raising a family in Boston metro - suburb recommendation (Cambridge: renting, low crime)

[rsnsmh]

Hello,
We will be relocating to Boston for my work in Sept 2020. We will be visiting Boston in near future hopefully and would like to get some input about suburbs we should visit.

Looking for a safe, family friendly, low crime suburbs with following options:

- within 30 miles of Cambridge, MA - commute time ~45 mins no traffic, ~1 hr 30 mins during rush hours (i will be working mostly from home though)
- school is very important, public school with ratings of 8 or higher for middle and high school
- house budget - ideally $400K for a single (can explore townhouse if single house is completely out of question) - is this possible? 3+ bed room, 2 bath, 2 car garage, built after 2000, huge lot or backyard is NOT a requirement. We can go upto $450K if absolutely necessary.
- suburb with healthy dose of diversity including people of Indian origin.

Also how are the yearly vehicle excise tax calculated - 6 year old car with original list value of $50K excise tax will be $125/yr (10% of $50K=$5K then $25 per $1K which will result in total excise tax of $125/yr - is the math correct?)

I know things are expensive - any unique significant expense that i need to be aware of coming from south other than winter heating bill?

How are the IT job market (Infrastructure - Networking) in Boston area? I will be moving for my current job but just in case for the future as you cant be so sure these days.

Thanks

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by rsnsmh

Hello,

- within 30 miles of Cambridge, MA - commute time ~45 mins no traffic, ~1 hr 30 mins during rush hours (i will be working mostly from home though)
- school is very important, public school with ratings of 8 or higher for middle and high school
- house budget - ideally $400K for a single (can explore townhouse if single house is completely out of question) - is this possible? 3+ bed room, 2 bath, 2 car garage, built after 2000, huge lot or backyard is NOT a requirement. We can go upto $450K if absolutely necessary.
- suburb with healthy dose of diversity including people of Indian origin.

Also how are the yearly vehicle excise tax calculated - 6 year old car with original list value of $50K excise tax will be $125/yr (10% of $50K=$5K then $25 per $1K which will result in total excise tax of $125/yr - is the math correct?)

Assuming you can't compromise on the budget, what of the other categories can you allow more flexibility? Removing any one of them will help immensely, but some of them will be less helpful than others. If you could get rid of 2-bath, ANY garage and built after 2000 you'll open up some more options.

Excise tax for 5th and succeeding years is 10% of MSRP, and $25/thousand. Honestly that is one of the lesser expenses I'd be worrying about.

[rsnsmh]

Thanks for your response. I could loose the restriction a bit like build after 1980 (trying not to get a house with asbestos) instead of 2000 and extend the distance further (up to 45 miles) and go with 1.5 bath. Due to snow, wife would like to have the 2 car garage.

I knew Boston is expensive but housing seems crazy there.

[gf2020]

You may want to reconsider your decision to relocate if your house budget is only $450,000.

[wolfgang239]

The problem is one that occurs often on here which is you are looking for exactly the same things as everyone else. Those things increase the budget. Towns with people of Indian origin are solid communities with great schools. Unfortunately that means they are expensive, which means a garage and a newer home are super expensive.

The best way to find the home you want for that price is to move past 495 or down route 3 which means less diversity and in many cases "lesser" schools. Keep in mind though that an ok or decent school in MA is often much better than schools in other parts of the country. What you are hoping for are places like Lexington, Burlington, Westborough, Shrewsbury. Those don't sound possible right now.

More affordable places with Indian populations are Framingham and Waltham, which are still at the absolute top of your budget on a good day, not the greatest schools (but still quite good relative to the rest of the country), and more city like than town like in many aspects. Their taxes are typically a bit lower so you can up your budget a bit compared to many surrounding communities. Even still you'd be looking at older homes.

[KemBro71]

Originally Posted by rsnsmh

Thanks for your response. I could loose the restriction a bit like build after 1980 (trying not to get a house with asbestos) instead of 2000 and extend the distance further (up to 45 miles) and go with 1.5 bath. Due to snow, wife would like to have the 2 car garage.

I knew Boston is expensive but housing seems crazy there.

Curious why the asbestos thing? I ask because way back when I was in the asbestos remediation racket and residential asbestos was such an almost non-issue.

[mmyk72]

For 400k and commute distance to Bos or Cam, the reality is you can prob get a 3 bed/ 1.5 ba single family w 2 car garage if it's very dated, right on a busy street and needs major repair. You should consider renting when you arrive and figure out where to buy as you get a better idea which areas really work for you ... is not like house prices are skyrocketing these days.

[BosYuppie]

I think you should get on Rt. 2 at Alewife and drive northwest till you can afford something.

[Bridge781]

I see houses in mattapan selling for more than 450k. I don’t know what people are thinking sometimes with the expectations they have with lower budgets.

[simplexsimon]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

I think you should get on Rt. 2 at Alewife and drive northwest till you can afford something.

^This. You might not get that 90 minute commute by car door-to-door with that budget...maybe immediately after this COVID stuff settles down but a few years from now probably not...depends on where the office is.

Taking the commuter rail to Porter and walking/taking the Red Line may open up some options and be a slightly less soul crushing commute.