Family house purchase in Boston?! (Malden, Melrose: rental market, buying a home, transferring to)

[iconceicao]

Thank you all for your input and thoughts, highly appreciated.


I was relieved to know that the school ranking system in not national, but reflects the situation state by state. I did some research and the schools in Massachusetts are highly ranked in the country.



I suppose I am also trying to get a clearer picture of the Boston lifestyle for me and my family. I am getting the impression that a 1 hours commute each way is the norm in Boston, which I believe is doable especially using pubic transportation since it is less stressful and tiring than driving a car (In Europe, we used the public transportation system but due to the car culture of California, we now drive everyday).



My wife and I are moving to Boston due to work, but also because we have been living in the suburbs of South California for the past 6 years and we haven't really connected to the place, like we did for example with London. We miss the city life and cultural/historical stimulation. We tried to find such things in LA, but we are not big fans of the city. We hope to connect to a more European lifestyle and relationships in Boston.

[BosYuppie]

Your budget puts you pretty firmly in the suburbs unless you’re willing to cram into a small condo. So you’ll still be driving, but you’ll also have the pleasure of dealing with our finicky public transit if you have to work in Boston. Not very European so don’t get your hopes up.

[simplexsimon]

The East Coast doesn't have the driving culture like LA does because it's not a giant sprawling suburb like LA is. There's way less space in the cities and parking costs are very high compared to LA.

Taking the train is orders of magnitude more popular in Boston compared to LA (I lived in SoCal for four years and wasn't even aware LA had public transit until after I moved away!)

Like someone else said, the trains are worse than Europe (or Asia or most developed countries outside the U.S. really) but I still prefer it over driving. Yes you'll need to adjust your commute time expectations a little bit if you're going to include driving and parking at the local train station, waiting for the train, and walking from South Station to the office.

School rankings: you'll need to do some more research on schools as MA is #1 in the U.S. and California is bottom quartile. I was born and raised in the Bay Area and went to a very good public school, but it still ranks behind #30+ schools in MA nationally. Rankings aren't everything, but if you're coming from California you should feel pretty good about public schools in MA for your young children in most towns.

Culture: most major cities in the U.S. will offer more than southern California's vapid superficial culture. Boston's weather will be the worst of any of the cities you mentioned so be mentally prepared for that.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

The East Coast doesn't have the driving culture like LA does because it's not a giant sprawling suburb like LA is. There's way less space in the cities and parking costs are very high compared to LA.

Taking the train is orders of magnitude more popular in Boston compared to LA (I lived in SoCal for four years and wasn't even aware LA had public transit until after I moved away!)

Massachusetts claims about 125,000 commuter rail rides per day. I can't provide a link to a competing web site but for metro Boston, I see 66% car commute. Another 7% car pool. Only 13% take public transportation. Your perception doesn't align with the reality of how most metro Boston people get to work.


In New York City, 56% use public transportation to get to work. LA is 9%. Boston is more like LA than it is like New York.



This all explains why New York City exploded and the rest of the country didn't other than Darwin Awards people doing Mardi Gras, spring break, and attending mega churches. The United States is predominantly suburban and car-oriented. The transmission rate is nothing like Italy or New York because such a large slice of the country goes from their sterile single family home to their sterile automobile and can pick and choose where they're interacting with the unwashed masses. If we adopt universal mask wearing, hand sanitizer everywhere, and frequent hand washing, we can keep the transmission rate low for most of the population.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

And to re-re-iterate what has been said, Massachusetts schools are better on average than California schools. The best compare reasonably well, but the middle here would be upper middle there and the bottom here would be just below average there:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-compares.html

Take Brockton, which gets a lot of hate from this board and has a 1 on greatschools scores -0.4 below grade level nationally, which isn't great, but it isn't terrible. LA Unified is -1.4 for comparison. Dedham, which I called average for Massachusetts, is +1.6. Palos Verdes Unified, if you're familiar with that part of California, is only +2.0.

+1
Lowell is a 2/10, but -0.3 grade levels. Totally average nation wide, but bottom barrel Mass Worcester is 1, 2, 2, 3, but -0.2 grades.


OP: Even driving, traffic isn't as bad as 405. Worcester to South Station is 40 minutes middle of the night. 1:05 on the non-stop train, 1:15 on the express train. 90-120 minutes on a normal 4:00 pm commute.

Natick will get you to south station in 40 minutes, then you've got the drive to the station and the walk to the office. RIGHT NOW there 14 SFH in Natick for under $700k. 10 months ago I don't think there were any . Next summer there might not be any either. Really, I don't think you'll be able to get anything closer to the west.

Braintree will get you to south station in 20 minutes, and there are 15 SFH under $700k right now.
Hingham IMHO is a nicer town, but traffic on 3 between the town and the Braintree station could destroy any attempt to get to South Station inside 30 let alone 45 minutes.

