Best Boston Suburbs for Jewish/Asian Family (Cambridge, Newton: fit in, transplants)

[fossettes]

We're moving to the Boston area from Brooklyn with our two kids, 5 & 8.

We're progressive liberal Jews and my husband is Chinese-American, looking for an interesting, engaging school district and a vibrant, community-oriented town with like-minded folks and some diversity. Plus little league and ballet :)

Any suggestions? Looking for the next tier down from Newton/Brookline -- hoping for homes in the $700-$900k range.

Would love too to hear from anyone who's made a similar move and has advice. Thanks!

[Xx2O11xX]

Why do you want to be in the next tier down from Newton if you can afford a house there in that price range? Newton would be my first choice.

[495neighbor]

If you are looking to get more home for your money than you will get in Newton or Brookline, you might like Arlington. It is becoming very popular with people who want to raise kids in a suburban but city-like setting. It seems to be becoming very popular with New York state transplants lately. Brookline and Arlington are much more walkable than Newton, if that is important to you.

You'd fit in as a family in my town Acton, but it may be too exurban for your tastes. There is a ballet school in town that the Moms I know really rave about.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by fossettes

We're moving to the Boston area from Brooklyn with our two kids, 5 & 8.

We're progressive liberal Jews and my husband is Chinese-American, looking for an interesting, engaging school district and a vibrant, community-oriented town with like-minded folks and some diversity. Plus little league and ballet

Any suggestions? Looking for the next tier down from Newton/Brookline -- hoping for homes in the $700-$900k range.

Would love too to hear from anyone who's made a similar move and has advice. Thanks!

I've always considered Needham the next step down from Newton. We have two temples in town - one is conservative and the other is reform. There's also a Chabad House in town. The next step down from that is probably Natick which is a bit less expensive and also has some temples in town. According to population statistics, Boston in general has a larger Jewish population than many other cities (except of course Miami and New York which have larger Jewish populations) so many of the suburbs have Jewish communities of some level.

If you want extremely liberal you might want to look at Concord or Wayland. However, those suburbs are a bit woodsy and might be a bit of a shock coming from Brooklyn and ending up in a house sitting on an acre plus.

Originally Posted by Xx2O11xX

Why do you want to be in the next tier down from Newton if you can afford a house there in that price range? Newton would be my first choice.

Unless you're willing to live in a more compact space, $700K to $900K isn't such a big budget in many parts of Newton especially the South part of town. Perhaps after living in Brooklyn, the OP is looking for a town that's a little less dense and a house with more space.

[G-fused]

I'm from Brooklyn. We have a mixed race family and are Jewish. We're in Brookline, which is where it's at. Brookline is full of Asians and Jews and can be sickeningly liberal. Step up, not down. I joke...best of luck and welcome.

[fossettes]

OP here -- thanks, all! What about Lexington, Sudbury, Belmont, Milton? Watertown? Maynard has come up in conversation as well.

Does anyone have great local blogs or email lists to recommend, to give us a sense of the communities?

Appreciate the insight and welcome!

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by fossettes

OP here -- thanks, all! What about Lexington, Sudbury, Belmont, Milton? Watertown? Maynard has come up in conversation as well.

Does anyone have great local blogs or email lists to recommend, to give us a sense of the communities?

Appreciate the insight and welcome!

I always tell people that if you're looking for Jews then look for temples. If a town has it's own temple then likely it has a significant enough Jewish population to support it. If a town has multiple temples, then likely it has a larger Jewish population. Lexington BTW, has a significantly higher Asian population than most of the other upscale suburbs according to the census.

The bottom lines is . . . liberals and Jews are really two things that are not in short supply in the Boston area. If you can give us some additional criteria for your new hometown that might help get you a better answer. Do you want more suburban than Brooklyn or something a little more urban like Brooklyn? Is there someplace in particular you need to commute to? Any special needs? Perhaps, you are orthodox and need to live walking distance to an orthodox temple or Chabad. Are top rated schools a concern? How big of a house on how big of a lot did you have in mind? Do you want a new house or will an older house be OK? The more detail you can offer, the better the responses are.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by fossettes

OP here -- thanks, all! What about Lexington, Sudbury, Belmont, Milton? Watertown? Maynard has come up in conversation as well.

Does anyone have great local blogs or email lists to recommend, to give us a sense of the communities?

Appreciate the insight and welcome!

Only based upon what you have given us for your criteria, I'm going to say you would like these towns in this order.

Lexington
Belmont
Sudbury
Watertown
Milton

I know few if any New York transplants living on the South Shore. Milton has a few walkable town centers near the Boston border, but most of Milton is on larger lots, with houses distant from the street. It is not as well served by public transportation as some of the towns already reccomended to you.

Watertown is more popular with singles and couples than families. It has a number of cool diners and close to Cambridge, so some New York vibe there. It has many multi-families, townhomes and small single family homes. Properties, with the exception of some newer townhomes, tend to be older. You would have difficulty finding a home that is as high end as what you are looking for.

Sudbury is a mix of suburban and exurban. Many nice homes, well kept up, different styles and price ranges. Has multiple synagogues in town.

Belmont is very similar to Arlington, only has fewer nice homes in your range than Arlington. Properties around Belmont Center are very fancy and sell in the millions. Cushing Square, Waverly Square and the rest of Belmont is older homes and multi-families. It is a mix of singles, couples and families.

Lexington is more suburban than Arlington and Brookline. There are not as many major roads cutting through Lexington as there are Newton, however it has larger lots than Newton and more spread out. So on par with Newton in price and walkability. Most properties and yards are attractive, nicer housing stock than Newton. It is suburban like Needham. Large Asian, Russian and Indian populations and has at least one synagogue.

[UKWildcat1981]

Wellesley MA or Newton MA

[Parsec]

There are many mixed race couples in Sudbury, but you can say the same for Arlington, Wellesley, Newton, Brookline, Lexington, etc. All the New Yorkers I know in town (and there are a lot) are from well-off towns in Westchester County. There are 2 temples in town and at least 2 more in Wayland about 5-10 minutes away. Out of these towns you will definitely get the most bang for your buck in Sudbury because of its distance (20-25 miles) from Boston/Cambridge. If you can't imagine yourself living in a place like Chappaqua, NY then Sudbury is probably too woodsy for you.

Are you looking for a single family house or a condo? Brookline would be the best in terms of amenities/vibe, but you'll find mostly smaller 3-bedroom condos in that price range or nicer 2-bedroom condos. If you need more space or want a single family home then focus on Arlington where you can still find some 3-4 bedroom detached houses in your price range. Just as a comparison, you can easily find a newer 4 bd/2.5 bedroom colonial in Sudbury in your price range.