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Old 08-31-2009, 06:09 PM
 
544 posts, read 1,465,510 times
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In almost a year from now, I am looking to move to Watertown/Brighton area. I currently live in Billerica and am in the middle of the big suburban bubble for now, but looking to head to Watertown area.
Can anyone tell me if Watertowns taxes are off the wall. Thats all I hear whenever I mentioned that I wanted to move there.
Watertown imo is a nice town that is right near everything I need to be only without being right in the middle of the city. Its near Allston and Brighton and even Cambridge so.. thats the place for me.
Anyones thoughts be appreciated.
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Old 09-01-2009, 09:56 AM
 
Location: Newton, Mass.
2,954 posts, read 12,264,090 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by meltinjohn View Post
In almost a year from now, I am looking to move to Watertown/Brighton area. I currently live in Billerica and am in the middle of the big suburban bubble for now, but looking to head to Watertown area.
Can anyone tell me if Watertowns taxes are off the wall. Thats all I hear whenever I mentioned that I wanted to move there.
Watertown imo is a nice town that is right near everything I need to be only without being right in the middle of the city. Its near Allston and Brighton and even Cambridge so.. thats the place for me.
Anyones thoughts be appreciated.
The only applicable taxes in Watertown would be property taxes, which you don't pay unless you own property there. If you rent, you won't pay any taxes directly. In theory a landlord having to pay higher property taxes could make that money back by charging higher rent, but Watertown rents are still actually lower than rents in next-door Cambridge, Brighton, Newton or Belmont. They're about the same as Waltham.

If you do own, the Watertown property tax rate this year is $12.24 per $1,000 of assessed property value. That's a little higher than some area towns, but since property values in Watertown tend to be a bit lower than in Belmont or Newton or Cambridge, the actual taxes are a bit lower too.

If you live in Watertown, try to make sure you're near the bus (70, 71, or 73) since it's a pain to park in Cambridge or Boston even if you have a car.
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Old 09-01-2009, 03:28 PM
 
544 posts, read 1,465,510 times
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Funny thing is, I had this exact picture of my head being by a bus line in Watertown. It might be one of those ones too.
Its almost like it has my name on it since its not expensive compared to its neighbors + its a nice little city and ntm, its not too far from Weston which is one of the richest towns in the state.
I considered options for towns. Ill do a one by one rundown.


Woburn - Nice kinda town, but not as near Boston as Id like + lots of sprawl is nearby it + its neighbor is Winchester that has nothing worth while. Its a bit of a ways before you hit immediate Boston surroundings.

Lowell - Although far from Boston, I considered it due to the fact Lowell is walkable, however, the job market there hasnt picked up and its immediate surroundings are Dracut (uck) and many sprawl towns with not great raps like Tewksbury, Billerica, and just far towns.

Nashua - Even further although in NH, has a charming city center, and looks pretty livable with some decent residents, but what turned me off from this is that its not a big enough city to do as much as you can. It has many limits although the style of the city is good.

Manchester - I wont even go there. Once I saw it for the day, I said no thanks. Nice parts and bad parts, but moves even further from Boston + for a city with over 100,000, it had not a damn thing that interested me and I thought it was overrated.

Cambridge - I like Cambridge, but too expensive and too lefty thinking, but if I can be near it, cool beans.

Arlington - This actually could be almost a tie with Watertown but I am sold on Watertown for the moment.

That pretty much sums it up.
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Old 09-01-2009, 11:40 PM
 
Location: Cambridge, MA
4,882 posts, read 13,747,341 times
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If the perceived or actual political tone of a place is important to you, cast thine eyes toward the South Shore. That area is more "lunchpail Democrat" than "lefty" by and large. Weymouth and Braintree would be in the same price range for home rent/purchase as Watertown, but might skew too much toward suburban in terms of local night life for your tastes. Quincy, OTOH, now actually has some going-out options after dark around the Quincy Center vicinity. And there've been cool music joints along Wollaston Beach for decades. There are a few neighborhoods which have turned into clusters of high-rises (zero appeal for Yours Truly), but West Quincy + the sections of Wollaston around Eastern Nazarene College and the T station + Adams Shore + Squantum + North Quincy are full of 70-to-100-year-old dwellings kept in mint condition. And when nothing less than a shot of actual city energy will do, the Red Line is close by to get you into Boston and Cambridge.
And don't scoff at the thought of Dorchester, easily the most unjustifiably maligned part of Greater Boston. Savin Hill, in particular the sector east of I-93 known as "OTB (Over the Bridge)," is as safe and sleepy as outer suburbia yet is minutes away from "everything." Other quiet pockets can be found in Neponset, Ashmont, Cedar Grove, and Lower Mills. Sections like Meetinghouse Hill and Four Corners may be infested with no-good kids trying to live out the absurdly glamorized "thug life," but the crime rate plunges once you're east of "Dot Ave."
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