Towns within 495 with nice walkable downtowns and good schools (Boston: credit, how much)

[thinkingotherthings]

Hi folks,

As our frustrating house hunt continues we are thinking we should expand our search to include suburbs where we can get a bit more bang for our buck, particularly considering that we can both be part-time-remote. But we don't want to be too far out, so preferably within 495 at least. (My office is in Burlington but I only will be going in 2x/wk at most; my wife is full-time remote; but we both want to maintain the flexibility to go into an office in Boston or Cambridge on a part-time basis if either of our careers take us there in the future.)

However, one thing I've noticed from my google maps research is that most of the suburbs beyond 128 appear to lack nice walkable downtowns, which is important to us. And we have a kid so good schools are also a must.

We would like a town that is somewhat suburban – i.e. not Camberville dense – but also not so sparse that you feel isolated either.

We are looking for a 4+ bd / 2.5+ ba, 2300+ sq ft, within 15-min walk to the high school and preferably also to the downtown, that doesn't need major work. Our max budget is $1.4M, but looking farther out from Boston we would hope to find something substantially cheaper.

Our initial list of towns (mostly within 128) was:

• Winchester
• Belmont
• Melrose (price-wise I still think we have a good shot in Melrose, but there hasn't been a single listing so far that's met all our criteria because the houses tend to run small)
• Lexington
• Arlington
• Wellesley
• Needham
• Newton
• Brookline

We haven't given up on finding a house that meets all our criteria in these towns, but with our budget it's been a tough search.

So I come to this great forum to ask if I might have overlooked any suburbs with nice walkable downtowns, good schools, and not brutally expensive. I should also say that we are primarily looking in areas to the north or west of Boston, but can consider going a little bit south if there is access to 95.

The towns I've identified so far that I think meet these criteria are:

• Natick

.. and that's it – and even Natick is just borderline acceptable in terms of my commute.

Some other towns that didn't quite make the cut for one reason or another:

• Concord – Although it is a little bit cheaper than our top choice towns on average, the houses that are close to the schools or downtown don't seem to be any cheaper, and such listings only come up very rarely anyways.
• Andover – Same deal as Concord.
• Reading – Even though the downtown is walkable, we just didn't love the vibe or restaurant selection when we visited it.
• Wakefield – Same deal as Reading.
• Norwood – Although farther south, it is close enough to 95, and on Google Maps it looks to have a decent downtown. But the school ratings are just so-so.

Towns within 128 that didn't make the list because of school quality concerns:

• Stoneham
• Woburn
• Medford
• Waltham

Towns that didn't make the cut because they don't seem to have a walkable downtown:

• Weston
• Wayland
• Lincoln
• Sudbury
• Burlington
• Acton
• Carlisle
• Billerica

Please let me know if there are any other towns north or west of Boston that we should be looking at. I'll admit we've had a bit of a blind spot to the north shore due to concerns about commuting if either of us end up in Boston or Cambridge in the future, but I'm wondering if we should be giving the north shore greater consideration?

Also, please push back if you dispute any of our reasons for ruling out some of the other towns we dismissed. E.g. does Wakefield have a nicer downtown than we gave it credit for? Does Stoneham have better schools than the ratings suggest? Etc..

Many thanks in advance!

[massnative71]

How big of a "downtown" do you need? Places like Medfield or Holliston might work if you are OK with a smallish one. They both have excellent schools.



If you are considering Norwood, also look at Walpole. Again, a smallish (but cute) downtown with better schools and just a little further out. Mansfield might be too far south for you, but it's on 95 and your money will go far there. Above average schools and decent downtown.

[thinkingotherthings]

Originally Posted by massnative71

How big of a "downtown" do you need? Places like Medfield or Holliston might work if you are OK with a smallish one. They both have excellent schools.

Good question.. Checking out Medfield on Google Maps, the downtown does look charming, with enough cuisine variety. It is a little bit far from 95 so getting to Burlington might be a bit of a slog even for 2x/wk.. I guess I need to decide how much of a negative that is for me. Holliston appears on Maps to be slightly less walkable, and an even longer commute.

If you are considering Norwood, also look at Walpole. Again, a smallish (but cute) downtown with better schools and just a little further out. Mansfield might be too far south for you, but it's on 95 and your money will go far there. Above average schools and decent downtown.

Thanks, although I think maybe Norwood might be the limit of how far south we could consider.. And honestly I am even having second thoughts about Norwood itself now.. But I will check out these towns in greater detail because I don't want to rule them out prematurely.

[gf2020]

There isn't really a "downtown", but there are sidewalks everywhere, and $1.4 million should get you a decent house in Lynnfield.

[simplexsimon]

You'll need to compromise on at least one more thing. What will it be?

[jayrandom]

If you’re going to consider Norwood you should probably consider Canton too.

[thinkingotherthings]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

You'll need to compromise on at least one more thing. What will it be?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

If you’re going to consider Norwood you should probably consider Canton too.

Yes I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier. Still a rough ride to Burlington though.

[thinkingotherthings]

Originally Posted by gf2020

There isn't really a "downtown", but there are sidewalks everywhere, and $1.4 million should get you a decent house in Lynnfield.

Thanks for the suggestion, but the lack of a nice walkable downtown sort of puts us off Lynnfield.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by simplexsimon

You'll need to compromise on at least one more thing. What will it be?

Originally Posted by thinkingotherthings

Pretty sad that with a budget of $1.4 million, one would have to compromise on ANYTHING.