Which of these towns would you pick? (Arlington, Lexington: how much, house)

[FrannyZon]

We are a family with two young children about to start school. We love where we currently live, but the schools are not the best. We are looking at the following towns for our next move:
Belmont
Lexington
Winchester
Arlington

We are looking for a town that has a vibrant and diverse culture, is not too "stepford wifey," and with good schools that has a strong special education program. We would also like to be able to walk to at least a few places (coffee shop, dry cleaner, etc.) from our house. We can afford approximately 750-900K depending on how much we love the place.

So...in people's opinion which town would be the best match?

Thanks!

[kingeorge]

All are good choices. I do not think you will go wrong with any town on your list. But, to me you sound like Arlington is the best fit. However, I would still try to go to open homes in all the places you are interested in to get better feel. You will learn about towns as well. Also visit playgrounds. Great way to figure out if you like people and atmosphere.

Arlington is very lively with great walkability and is very good investment, but its schools are not as high achieving as Lexington's. They are very good.

Winchester is established but (for me) too quiet/smallish and has no municipal trash pick-up. Taxes are high.

Lexington is very posh and the most expensive of the bunch, but your dollar will not buy as much as in Arlington e.g. You might feel that you can only afford smaller homes or fixer uppers in your price range.

Belmont offers type of lifestyle you like around Cushing and Downtown areas, but prices are pretty high and so are taxes.

Winchester and Belmont have less commercial tax base so there is bigger tax burden on homeowners to fund all the town services. Lexington and Arlington have lot more commercial tax money in general.

Find the best house you like, making sure location/layout is without some kind of fatal flaw, and rest will fall in place. You will know the house you want, when you see it.

Good luck.