Moving from NYC to MA (Boston, Cambridge: houses, neighborhoods, school district)

[ukfam]

Hi Everyone

We are a family of 4 (kids are 10 and 6 years old), looking to move from NYC to MA. I am a stay at home mum and my husband will be commuting to Boston daily (although with Covid, he could probably negotiate only travelling to the office a couple of times a week).

Our ideal neighbourhood would look something like this:

- Excellent public schools
- Good diversity (we are of Asian Indian descent and have emigrated from the UK)
- Homes with a big backyard (ideally with a pool). One of our main reasons to move out of NYC is that we would love for the kids to have some space to run around in. We can probably stretch to something in the region of $2.5-3M.
- Good commute to the city (by car)
- A down to earth neighbourhood, young family-friendly

I know that it will be near enough impossible to find the perfect neighbourhood, but somewhere which hits most of the above points, would be great! We have also been researching private schools, but everyone tells me that MA has some of the best public schools in the country. We feel that we should therefore consider sending them public. However, we would need to find a school district which has great elementary as well as middle schools.

We have been told to consider Sherborne and Dover, however I am a little concerned that they are quite far away from the city and may feel a little isolating especially as they do not seem to have a big town centre.

I would love to hear your suggestions and thank you in advance. We have not had the opportunity to visit MA and due to Covid, we are having to carry out most of our research relying on online resources.

Thanks again!

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by ukfam

Hi Everyone

We are a family of 4 (kids are 10 and 6 years old), looking to move from NYC to MA. I am a stay at home mum and my husband will be commuting to Boston daily (although with Covid, he could probably negotiate only travelling to the office a couple of times a week).

Our ideal neighbourhood would look something like this:

- Excellent public schools
- Good diversity (we are of Asian Indian descent and have emigrated from the UK)
- Homes with a big backyard (ideally with a pool). One of our main reasons to move out of NYC is that we would love for the kids to have some space to run around in. We can probably stretch to something in the region of $2.5-3M.
- Good commute to the city (by car)
- A down to earth neighbourhood, young family-friendly

I know that it will be near enough impossible to find the perfect neighbourhood, but somewhere which hits most of the above points, would be great! We have also been researching private schools, but everyone tells me that MA has some of the best public schools in the country. We feel that we should therefore consider sending them public. However, we would need to find a school district which has great elementary as well as middle schools.

We have been told to consider Sherborne and Dover, however I am a little concerned that they are quite far away from the city and may feel a little isolating especially as they do not seem to have a big town centre.

I would love to hear your suggestions and thank you in advance. We have not had the opportunity to visit MA and due to Covid, we are having to carry out most of our research relying on online resources.

Thanks again!

The drive from Lexington into the city will be tough post-COVID/if traffic goes back to "normal", probably 60 minutes. But from a diversity x school system x relative proximity to the city perspective, it's likely the winner.

Then, I'd consider Belmont, Newton, Winchester, and Wellesley as the next best options. They all have between 10-15% Asian population, nice cores, and great schools. My fear is that you won't get the sized yard you're looking for, or the options will be quite limited in these areas.

A vast majority of heavy Indian Asian communities fall further from Boston, along/around 495. That won't be an option for you guys, as a drive to Boston is not possible during commute times.

[Lampert]

Burlington I believe is one of the towns with the most Indians around Boston. I don't think is that diverse beside the Indian population, the school district is great but I have no idea if you can find really large houses.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Burlington I believe is one of the towns with the most Indians around Boston. I don't think is that diverse beside the Indian population, the school district is great but I have no idea if you can find really large houses.

Burlington does have a large population from the Indian subcontinent with some east Asian and some Black.

At the OP's budget, there's only one house in town that fits the bill and it's currently on the market

To the OP - Burlington is a nice town, very family friendly, white collar, mix of stay at home moms and both working parents. You can get a very nice house for $1 million and spend the other million on a house on the Cape or in Maine.

Lexington has similar demographics but a million doesn't go far there.

[jayrandom]

Dover is great, but if you are worried that it will be too sleepy it will be too sleepy. The commute isn't going to be great, either. I live one town over from Dover and it's just not easy to get to Dover from the freeway. That's probably part of the appeal, but it will make commuting tough.

With $3M you could probably find what you are looking for in Newton. There are plenty of South Asians in Newton.

You could consider Wellesley and Needham, too, but your commute will be worse. With your budget you could consider Weston, which will over more space for the money and likely a much bigger yard, at the cost of diversity and stuff to do.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Maybe something in South Brookline or a more suburban part of Cambridge? Although schools in Cambridge aren’t uniformly “excellent”

[bostonguy1960]

Anybody here know if Lincoln is a decent option? Not too, too far from Waltham and the highways?

Seems that Winchester and Belmont would be more convenient than Lexington and the others mentioned, especially if they'd like commuter rail instead of driving.

[wolfgang239]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Anybody here know if Lincoln is a decent option? Not too, too far from Waltham and the highways?

Seems that Winchester and Belmont would be more convenient than Lexington and the others mentioned, especially if they'd like commuter rail instead of driving.

I'd recommend Lincoln to anyone, I think it is one of the most unique towns in the region. But for OP I think it will be a compromise. Large secluded lots so many homes are not really in neighborhoods, tiny "town center" and diversity isn't high (although not out of line with surrounding towns or Dover/Sherborn). Incredible place though, very understated and often overlooked.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Maybe something in South Brookline or a more suburban part of Cambridge? Although schools in Cambridge aren’t uniformly “excellent”

I had a similar thought, but a quick check of Zillow made me think probably not at $3m.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

I had a similar thought, but a quick check of Zillow made me think probably not at $3m.

dozens of options at 1.5-2.2 million.

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good ones:

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