Boston Suburb feedback

[r_p]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Heh? Not sure who is giving you that information, but the median income in Lexington is $173k according to the latest census. It's $156k in Westwood, and $109k in Natick.

As for why, school district has certainly helped. But Lexington has long been a reprieve for the wealthy. It has its fair share of C-suite, lawyers, surgeons, etc. that work in Boston, but I think Lexington's position along 95 is the reason you see the home values where they are. It's smack dab in the middle of Waltham, Burlington, and is a short distance from Cambridge. I would say, of the two tech companies I've worked for that have major offices along 95, a very real percentage of Director/Principal/VP/C-level live in Lexington.

To be quite honest, I am pretty surprised that Lexington isn't at or above $200k like some of it's tier 1 peers. You can just feel the money there.

According to the data I am looking at, median incomes in Lexington are lower than Weston, Wellesley, Dover, Sudbury, Wayland, and Sherborn and only slightly higher than towns like Medfield, Hopkinton, Southborough etc.

There are multiple sources, e.g., see

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...8XO/story.html
or
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...hest-zip-codes
or
https://bostonrealestatetimes.com/ma...n-the-country/

Sudbury, Wayland and Sherborn have higher incomes compared to Lexington but house prices are still significantly lower.

I know for a fact some people who very likely stretched their budget to move to Lexington (relatively easy for dual income working professionals, e.g., entire salary of one of the spouse goes towards the mortgage). Buying a million dollar house is not hard these days but maintaining the lifestyle certainly is. I doubt you'll see Rolls Royces or Ferraris in Lexington like you see in Wellesley or Dover.

And why would any Director/Principal/VP/C-level executive working in Boston prefer Lexington given the commute situation?

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by r_p

According to the data I am looking at, median incomes in Lexington are lower than Weston, Wellesley, Dover, Sudbury, Wayland, and Sherborn and only slightly higher than towns like Medfield, Hopkinton, Southborough etc.

There are multiple sources, e.g., see

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...8XO/story.html
or
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...hest-zip-codes
or
https://bostonrealestatetimes.com/ma...n-the-country/

Sudbury, Wayland and Sherborn have higher incomes compared to Lexington but house prices are still significantly lower.

I know for a fact some people who very likely stretched their budget to move to Lexington (relatively easy for dual income working professionals, e.g., entire salary of one of the spouse goes towards the mortgage). Buying a million dollar house is not hard these days but maintaining the lifestyle certainly is. I doubt you'll see Rolls Royces or Ferraris in Lexington like you see in Wellesley or Dover.

And why would any Director/Principal/VP/C-level executive working in Boston prefer Lexington given the commute situation?

I misunderstood, I thought you were saying lower incomes than in Westwood or Natick (the towns repeatedly mentioned before your post).

Why are you posting third party data, or recirculated data? Just go to the census.

You are right, it is lower than a handful of towns, but Wayland, Sudbury, Sherborn, Lexington are all within ~$3k of each other. Wellesley, Weston, and Dover are really the outliers. Lexington also has a population of 34k. Next closest would be Sudbury, of the former group, at 18k. So, take into consideration the population, and the amount of apartments/condos in towns like Lexington vs. a town like Sherborn, or Wayland, or Sudbury. It's the same reason that Newton has a middle of the road median income level. If you were to segment out SFH owners in Newton, I bet the median income jumps 75%+.

As for the bolded, they wouldn't necessarily. But, there's still a material % of folks in Lexington working in Boston. My point, though, is that these big shots love to live in Lexington if they're commuting to Cambridge, or Waltham, or Burlington, or Woburn. Lexington is smack dab in the epicenter of jobs outside of Boston. It's a few exits form Alewife on Route 2, at the intersection of 95/2. And, there is no discrepancy in earning power between two companies serving the same vertical in Boston vs. Cambridge/95 belt. An executive in either has the same earning power.

So, I'm not sure why you would question the cost associated with Lexington. The market dictates that. To your original point, schools help, but so does its proximate to jobs. Lexington is "timeless".. Quaint metrowest vibe, a nice core, and every amenity/luxury you'd need in immediate proximity.