Advice needed on Newton villages.

[markmark09]

Originally Posted by robr2

Per Sperling's Best Places:

Newton is 1.85% Jewish - about 1650 resident
Brookline is 2.98% Jewish - about 1760 residents
MA is 1.24% Jewish - about 84,250 residents.

Shalom Boston says there are 275,000 Jews living in MA.

YMMV depending on your source.

The Boston Eruv encompasses all of Brookline, parts of Boston and Newton. Does that mean Brookline is more observant or that not all of Newton has been brought inside the eruv. There are also Eruvs in Waltham around Brandeis, Sharon, and Swampscott and a proposed one at UMass Amherst.

Interesting...Wikipedia says Newton is 1/3 Jewish. As a Newton resident, I would say it's closer to 33% than 1.85%.

[markmark09]

Originally Posted by momnewtoboston

My husband and I have just moved to Boston from London. We are currently renting and just had a wonderful baby boy and we would like to move to Newton or Wellesley as we heard the schools are very good.

Can anyone provide insight and a view point on the different villages in Newton. What is the main difference between Wellesley and Newton in terms of value for money? What are the top 3 most desirable villages to live in.

Ideally our criteria is 1. school district, 2. commute to Boston via car or public transport ( approximate commute times, 3. potential walking distance to restaurants / coffee shop and 4.location desirability?

Our budget is on the mid to high newton price range.

Thanks!

Similar to MikePRU, I recommend Newton Centre and Newton Highlands (north of Route 9, closer to Lincoln St. and Crystal Lake). I'd say third place is close to Walnut St. in Newtonville too but lack of Green Line access brings it down a notch in my book, even though you have bus/commuter rail options. Waban doesn't have much of a village center, but easy access to 95/90 and the Green Line, plus it is very desirable for whatever reason and I believe has the priciest lots of all the villages.

[sawyer2]

A bit specific, but I would recommend the streets close to Crystal Lake in Newton Center. This checks most of your boxes.
We had it on our short list when we were looking a few years ago but the right house didn't come up. Plan for about $1.5-$2M and be ready to move fast.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

A bit specific, but I would recommend the streets close to Crystal Lake in Newton Center. This checks most of your boxes.
We had it on our short list when we were looking a few years ago but the right house didn't come up. Plan for about $1.5-$2M and be ready to move fast.

We LOVE the houses that surround Crystal Lake. We will never be able to afford one, but they are our fantasy. But yes, if they are in the budget, I'd highly recommend them.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by markmark09

Interesting...Wikipedia says Newton is 1/3 Jewish. As a Newton resident, I would say it's closer to 33% than 1.85%.

It's hard to find actual data on this. It's not a question they ask on the US census so a lot of these websites have informal polls or guesses. 2% seems too low to me and 1/3 seems high. The real number is probably somewhere in between.

Originally Posted by sawyer2

A bit specific, but I would recommend the streets close to Crystal Lake in Newton Center. This checks most of your boxes.
We had it on our short list when we were looking a few years ago but the right house didn't come up. Plan for about $1.5-$2M and be ready to move fast.

I love this area of Newton. One of my oldest friends grew up on Allerton Rd right near the Lake. Hanging out at his house was awesome especially for a boy like me from the further out 'burb of Framingham. We could walk to Newton Highlands and get on the T in a blink or we could go over to Crystal Lake. It's a very convenient and walkable location. Plus, you're very close to RT 9 which can get you a lot of places.

[saxpianoguitar]

Originally Posted by sawyer2

A bit specific, but I would recommend the streets close to Crystal Lake in Newton Center. This checks most of your boxes.
We had it on our short list when we were looking a few years ago but the right house didn't come up. Plan for about $1.5-$2M and be ready to move fast.

I live in this area and it is wonderful. Mason-Rice is a fabulous school and Newton Center is convinient to T and has some great amenities. Also this area is close to the library, crystal lake, easy access to both 90 and 95 as well as route 9. 20-30 min or less to everything you need. Easy to get to Boston. Whole Foods within walking distance. The two town fairs (spring and fall) are held in Newton Center. There is an amazing playground as well.

Be prepared to move fast and expect to pay over ask!

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

Not certain this is entirely correct. At one point Brookline had one of the most Jewish population in the U.S. While there are many Jewish people in Newton, I'm not certain that it's more Jewish than Brookline, and my guess is that Brookline has more. Newton also has a very high Chinese population, although I'm not sure how it compares to the Asian population in Brookline, again if I had to guess, i'd guess there were more Asians in Newton.

While Wellesley has traditionally been very WASP-ish, there are a decent number of Jewish families there.

Based on my time living in Newton and other burbs near Boston, your impressions match mine, from that time (mid 1970s to late 1980s). I have not been back in many years, though.

To the original poster: Newton's 13 distinct villages are like miniature towns in themselves, each with its own flavor. I used to easily walk to several of them--as in less than half an hour walk each--and biked to the farther ones. I don't remember having so many different sub-cities, more like one downtown and a lot of suburbs. This might have changed since then.

Newton had excellent public transit, ranging from buses to light rail to commuter rail. There was little need for me to drive in the Boston burbs, in general. Lots of wonderful restaurants in all price ranges, and great public libraries.

[pikabike]

Crystal Lake was open for swimming in summer and lighted night ice skating some winter nights. Do they still have that?