Norwood is right on the time limit too, at 31-33 minutes. Only 5 houses under $700k, but people love the area. Dedham is right there too, a little closer, but less stock (4 > $700k)

[KemBro71]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

The East Coast doesn't have the driving culture like LA does because it's not a giant sprawling suburb like LA is. There's way less space in the cities and parking costs are very high compared to LA.

Taking the train is orders of magnitude more popular in Boston compared to LA (I lived in SoCal for four years and wasn't even aware LA had public transit until after I moved away!)

Like someone else said, the trains are worse than Europe (or Asia or most developed countries outside the U.S. really) but I still prefer it over driving. Yes you'll need to adjust your commute time expectations a little bit if you're going to include driving and parking at the local train station, waiting for the train, and walking from South Station to the office.

School rankings: you'll need to do some more research on schools as MA is #1 in the U.S. and California is bottom quartile. I was born and raised in the Bay Area and went to a very good public school, but it still ranks behind #30+ schools in MA nationally. Rankings aren't everything, but if you're coming from California you should feel pretty good about public schools in MA for your young children in most towns.

Culture: most major cities in the U.S. will offer more than southern California's vapid superficial culture. Boston's weather will be the worst of any of the cities you mentioned so be mentally prepared for that.

Re: the bolded.

Someone didn't get out much.

[BosYuppie]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Massachusetts claims about 125,000 commuter rail rides per day. I can't provide a link to a competing web site but for metro Boston, I see 66% car commute. Another 7% car pool. Only 13% take public transportation. Your perception doesn't align with the reality of how most metro Boston people get to work.


In New York City, 56% use public transportation to get to work. LA is 9%. Boston is more like LA than it is like New York.

Here's the thing people may not realize based on studying this forum - even considering the trends of the last 10-15 years, a LOT of people work outside boston in the suburbs. Burlington, Waltham, Woburn etc. are still flush with office parks. And everywhere else. Sure there are more empty/underutilized office parks than there used to be, but there are still a lot of perfectly fine companies out there. This board seems to think everything outside of Boston/Camberville is a rust belt wasteland, but it's not.

The big time salaries do seem to be in Boston, and that reflects the cost (time and financially) of the Boston commute.

I definitely have the feeling of living stoplight-to-stoplight and being trapped in my home at night due to the congestion. You can't make the casual drive from say Medford to Lynnfield for an evening errand during the week, it would cost you two hours.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

Here's the thing people may not realize based on studying this forum - even considering the trends of the last 10-15 years, a LOT of people work outside boston in the suburbs. Burlington, Waltham, Woburn etc. are still flush with office parks. And everywhere else. Sure there are more empty/underutilized office parks than there used to be, but there are still a lot of perfectly fine companies out there. This board seems to think everything outside of Boston/Camberville is a rust belt wasteland, but it's not.

The big time salaries do seem to be in Boston, and that reflects the cost (time and financially) of the Boston commute.

I definitely have the feeling of living stoplight-to-stoplight and being trapped in my home at night due to the congestion. You can't make the casual drive from say Medford to Lynnfield for an evening errand during the week, it would cost you two hours.

Sure. Lots of jobs around the 128 corridor, and then again along the 495 corridor, and lots of place between.

The commute is directed in way that the SoCal commute is not, though. Almost everyone is moving toward Boston. So if you do work somewhere accessible to commuter rail (which applies to the OP), it makes sense to take advantage. LA is decentralized to an extent that the primary form of public transit is the bus.

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Massachusetts claims about 125,000 commuter rail rides per day. I can't provide a link to a competing web site but for metro Boston, I see 66% car commute. Another 7% car pool. Only 13% take public transportation. Your perception doesn't align with the reality of how most metro Boston people get to work.

What counts as metro Boston? What's your source?

I'm fine with being wrong, but I have a hard time believing that if I went around my office in the financial district (pre-COVID) that 2/3 of people would say they drive to work.

[Jimrob1]

You have received some excellent advice on the Boston area. I really can't add much that hasn't already been mentioned. Other than I feel it would be in your best interest to rent first. You need some real quality time to settle in, and adjust to a new setting.
Buying a home near commuter rail and thinking an hour commute is a given. You will be very disappointed when a bad winter arrives, with 2 and 3 hour commutes. t
Or the trains are delayed or broke down. It isn't every year but it happens. The transit system is extensive, but it's an old system. It's been having some serious issues the past several years. Then you find the house you bought is really not in a location for timely travel. Add in driving in a climate weather-wise that may be difficult to deal with. You could find you bought in the wrong location. A very expensive mistake.

So rent for awhile in a location you might like to buy in. That way it gives you time to check out the location for commuting, schools and overall appeal.

I know renting can be a pain but in some markets it makes sense for awhile. Really consider all options. Best of Luck.