Affordable Suburbs with good schools with Commute into Longwood Medical Center (Newton: condo, houses)

[Newtothenortheast]

My Wife and I both work in the Longwood Medical area and are starting to try and narrow down where we want to settle down. The sheer number of towns and their different feel/culture is a bit overwhelming.

Where could we live with a reasonable commute ( up to an hour) with good schools? We can technically afford 950K of House but Would prefer to be in the 600-800K range. My wife also wants a little bit of land (I'm thinking 0.75-2 acres) which I know will push us further out. If the town has enough charm I could see us being happy with a smaller yard. If I thought we could be happy longterm in a condo we would just move to Brookline but I think ultimately we are going to want our own space.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Louisville Slugger]

Have you guys looked at Natick?

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by Louisville Slugger

Have you guys looked at Natick?

That was what I was going to suggest. If I were in your situation, I'd look at Natick.

[Bridge781]

Arlington? Newton. I work in the longwood area myself.

[bitesize]

Sharon and Westwood would be my choices. Try to be walking distance to the commuter rail and you're looking at a 45 minute commute. With Westwood you'll have to wait until the spring to see anything remotely in your price range, though.

[jks1985]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Arlington? Newton. I work in the longwood area myself.

Both of those towns are too expensive for what OP wants, IMO.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by jks1985

Both of those towns are too expensive for what OP wants, IMO.

I agree. No way the OP is going to get a 3/4 to 2 acre lot in those towns with a $900K budget. Same goes for Westwood.

OP needs to adjust either their expectation for lot size or their expectation for commute time. Sharon might work as lots are larger there. However, the likelihood of finding something walking distance to the 1 commuter rail stop in town is slim. So, you'll likely need to drive there and that can add to commute time and definitely adds to commute stress as you want to make sure you get a parking spot.

Honestly if you're wiling to have a bit of an extended commute, I would look at Sherborn. Typically one of the top rated school systems in the state and generally large lot sizes in town. There's absolutely NOTHING in town except for schools and houses. So, you'll spend a lot of time in your car living there. However, it's right next to Natick and Framingham which both have a ton of shops and restaurants and also commuter rail stops.

[Bridge781]

Well nothing close I guess then.

[jayrandom]

If you take the commuter rail, here are some options:

Natick, Westwood, Medfield, Dover, Sherborn, Canton, Sharon, Walpole.

None perfect, but everything is feasible. You won't get an acre in Westwood at that price. Same is probably true of Canton.
Medfield, Dover, and Sherborn don't have a train stations in town. All border towns with train stations. Sharon and Walpole are further out.

There may be other options, but this is at least a place to start looking.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Well nothing close I guess then.

Not at that lot size. That's huge.