Relocating from PA - thoughts on Concord, Acton, Sudbury and others (Boston: houses, transfer)

[DanTwohig]

Hello all
My family is relocating from the Main Line suburbs outside of Philadelphia to the Boston area. We have started looking at some of the suburban neighborhoods and would welcome any thoughts/feedback.

Some parameters we are looking at:
- Must be commutable to Cambridge - so we are generally looking at towns on or close to the Fitchburg commuter line
- We have 2 small children so school district is our top priority
- A decent sized backyard and larger home (4+ bedrooms) - which cuts out anything closer in we know

We do want someplace that has a community spirit and preferably some kind of town center or area where there are restaurants, shops etc.

So far we love Concord but also know how expensive it is there, and how limited the house inventory is there.

Towns we have been told about include Acton, Sudbury, Lincoln, Carlise, and Westford (which seems a bit far out)

Thanks for the help

[tysmith95]

Budget?

[DanTwohig]

Looking at homes up to 1.1 million

Also want to keep commute to Cambridge to 1:15 max

[Dm84]

Where in Cambridge? If you're commuting to Kendall you'll probably be screwed no matter what with regard to the commute time.

[DanTwohig]

Originally Posted by Dm84

Where in Cambridge? If you're commuting to Kendall you'll probably be screwed no matter what with regard to the commute time.

Yes Kendall Square. Figured Fitchburg line to red line transfer

[Massback]

We are in the same boat, you can see my thread Moving back to Mass. There are some v good suggestions with respect to houses and school districts. Good luck with your move and house search!

[rethcir]

Belmont is probably within reach at 1.1mil. Lexington too. Arlington definitely.

[htfdcolt]

For that budget and with schools a priority I would look long and hard at Winchester, with Arlington a close second. Both have excellent bus access to Alewife T station (and therefore Kendall Square). No need to mess with the commuter rail.

[chicagoliz]

We did that 2 years ago (from Collegeville). Look at Winchester, Arlington, Belmont, Lexington. You could also look at Newton, Needham and maybe Wellesley. The commute isn't as good as it is from places like Winchester, but it is definitely do-able. And if you would also have any need to commute downtown to Boston now or in the future, Newton and Needham are better for getting there than is Lexington.

Acton, Concord and Sudbury are all nice, but they are definitely further out. If you don't care at all about access to downtown, that's a different story. In almost all the desirable towns, inventory will be somewhat limited, so you are probably going to have to look in several.

[tysmith95]

Lincoln is another option, if you want a more rural character with large lots.