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My family and I are looking to purchase a home in Weston in the next year or so. We’re also looking at a couple of different towns (Weston, Wellesley, Lexington, Newton), but Weston is currently the front runner. I was wondering if there are any Weston locals that can give us some tips. We did a few tours and noticed that the southern part of the town tended to be denser than the north, so I wanted to know if any of the parts of Weston are “better” than others, and what the pros/cons are.
A bit about us:
- I work in Burlington and the wife works in Cambridge
- We have a 2 year old so convenience to day care and eventually elementary school would be great (we plan on sending him to the great public schools here)
- Our budget is around $1.5m
We did a few tours and noticed that the southern part of the town tended to be denser than the north, so I wanted to know if any of the parts of Weston are “better” than others, and what the pros/cons are.
I think you already know that less dense is "better" than more dense. Space costs money.
Last edited by simplexsimon; 02-11-2020 at 10:25 AM..
A bit about us:
- I work in Burlington and the wife works in Cambridge
- We have a 2 year old so convenience to day care and eventually elementary school would be great (we plan on sending him to the great public schools here)
- Our budget is around $1.5m
All the elementary schools in Weston are next to each other. So, if you want to live somewhere convenient to them that's a pretty small part of the town. In other towns where the schools are spread around the town this is an easier proposition. Later when your kids or older, the middle school and the high school are next to each other. So, maybe you'll want to live somewhere between the two campuses.
Hey there! We've lived in town for a few years, greatly benefited from some guidance when we were looking here and would be happy to pass some thoughts along.
First is commute. Traffic is brutal between here, Burlington and Cambridge, so you'll want to factor this in if you're traveling at rush hour. Pick a location in town closest to your main thoroughfare - I take the Pike to Boston and live in the south of town (off Rte 30). If I lived in the northern part, that would add 20min easily on Rte. 20 or 117 to my commute home each night. There are also large pending 40b projects proposed for Rte. 20 and Rte. 30, and if they both get built, traffic on these roads will only get worse. Check out the town website for info on these.
My second suggestion is also traffic related. You've probably noticed there aren't a lot of neighborhoods without a yellow line down the middle of the road. If providing your kids with a neighborhood where they can safely ride their bikes is a priority, I'd focus on the Cherry Brook area, neighborhoods off Highland St or down by the Wellesley line off Rockport Road. There are plenty of great homes on the busier roads, but friends with young kids complain about speeding on some of these roads.
Third, while many folks prefer south of rte. 20 for ease of access to the Pike, I'd push back on calling any part of town 'better'. I think generally you find more estate type properties south of rte. 20, and more older neighborhoods on slightly smaller lots on the northern side but there are exceptions to both. Generally the further north you go, the more rural it gets and there's some beautiful conservation land up there. From what I've seen, homes tend to be more expensive the further south you go, but of course there are exceptions.
Finally, congrats on picking a great town. Many years in we're still impressed by the people we meet and all the town has to offer young families. Feel free to DM me with any questions.
First is commute. Traffic is brutal between here, Burlington and Cambridge, so you'll want to factor this in if you're traveling at rush hour. Pick a location in town closest to your main thoroughfare - I take the Pike to Boston and live in the south of town (off Rte 30). If I lived in the northern part, that would add 20min easily on Rte. 20 or 117 to my commute home each night. There are also large pending 40b projects proposed for Rte. 20 and Rte. 30, and if they both get built, traffic on these roads will only get worse. Check out the town website for info on these.
Burlington wouldn't be bad in the AM, 128 is typically wide open North of the Pike. PM is another story though, although you could get off at Trapelo and take the backroads from there. So North of town might be better for them.
CR is possibly an option to Cambridge, assuming it's to Kendall.
Thanks so much for the insight thus far! I had a couple of follow-up questions if you don't mind:
1) When you say "brutal" commute what do you mean, around an hour?
2) Our son is an only child and we don't plan on having any more children. Since Weston houses are so far apart and the elementary schools are centralized for the entire town, how hard would it be for our son to hang out with friends in the neighborhood when he gets a little older? In some of the other towns, there are little communities where all of the children go out and play together - does this kind of thing exist in Weston?
