What citys are the suburbs to Cambridge Ma?

Question

We are being relocated through my husbands work to Cambridge Mass. We would like to live in a very "suburban" suburb. He wouldn't want more then a 30 minute comute. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Somerville comes to mind.

Here's the map:
http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/boston_metro_overall

Lots of luck - great area!

Answer 2

Nearly every poster has given you the identical answers - namely the towns adjacent to Cambridge. Had you specified where in Cambridge - perhaps some of the answers would be more relevant to your case. As for a "suburban" suburb - I would suggest Salem, NH where car insurance is optional in the "Live Free or Die" State. If your husband earns more than $300K a year, then ignore this answer. However, if he earns less than $200K a year, maybe the following towns will appear more appealing....

For example, let's start with Kendall Square / MIT. That has a stop on the Red Line of the T. 30 minutes in either direction will take you to Alewife in the north and Braintree to the south. Living in the Southeast suburbs like Quincy, Milton and Braintree would be appropriate. If we move to Harvard / JFK School of Government - then the cities mentioned by the other posters come into play.

Cambridge is served by the Green Line - a 30 minute trip causes one to transfer to the Blue Line which takes one into East Boston and Revere. Those neighborhoods have improved tremendously since the time I was a student at BU and some of the houses can be as expensive as those elsewhere. The gentrification is spreading along the Blue Line.

The Green Line stops at North Station where one can take the commuter rail. A 20 minute commuter rail ride can put one in neighborhoods like Swampscott, Saugus, Lynn and Peabody. Those towns are full of stable neighborhoods with increased Hispanic diversity. Gang violence is under control - there are Greek Orthodox churches in 3 of those 4 towns and many people live in those communities. None of them have fled.

Answer 3

May need a little more information. Where in Cambridge? Some Cambridge locations are close to highways and some are in congested neighborhoods. If the job is at MIT or Harvard, then driving to work and finding parking may be more of a headache than it is worth. If the job is in the high-tech area of East Cambridge, that may be a little easier as access from I-93 won't be too bad.

The toher thing to consider is whether you want to buy within the 128 beltway (I-95) or outside of it. Real estate prices fall significantly outside of 128.

Inside 128, very nice suburban towns are Winchester (very, very nice), Arlington and Medford -- the sections of these towsn along the Mystic Lakes is particularly nice, but will be expensive. These towns are north by northwest of Cambridge. Commuting will be by local roads only.

West of Cambridge will be Arlington Heights, Belmont, Watertown, Lexington and the northern part of Waltham. Arlington Heights, Belmont and Lexington are the nicest areas and commuting to Cambridge will be relatively easy on Route 2.

Beyond 128, beginning west of Cambridge and circling north, you find:
Weston, Lincoln, Concord (all a bit pricey), Bedford, Billerica, Burlington, Wilmington, Reading (not so pricey -- last two right on I-93).

PS -- You want to stay away from Lynn, Lawrence, parts of Lowell, Revere, Everett, East Boston and Chelsea.

Answer 4

Hank was definately right naming Lexington as a "suburban suburb" of Cambridge. Concord is the next town over from Lexington and also very nice. Winchester and Stoneham are great too. I know Arlington, Melrose, Somerville, etc.. have been mentioned but those towns all have a pretty urban feel, same goes for belmont, waltham, and watertown.

Answer 5

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There are many many nice suburbs in that area, ranging from nice to very posh. However, there are no nice cities there. There's Worcester, not really nice. If you really want a nice urban area, there's Boston and Cambridge and inner suburbs, all very nice.It's not really that far if you want urban. For western burbs, I don't know your income, so it's tough, but the best ones are that way. If rich: Lincoln, Weston, Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley. A step down but still nice: Hopkinton, Framingham(not downtown), Stow, Hudson, Ashland, or the Boroughs. Further west, the nicest burb is Shrewsbury. Hope this helps. Remember in this ,area, the older cities are run down with crime and poverty. Boston and Cambridge are big exceptions.

Answer 6

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RE:
What citys are the suburbs to Cambridge Ma?
We are being relocated through my husbands work to Cambridge Mass. We would like to live in a very "suburban" suburb. He wouldn't want more then a 30 minute comute. Any ideas?

Answer 7

As others have said, Lexington is a good option. Watertown is also right next to Cambridge and is more suburban as well, and it's got easy access into Cambridge. Malden and Somerville are also close to Cambridge in the other direction although have more of an urban feel.

Answer 8

Pretty much you want to stay North of Boston then...

Salem, Swampscott, Woburn, Arlington, Waltham, Winchester, Lexington, Stoneham, and Saugus are all good places to start inside of Route 128. Outside of Route 128 though is where the suburbs truly begin. Places like Andover, Tewksbury, Middleton, Reading, North Reading, and North Andover are all around 20 miles north of Cambridge but are more along the lines of the suburbs you may be looking for

Medford, Malden, Everett, and Somerville are a little more urban but are very close to Cambridge, as are Charelston, Watertown, Brookline and of course Boston.

Answer 9

Mike D apparently did not notice your parameter of 30 minutes. Almost all the communities he cites are more than 30 minutes away no matter how one travels.

By car? Public transit?

Also, a lot depends on exactly where in Cambridge your husband works. Depending on mode of transport it can take a half hour or more to trek from one part of the city to another.

With that caveat: the closest "very suburban suburb" to Cambridge is Lexington, just 2 communities away and connected by major bus routes (and also a popular bikeway).
Closer in to Cambridge, also with several bus route connections, are the communities of Arlington, Belmont (also a commuter train connection) and Watertown. Parts of these are "very" suburban but other parts are "trolley car suburbs"
(in the case of Belmont think like Scarsdale, NY). Parts of further out (but also with busses and commuter train to Cambridge) Waltham are also suburban but other parts are an old (but rejeuvenated and somewhat yuppified) industrial city. Across the river is Brookline which is upscale but parts are urbanized, and Newton which is mostly suburban but generally with small lot size. To the northeast there is very suburban Winchester but most of that town (except if you are near commuter rail stations) is within 30 mins of Cambridge (and then only a few parts of Cambridge) only by car (if no traffic jams), and also Melrose and trolley car (partly) Malden Trolley car suburb (mostly) Medford adjoins part of Cambridge and could be very convenient if you could drop the "very" from your criteria. Very suburban Wellesley, Weston, Lincoln and Bedford, and almost "very" Burlington
are within a 30 minutes drive to Cambridge (or parts of Cambridge) depending on traffic conditions, as are the more suburban parts of the sections of Boston called West Roxbury and (part of) Jamaica Plain. The "average" suburban town of Woburn almost makes it.

As for next-door Somerville, recommended by Love2travel, it is a vibrant place mostly of homes indeed with trees and small lawns but most of the housingstock is multi-family on tiny lots and the feeling therefore is more city than suburban.

Answer 10

I live not too far from Marlboro You might want to consider Worcester, the city has really improved in recent years, there are many nice neighborhoods there, though the schools are not great if you have kids. A previous poster didn't like Worcester, but it is much nicer than it's reputation. Framingham has gone downhill in recent years. Natick is about the same size as Marlboro but very upscale and pricey (it used to be a normal town until about 10-15 years ago). Shrewsbury is also about the same size as Marlboro, you might want to consider that as well. Most other large towns and cities would be too far away. You should consider some of the smaller towns, many of them are very nice.

Answer 11

I dont know what you mean by "very suburban suburbs" but the neighbohood towns close by to Cambridge are Medford, Malden, Melrose, Arlington, Newton, Weston