Suburb for family of four with parent working in Cambridge (Boston: how much, house)

[flygirl4]

We are looking at a quick move to the Boston area, within the next two months. Kids will be starting school mid-year. One parent working in Cambridge, one at home. What suburbs do you recommend based one the following desires:

- Schools open to newcomers (two kids in middle school, two in primary)
- Strong academics at school but also visual and performing arts and sports
- Good community feel with a nice town centre, walkable
- Diverse community/schools (current school is religiously and ethnically diverse)
- Strong sports, oldest two are avid runners, soccer players, swimmers; they both play club soccer and will need/want that again
- Easy commute to Boston, preferably with access to public transit
- Easy access to airport

We are heading to Boston in January for a look but before that I want to get an idea as to where to concentrate our look. Ideas based on Internet research are Winchester, Lexington, Lincoln/Concord, Belmont, Brookline (although we might be priced out of this area), Arlington,...

What is the difference in the commute from Newton/Brookline area to Cambridge and then Winchester/Arlington to Cambridge, is one more ideal? What about further out, how much time does it add to the commute?

Thank you for any help offered.

[gf2020]

What's your budget?

[timberline742]

Belmont, if you can afford it.

And what part of Cambridge? If you're working in North Cambridge the commute will be completely different from Kendall Square.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by gf2020

What's your budget?

Also how much square footage and bedrooms are required? The title says family of 4, but the post says 4 kids, which probably means a family of 6. If I had 4 kids I'd want a 5 bedroom, 4 bath 4,000 sf house!

[flygirl4]

Ah, yes. So we are a family of six; two adults and four kids. Four bedrooms is a minimum and 3,500+ square feet. We have lived in Europe so can squeeze in if needed. Budget is 1.25 million, we could push past that a bit but ideally stay close to that number.

[johngolf]

Belmont, Lexington, Winchester should all be looked at.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by johngolf

Belmont, Lexington, Winchester should all be looked at.

Sure, but again, what part of Cambridge the person will be working in will be a factor, potentially. But those are all good towns. I'd add Arlington.

[MikePRU]

You mentioned wanting access to Boston. Is that for commuting or recreational reasons?

[Whatsnext75]

Arlington

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by Whatsnext75

Arlington

I still can't fathom how anyone can spend $1 million in Arlington. My friend and I both spent around $350k on our first house in 2008. I bought a 1600 sf 3-bedroom in Natick and he bought a 2400 sf 4-bedroom in Arlington. I think he made out like a bandit!