Arlington vs Medford? (Boston, Cambridge, Lawrence: rental, condo, crime)

[jmd1998]

Right now, my Fiancee and myself own a home in Everett. We do not plan on staying in Everett much longer. We are looking to buy in either Medford or Arlington. She works in Boston. How are the commutes from Medford and Arlington to Boston? We do really like West Medford and Lawrence Estates and the area that borders Winchester. We do not know much about Arlington yet. It is a tad more expensive I assume. How are the schools in Medford vs Arlington. Our budget is roughly 400-450 for our next house.
Im just trying to get other peoples' input. Where would you buy your next house for the long term--Medford or Arlington? Remember, a convenient commute by car to Boston is essential and a quality education for kids down the road.
Thank you.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by Steve Miller

Are you sure you mean Arlington Oregon? You're asking to compare a town of 500 people to a city of 80,000?

Um, no. Arlington and Medford, Massachusetts. Giveaway: it's in the "Boston" forum and talks about the commute to Boston.

Maybe you were on a thread about Medford, Oregon and this was listed below as "similar" since it said "Medford" ??? Also confusing, I guess, since there's a well-known Everett near Seattle.

[SomerHill]

This largely depends on where in Boston the commute goes and what time you travel: it can be slow, bad or horrible depending on whether it's, fenway/back bay, downtown, or financial/south boston respectively. I have a reverse commute so I always see the traffic going into the city. Some people will likely disagree with me but I say never ever ever under any circumstance take mass ave: the lights and left lane are a killer for someone who hates city traffic. then again i often notice that mass ave is totally clear in the pre 7:45am hours. rt 2 to alwife brook to fresh pond to storrow has always been my favorite way into the city from these two towns, but while I have noticed traffic tends to move steadily but slowly around fresh pond in the am, I have known storrow to be full speed almost every morning from fenway inward up to the museum of science (financial exit totally clear) 93 into the city always seems to suck pretty bad. Over all the morning commute can be easily overcome by carefully planning when you leave and which roads to take.

The afternoon commute is another story. rt 2 out is horrible (so is in), 93 is horrible, mass ave is horrible, and during the summer everyone in Boston seems to get out of work at the exact same time down to the second so there's virtually no hope from 4pm to 715pm. there are plenty of backroads which can minimize your frustration but the time it takes to drive them will roughly equal that spent in traffic on the major roads. If I had to work in Boston, I would sincerely stop cable, get rid of my car and pay the extra to live in Boston because that afternoon commute is a killer (unless you're used to LA or DC or anything worse than boston).

By all this I am suggesting that the commutes to and from medford and arlington are almost identical so this should not be a factor in your decision if you have definitely decided on on of these towns. Medford at leaset has the commuter rail. I can't understand why anyone would want to drive their commute with the traffic, I never will.

Also, There are several new condo developments around boston which advertise units starting from 400K. schools are a tough one in boston I suppose. I don't know much about arlington or medford schools, I can tell you that almost 80% of students who graduate arlington high go to college, and I doubt either of the medford high schools can boast that statistic.

Hope this helps!

[bostonguy1960]

Overall, I think I'd rather live in Arl. vs. most parts of Medford, but I like parts of Medford, too.

Some parts of Arlington off Broadway are a bit gritty, not much different than Allston or parts of Southie or Dorchester, even JP.

I believe Arl. still has a branch library near Cambridge in addition to Robbins library.
I like the pond and Minuteman trail in Arl., the Capitol movie theater, Regent Theater (films, AND plays at times?), vibrant restaurant scene, near desirable Belmont and Lexington.

I don't know about the schools, except a strong high school hockey program in Arl.

I hate the drive on Mass. Ave. in Arl., but not as bad as North Cambridge's Mass. Ave.
w/all the no u-turns. One could drive Mass. Ave. all thru Cambridge to Back Bay, but not sure if it saves time vs. other routes.

You'll have a Trader Joe's on the Arl./Lex. line.

[redsoxwalking]

Just wanted to recommend that you take a look at Melrose. I really recommend you use the online MCAS scores to see how Medford, Arlington, and Melrose schools compare. And then visit each town's downtown area. See which one appeals to you most. Best wishes!

[lz1982]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Some parts of Arlington off Broadway are a bit gritty, not much different than Allston or parts of Southie or Dorchester, even JP.

Aesthetically, this is true. But Arlington is, on the whole, safer than those areas. It's what you would call "suburb safe." Not that crime doesn't happen, but it's less than in most city neighborhoods.

The previous poster mentioned Melrose. I like Melrose a lot too, and it has the commuter rail, which gives it an advantage over Arlington transit-wise, at least during the week when the train is more frequent. It's probably a little cheaper overall, too. Arlington seems to have more amenities, like its own movie theater.

[Youngmountain]

Hi, we were looking to buy in Arlington at first, but couldn't really find a single family that would fit our budget (up to 500K). The places we could find for that price were mostly major fixer uppers. Arlington is a lovely town, where the schools' scores are higher than in Medford (check out: http://www.greatschools.net). If you are looking for a two family, or a condo, then it may be doable to stay under 450K, depending on the neighborhood. The area around Robbin's Farm, and the adjacent neighborhood on the hill are the most popular, it seems, and therefore most expensive. People were still bidding over the asking price two years ago!

We ended up buying in West Medford, and we are very happy here. Our son goes to the Brooks elementary school, which doesn't score nearly as high as schools in Arlington, but we have been happy with it nevertheless. It has a very active PTO, and many of the parents we meet are very well educated. I guess Medford has been changing, as people are being priced out of places like Arlington and Cambridge. At this point in time, i am not sure about the quality of Medford's middle and high schools, but I am hoping that the changing demographics will be reflected in the schools in the long run. My neighbor at our rental in Arlington told me the Arlington schools used to be quite bad around 15-20 years ago, too.

As far as a car commute to Boston is concerned, going in that direction is always going to be tough! In West Medford, you're very close to the 93, but once you get on it, it's slow going during regular commute hours. If you needed to be anywhere in the area of North station, however, you could take the commuter train from West Medford. Very convenient.

Good luck with your decision!

[holden125]

Originally Posted by Youngmountain

My neighbor at our rental in Arlington told me the Arlington schools used to be quite bad around 15-20 years ago, too.

No wonder they let me attend them!

[Urban Peasant]

West Medford is fine. It is a quiet little corner of Medford with its own commuter rail station and express bus service into Boston. I find many of its streets quite pleasant actually. Arlington to me is more expensive and not necessarily that convenient to get into town but it does have its amenities such as two supermarkets (Stop and Shop and Johnnie's Foodmaster) near the center and possibly slightly better schools too.

[Youngmountain]

Originally Posted by holden125

No wonder they let me attend them!

Did you find that to be true? I have only lived here for two years or so, so I have no idea...