Moving from Back Bay to...where? (Boston, Lowell: apartments, lofts, living)

[danduke]

Hi there! First thread - perhaps you can help me out a bit. I am looking to move from downtown Boston to somewhere outside the city because I would like more space. I currently live in Back Bay in an apartment that I moved into on short notice (moved up for work). I work in Westford, and would also like a bit shorter of a commute. I have done my research, and it seems to me that Lowell has the best mix of a downtown + shops / restaurants versus cost of living for a guy my age (26 years old). Would I be correct? It also seems Medford is a reasonable choice, though it is a bit more expensive.

I guess my request for advice would be this - do you know of any towns in between Boston and Westford that have a reasonable nightlife / main street area with shops and restaurants, with apartments such as the lofts which are available in Lowell, at such an affordable price point?

Would appreciate any and all advice!

Thanks - D

[danduke]

Please????

[kingeorge]

Somerville might have some lofts. Waltham perhaps as well. If you are not stuck on loft living, you can go to Brookline, Cambridge, Watertown, Medford etc... None of these would be affordable as Lowell, I think.

[breezy1]

You may want to consider Watertown. It would be very easy to get to Route 2 via Belmont (Winter St) and that would take you right out to Westford -
A reverse commute so it shouldn't be too bad on Rt 2. You would be very close to Cambridge for night life and it's still really easy to get into city via Storrow Dr. for night life as well. There are some good restaurants in Watertown but it's no hot bed of night life. However it's centrally located so it's relatively easy to get into Cambridge and Boston as well as out of city.

[jewban]

You're going to have to provide us more parameters and requirements to provide meaningful suggestions.