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Yes, coming from Manhattan where I can get home (in a cab ofcourse) in 20 minutes if needed has spoiled us. There will be a shock no matter what.
We have a lot of benefits if we choose Newton apart from obvious (schools, commute, etc.), our in-laws live in Waban and since we have full-time childcare now, we may need to lean on them as we figure out our new way of living once we move. Lucky them.
Thanks for this!
Good info.
To Chicagoliz's point, that's more than enough reason to skip Concord in your search.
I think Newton and Needham should be choices 1A and 1B. If you can't make a house work for that price, long term, then Natick becomes the reasonable choice.
If the larger homes, larger yards, more "quintessential New England" setting appeals to you, then I'd suggest Lincoln. Lincoln-Sudbury is a top tier district.. Ultra affluent, considered more legacy "elite" than Natick which has far more socioeconomic diversity. Train from Lincoln to Boston is 35 minutes, drive to Waban (off hours) is probably 15-25 minutes depending on where you are in town.
EDIT: The cheapest SFH in Lincoln is $1.3M, so never mind that suggestion.
To Chicagoliz's point, that's more than enough reason to skip Concord in your search.
I think Newton and Needham should be choices 1A and 1B. If you can't make a house work for that price, long term, then Natick becomes the reasonable choice.
If the larger homes, larger yards, more "quintessential New England" setting appeals to you, then I'd suggest Lincoln. Lincoln-Sudbury is a top tier district.. Ultra affluent, considered more legacy "elite" than Natick which has far more socioeconomic diversity. Train from Lincoln to Boston is 35 minutes, drive to Waban (off hours) is probably 15-25 minutes depending on where you are in town.
EDIT: The cheapest SFH in Lincoln is $1.3M, so never mind that suggestion.
Thank you! The three N's seem to be where we should concentrate our search. I just fell in love with the story of Concord. I guess it's better not to add another row to our pros/cons list.
To Chicagoliz's point, that's more than enough reason to skip Concord in your search.
I think Newton and Needham should be choices 1A and 1B. If you can't make a house work for that price, long term, then Natick becomes the reasonable choice.
If the larger homes, larger yards, more "quintessential New England" setting appeals to you, then I'd suggest Lincoln. Lincoln-Sudbury is a top tier district.. Ultra affluent, considered more legacy "elite" than Natick which has far more socioeconomic diversity. Train from Lincoln to Boston is 35 minutes, drive to Waban (off hours) is probably 15-25 minutes depending on where you are in town.
EDIT: The cheapest SFH in Lincoln is $1.3M, so never mind that suggestion.
Very much agree with this. If there is any way you can get into Newton or Needham you should do that. With your in-laws in Waban, that is a HUGE plus. (If you can get into Waban, all the better.)
I don't know what your in-laws are like, but I know that if my in-laws lived in Waban and we lived in Concord, they'd be harassing us to see them a lot, and would claim to want to assist with childcare, but if it was the kind of situation where, for example, snow was called for, or it had begun snowing and my husband and I were working and asked them to go get the kids, they'd say no, it's too far to travel when snow is falling.
But, holy crap - one my ultimate fantasies would be if my parents and us all lived in Waban, and the kids could just walk to their house if there was a snowstorm and we were both at work downtown.
I love Concord.. one of my favorite towns to go for lunch, it has great outdoor activities and biking too. But as others mentioned homes are over $1M. With a family of 5 I am sure you want good schools, have you looked at Stow, Carlisle or Littleton?
You get a lot more for your money a bit farther out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3kidsunder800Kbudget
Agree, mwj119. We are not going to get much (if anything) with current budget. But we've found that across board on the town we've been looking at so we are discussing options.
You are not wrong about Newton being a far better commute to Boston, but again, some people are OK with the 40 minute train ride. Otherwise, a place like Concord would have fizzled post recession. Sometimes, the additional 20 minutes in commute time is worth it for a house (as opposed to a duplex/apartment), or a premium neighborhood, or a community that "feels" like the right fit for kids.
All things equal - which they are not - I would rather live in Concord than Newton. There are plenty of people who feel that way.
I don't disagree that there are many people who would choose Concord over Newton. From what I have seen, Concord is a wonderful town (although the superfund site worried me a little bit). For us, it was just a hard stop due to the commute. It was too far out from the city for us.
