Look for a town/area that we could settle down

[Steephill2]

probably density of traffic and frequency of stoplights. if you work in boston you have to deal with going through cambridge and everyone converging there from what seems like the entire metrowest when its not a necessity. compare that to winchester. easy drive to oak grove or hop on and take the 15 min ride to north station on the commuter rail. even if you have to walk to south station from north it will still be less than 45 min. im not saying arlington is bad but why would you want to deal with cambridge related traffic when you dont have to and all it variables? it has taken me over an hour to drive from the lexington/arlington line to boston during rush hour. if it was me living in arligton id probably drive to the west medford stop and take the commuter rail there to n station and then walk. that stoplight from alewife to route two during evening rush hour troubles me. i do see your point on subways having greater frequency than commuter line. the other point is commuter rail costs can be 2x+ cost of the subway pass

for out of towners who dont know about the city they may see arlington so close to boston and go, "oh its pretty close so can get me in to work fast". that may not always be the case. i think there are parts of dover near the needham commuter rail that may get you to town just slightly longer but is geographically like 3x farther

so in essence op would not only have to deal with whats mentioned above but is also paying a premium to live in a town and not receive one of the primary benefits of it...which is proximity to cambridge. arlington may not even fit the budget anymore for op unless willing to settle for a ranch or very small colonial. i also notice arlington listings include sq feet of lower level or maybe basement whereas many other places do not so not sure about that.

[sparty8888]

Thanks so much for the list!
I'll visit Newton, brookline, winchester and Sharon.
It seems that there's only 1 house for rental in Sharon as I checked craigslist though.

Originally Posted by Steephill2

generally people who work in downtown boston are better served commuting from the south due to access to trains from south station. any towns north of the mass pike will goto north station. unless, of course you buy near a subway line but the green line is by far the slowest of the group and has a number of extra stops that make for quite a nauseating experience.

here are my votes in order if preference based SOLELY on the criteria you mentioned
newton
winchester
brookline
sharon
burlington(via express bus to boston but this could be closer to an hour)
braintree

also many people throw out recommendations on this forum without actually reading what the needs of the posters are. i would not recommend arlington for you based on your criteria but would for someone who works in cambridge or waltham.