Best area to live between Wellesley and JP (Boston, Newton: apartment, how much)

[jmal_66]

My young family will be moving to the Boston area this spring, and I am baffled by the project of figuring out where we'd live. I'm looking for a walkable community (to restaurants/etc) with short and easy commute(s) to Wellesley and Jamaica Plain, with good public schools but without astronomical housing prices. In an ideal world, one or both of us would use public transit to get to work. I have Needham, Brookline, and Natick as possibilities, but nothing seems quite right just yet. What am I missing?

[MikePRU]

Out of those three places, Brookline is the most walkable by far. What kind of a housing budget are you working with? What kind of a home are you looking for? How important are schools?

The bottom line is anywhere inside of RT 128 is going to be pretty pricey and it will seem especially so if you're relocating from another area of the country (excepting maybe if you're coming from LA, San Fran, or NYC).

[jmal_66]

I'm budgeting $2,500-$3,000 for housing (ideally a 3 bed/1.5-2 bath house or apartment; either is fine. We'd get a 2 bedroom place if necessary). We lived in Boston about 4-5 years ago (we're moving back from western Mass now), but I am certainly surprised at how much higher housing prices are!

The hardest part for me is figuring out what areas to live in that wouldn't have a challenging or long commute. From Wellesley to JP is not really possible on the T and commuter rail (without it being a 1.5 hour trip, right?). Alternately, I worry about the hassle of parking in JP on a daily basis (especially in winter).

Our oldest child will be entering kindergarten a year after we move, so schools are pretty important. I have an internal struggle at the moment between prioritizing schools (suburbia) over a walkable/urban lifestyle (Boston Public Schools). Most days, excellent schools win that battle.

Are there any other areas I should be considering?

[Dm84]

Maybe Newton? Honestly the commute isn't going to be ideal for the person going to JP, and all the places you listed have astronomical housing prices.

[missionhill]

If the urban lifestyle wins out, definitely Roslindale or West Roxbury if not JP itself. And it's not as if the elementary schools are bad in those neighborhoods.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by missionhill

If the urban lifestyle wins out, definitely Roslindale or West Roxbury if not JP itself. And it's not as if the elementary schools are bad in those neighborhoods.

Parents don't pick where their kids go to school in BPS. Parents pick a few schools they want to send their kids to and a computer decides where they will actually go to school. The quality of a given public school is meaningless under this system.