I know there are many people willing to make this trade. And having the train is a huge plus. The only issue is if you require any flexibility or for any reason need to drive. If you have very regular hours at normal commuting times and can bank on working the exact same hours every single day, and never have to go home early or drive somewhere other than home after work, the train is great. I've had several situations where I was a daily commuter, and there were positives and negatives about it. (Positives were never really having to worry about traffic, and I got to read on the train. Biggest negative was always having to be cognizant of the time, and for example, if I missed the 6:30 train, the next one wasn't until 7:30.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Atomicdoug
I love Concord.. one of my favorite towns to go for lunch, it has great outdoor activities and biking too. But as others mentioned homes are over $1M. With a family of 5 I am sure you want good schools, have you looked at Stow, Carlisle or Littleton?
You get a lot more for your money a bit farther out.
I'd rather live in a shack than go out further than Concord.
But again, that's me. OP is coming from Manhattan, and I don't know all the reasons and all the particular needs and desires and wish to go into the city. If OP is sick of city life and wants the opposite, that's an entirely different ball game from if OP likes the city and is sad to move away from the city, even if it was for a good reason and sought the change. One of my happiest days was the day we moved out of a suburb that was comparably far from the city as Concord is (although not as nice as Concord) to a place across the street from Wrigley Field. I was ecstatic to trade the rigid commuter rail schedule where I had to drive to the train station to the more frequent schedule of the El train, which stopped practically behind my home. Best thing ever for me. Although I know there are people who would feel directly opposite.
I was dumb enough to make the mistake TWICE of exchanging easy access to the city for a bigger, newer, nicer home. I will never, ever do that again.
Well yeah, but it's all about what you want for yourself and your family. People also have to deal with financial realities. The OP said they're from Manhattan, but he didn't say they were seeking urban life.
Well yeah, but it's all about what you want for yourself and your family. People also have to deal with financial realities. The OP said they're from Manhattan, but he didn't say they were seeking urban life.
Although it was implied the commute was to downtown and that the in-laws, who may help with child care, live in Newton. But yes, as I indicated, I don't know whether OP is looking to stay away from the city as much as possible, or whether the city is a draw, beyond the commute.
OP: it would seem that based on recent updates that Concord may be off your list. I'll answer your questions anyways, since we were in a similar situation.
We are a family of 4, originally from Manhattan (Upper West Side). New job in Boston required us to move up here, so we relocated in 2013. Spent 1 year renting in Chestnut Hill (a neighborhood in Newton), before deciding to find a SFH. We originally targeted Newton because it's still reasonably urban relative to other Boston suburbs, but we couldn't find a decent SFH in our price range. Casting our net wider, we found a great house in Concord and have been here ever since.
As others have posted, it's probably as bucolic, idyllic, and pastoral as it gets, as far as New England towns are concerned. Our kids (age 11 and 7) have been in the school system now for going on 6 years and love it. It's generally well-known that Concord schools are top-tier.
I commute to Boston, Back Bay neighborhood. I drive and it generally sucks but it's manageable. I think it would be hard if both parents worked and commuted into the city. Many Concordians I know of have at least one parent that is either stay at home or works more locally.
It took a while to get acclimated, socially. My wife is a SAHM so she is very involved with the schools and kids' activities. Concord has quite a few transplants -- even from the NY/NJ area -- so it wasn't as difficult getting adjusted vs. some of the towns that have several generations of native New Englanders (sometimes disparagingly referred to as "townies").
In terms of recreation/sports, etc. This town is big on all of it, but probably not much different from other Bostons suburbs. There is a great arts scene in particular.
And lastly, I am EXCEEDINGLY happy we chose Concord. It's the polar opposite of Manhattan but it was exactly what we were looking for at this stage in our life. Commuting into Boston is probably the one big downside, but many folks do it. And your commute also depends on where in Concord you live and where your office is located within Boston (e.g if you live close to the Concord/West Concord station, if you work near North Station, etc.) Geographically speaking, Concord is a large town (~26 square miles), so if you live near the Lincoln border, your drive into Boston will be 20 minutes faster vs. someone like me who lives near the Acton/Sudbury town line.
Hope this helps, if you still end up considering Concord feel free to PM me.
If you have to live in the Northeast in reasonable proximity to an urban center, I think Concord and Lincoln are about as good as it gets. General feeling of the town is lovely. Thousands of acres of conservation land, I believe. Rivers, ponds. Town meeting democracy. Very good schools. Both of my kids, who are now young adults, have said that they want to raise their kids (none of whom yet exist) in Concord.
But, I wouldn't want to commute every day into the city. I can understand living in Newton -- also a big town so parts of Newton are not so close to other parts of Newton.
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Concord