3) How is the parking situation at the commuter rail stations in Weston, and also the ones in Wellesley if we were to live in the south part of town?
4) Since we likely won't be able to find a house near the elementary schools, how convenient / reliable are the school buses? Otherwise how bad is traffic in-town getting to the elementary schools?
5) How are the schools in Weston? We know that it tends to consistently rate up there and that is important for us, but we also want to avoid pressure-cooker style stress that we hear all the time about Lexington schools. Are the parents there tiger parents / are the kids hyper competitive?
3) How is the parking situation at the commuter rail stations in Weston, and also the ones in Wellesley if we were to live in the south part of town?
Bad, only Kendall Green has parking and it's not much. You wouldn't go to Wellesley if the destination was Kendall Square, the better bet to go to Brandeis (which does have plenty of parking) or I guess go back to Lincoln.
Route 20 in Waltham does get backed up, might find that just North of it does move better.
1) When you say "brutal" commute what do you mean, around an hour?
Any of the more rural feeling towns with large lots is going to have a lot of traffic during rush hour. The issue is that if one street backs up there's not really any alternative route to take. It's worse if you're coming out of Wayland or Sudbury. At least Weston is close to the highway so you will not have to spend as much time on RT20.
Quote:
Originally Posted by etalam
4) Since we likely won't be able to find a house near the elementary schools, how convenient / reliable are the school buses? Otherwise how bad is traffic in-town getting to the elementary schools?
If both you and your spouse work then likely you'll want to use the buses or maybe hire a morning babysitter who will sit with your kid before school and then drop them off at school or the bus stop so that you can leave early enough to get to work. I can't imagine the buses are not reliable. I don't think I've ever heard from anyone that the school buses in their town are unreliable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by etalam
5) How are the schools in Weston? We know that it tends to consistently rate up there and that is important for us, but we also want to avoid pressure-cooker style stress that we hear all the time about Lexington schools. Are the parents there tiger parents / are the kids hyper competitive?
I have some friends who grew up not too long ago in Weston. They never described their experience in the school system as pressure cooker. Any highly regarded school system is going to have some level of pressure and a likely a lot of parent involvement though. The one thing you'll find in Weston is that a lot of the families send their kids to private school. In part, the schools are well funded because there are a lot of town residents who don't use them.
1) Around an hour during rush hour (Boston-->Weston) without any accidents or inclement weather
2) There are many opportunities for the kids to meet other kids and socialize. The WCCA is a group of young parents (pre-grade school, I believe) who have organized activities and all get together. There are Saturday morning Dad drop-ins at the rec center (annual overnight camp out is always a hit). The town pool serves as a gathering place for younger families and there are the usual complement of sports and activities. There's even a field by Cherry Brook where several neighborhood dads get together with the kids and play ball together in the nice weather. In short, your child won't lack for opportunities to socialize.
3) Haven't taken the train so can't speak to this
4) Our experience with the buses has been great. They're owned by the town and for younger kids, they pick you up directly at your driveway. Our driver first greeted my son with 'Little man, I've watched you play for 4 years and said to myself, someday he will ride my bus. Today is your lucky day!". There's even an app to track the bus' route as you rush to convince your kid to put on their winter gear. Morning traffic when driving yourself isn't great, as during peak rush hour you're either going to approach on Rte. 20 (which the kids call 'traffic road') or Wellesley Street, which is jammed as folks move between Rte. 20, Rte. 30 and the schools.
5) I'm with Mike on this one. Our experience, and that of our friends, is that it's no more of a pressure cooker than any other town. It's definitely no Lexington or Newton in that regard. The resources are tops and there's a parental group that brings in experts on various topics and children's authors to meet and speak with the kids. As for kids attending private schools, I wouldn't read too much into that. We have friends with 3 kids all attending different schools. You find the fit that's right for each kid, and in some cases family legacies or sports specialization leads to kids to a specific school.
How about Lexington? It would be close to Burlington and close to the Red Line in Alewife where you can park and ride... probably a lot quicker to commute than Weston and a more interesting and lively town.
Weston is very very snobby, if you don't know New England elitism ... the WASPyness is very apparent here. If its your taste, so be it. If it isnt, Id look on.
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