I can actually see that happening because first generation immigrants from China are extremely superstitious. I know this is anecdotal, but in my local paper's real estate section I do see a lot of people with Asian last names buying houses on main roads. My theory is they are trying to get the best bang for their buck (school system comes first, size of house comes second due to having large families and live-in grandparents, then neighborhood vs main street location comes third).

This is just anecdotal, but it seems the Asian population of my mother's town (Belmont) seems to have exploded over the last 10 or so years.

[rameleg]

We looked in Andover and North Andover... I can't say I was really impressed
Town was OK.. people seemed nice
but I just don't see all the fuss vs. say North Reading or Lynfield..

I visited a few of the "upscale" towns last week when we were house hunting but couldn't justify the cost
could we afford $1mil. yeah... but we didn't want to spend that...

As a new transplant from the midwest I don't see the justification in these "upscale towns"

We settled on Swampscott with a house on a cliff with an ocean view.... not for everyone.. but it was mid $600's vs. $1mil.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by rameleg

We looked in Andover and North Andover... I can't say I was really impressed
Town was OK.. people seemed nice
but I just don't see all the fuss vs. say North Reading or Lynfield..

I visited a few of the "upscale" towns last week when we were house hunting but couldn't justify the cost
could we afford $1mil. yeah... but we didn't want to spend that...

As a new transplant from the midwest I don't see the justification in these "upscale towns"

We settled on Swampscott with a house on a cliff with an ocean view.... not for everyone.. but it was mid $600's vs. $1mil.

Congrats rameleg. You guys found a house from out of state after looking for only 1 month? babsy and the rest of us could probably take some pointers from you PS - wasn't $650k way over your original budget or am I thinking of another poster from the midwest?

[goyguy]

It's odd to me that Arlington has only been brought up once in this very active thread. The quality of the schools has dropped slightly though noticeably due to repeated property-tax-limit override failures. However, there is still a strong college-prep orientation even if it's not quite the one-dimensional pressure cooker/assembly line/(insert cliché here) as is the case in Lexington and certain other towns.

Slight relaxation of the "blue laws" a few years ago has brought many restaurants into Arlington since they're now allowed to sell alcohol by the drink. The Turkish, Argentinian, and "Himalayan" eateries are the only ones of their kind that I know of in the Boston area. Four (count 'em!) sushi places have set up shop around Arlington Center. Upscale Mexican and Italian spots are there, as are two Indian restaurants, and all this is just for starters. Arlington Heights, meanwhile, is still limited to a Brigham's ice cream/sandwich parlor and cheap Chinese and some of the town's ubiquitous pizza/sub joints.

Arlington can also boast of the ever more rarefied commodity known as a movie theater, as well as a performance center which puts on many shows geared toward children and families in addition to featuring nostalgia acts (Edgar Winter, Vanilla Fudge, etc) and evenings with singer/impersonators. The town has a very active historical society with lectures at least once a month, and Arlington Friends of the Drama is a theatrical group which has trod the boards "forever."

The tremendously popular Minuteman bike trail, which follows the path of a defunct commuter rail line, passes through the middle of the town on its route from Bedford to Alewife Station. Many people also use it for walking and rollerblading. Spy Pond, Turkey Hill, and Menotomy Rocks are among the extensive local parks centered around the natural features for which they're named. There are active groups of "friends" who help maintain these green spaces and host events there.

Religious diversity is on display better in Arlington than it is in your typical suburban communities which tend to tilt toward a predominance of Catholics, WASP's, or Jews. The latter have no synagogue within the town boundaries, but can worship in Lexington or Winchester or Cambridge. (Historically an informal way to gauge the quality of a town's schools was to learn how many Jewish people lived there, though in the 21st century I think Asians are used more for that barometer.) In Arlington Heights stands a large Greek Orthodox church, but its congregants are not exclusively from nearby. Whether this is a good thing or not, there is also a megachurch calling itself High Rock in Arlington Center, and the group with the probably deliberately misleading "Boston Church of Christ" name is readying a former Congregational church for their use. (The "congo's" still have a presence on Park Ave in Arlington Heights.)

Because Cambridge borders Arlington to the south, its social and political influence is strongly felt. Starting after WWII a tangible number of working-class, conservative-leaning Cantabrigians began relocating across the town line - either to signify "moving up" economically or to flee demographic changes. Arlington has also historically been a place where young Cambridge families, the parents of which want more of a "sure thing" with regard to schools, end up settling. Nowadays the soaring property values throughout Cambridge are also forcing quite a few people, who'd had their hearts set on burying there, into the surrounding towns. They've brought with them a "Cambridge" sensibility which has helped to attract and keep ethnic restaurants, an upscale toy store, etc and have led to a tangible progressive shift in local government and things going on. (A "walk to support affordable housing" would have been unthinkable a decade or two ago.)

Speaking of housing, Arlington homes give a lot of bang for the buck compared to overpriced Lexington and Winchester. Between Arlington Center and Route 2 lies a historic district full of appealing Victorians. Distinguished Tudor houses from between the World Wars are readily found among the Colonials, bungalows, and "Arlington saltboxes" in Arlington Heights. East Arlington is probably not in contention for the OP because of its largely two-family and apartment-house makeup. Even in the most affluent section of town, that being in the vicinity of the Winchester line, $850k should be more than adequate for a purchase.

After this "book" about Arlington I'll hold off on expounding about Melrose this time.