I have 3 children--ages 3, 11 and 16 and would like to move to a nice town near Boston so that I can commute to work everyday, but am not very familiar with the area. Any ideas on decent towns with good school systems? It also has to be somewhat affordable--3 bdrm up to $1300/month. Thank you!!!
2007-09-17 22:32:29 · 9 answers · asked by mishka 2 in Travel ➔ United States ➔ Boston
There are plenty of decent towns and school systems, but not much housing for the price you listed.
I lived in Malden, which is pretty close to the city, I commuted by the T (subway), and my one-bedroom was $1000/mo. To find something in that price range, you'll be a ways out from the city and have a pretty long commute.
What I would suggest is looking at the public transportation web site, www.mbta.com (because you won't want to commute by car - the traffic sucks, and you honestly probably can't afford the parking - the closest garage to my job was almost $40/day and the closest - and tiny - onstreet lot was $20). When you see some of the towns, get onto craigslist.com and get an idea of housing costs in those towns. When you have a few that you think might be affordable, try and find out about the schools in those towns.
Even though it's expensive, it's totally worth it. I love Boston and would love to live there again.
2007-09-18 05:06:37 · answer #1 · answered by Wanderer 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I second that opinion on Winthrop, a lot of people forget about Winthrop but it's a lot cheaper than the other close towns and is quite safe.
Revere is also fine, as long as you aren't scared of Italians and hispanics (apparently the poster above me is?). It used to be a bit rough but recent years Revere is on par with Medford, which she recommended. It's fairly safe, middle class, just has a good number of immigrants and a celebrated diversity.
Anyway, I'd recommend looking further outside the city. You can take the commuter rail in every day and live somewhere a lot cheaper than Boston and T-accessible towns. You can even consider southern New Hampshire (remember, NH has no taxes except property) or Rhode Island (a lot of people commute from Providence). It all depends how long of a commute you are willing to make.
2007-09-22 02:16:16 · answer #2 · answered by stopspucks88 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well your lucky moving to Boston, but its very expensive. I grew up on Cape Cod (about 50 miles south of Beantown). What your looking for will be south of the city. Check Braintree, Hingham, Quincy, Scituate. But I am sure there are really nice places to the North as well. The weather in the winter is trecherous at best and expect delays of about 2 -3 hours if there is a snow storm and hopefully you already know that Boston drivers are crazy and they speed (even if they are driving down the street). Check out the Boston Herald and some of those towns around Bostons and google their town newspapers. They will have apartments listed there. If you have anyother questions just ask...
2007-09-18 05:41:20 · answer #3 · answered by Baghdad Pete ! 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You'll have a hard time finding a 3 bedroom for that price. There are lots of different neighborhoods with great school systems, but the prices are much higher. You could mover further away from the city, and save money, but you'll have to commute into the downtown area. You could easily do so on the train system, but you'll have to factor in the extra time, obviously. Boston is a great city, but the prices are a little crazy. Best of luck to you!
2007-09-18 14:59:27 · answer #4 · answered by ShouldBeWorking 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You CAN find a 3 bed room for between 1100 - 1400 in the Metro Boston area.
Cities / Towns to look into:
Winthrop - Nice Quiet town w/ low crime rate, nice beaches in the summer and a very decent school system.
Malden- Nice mostly middle class, afordable.
Medford - Also mostly middle class and fairly affordable.
Cities / Towns to AVOID:
Chelsea - very urban, high crime area
Revere - Not as bad as Chelsea, but not as nice as Winthrop (both are next to Revere),
All of these cities / towns are real close to Boston.
2007-09-18 18:49:38 · answer #5 · answered by Insane 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can check out craigslist apartments for a sense of apartment prices. http://boston.craigslist.org/nfa/
Housing is very expensive in the Boston area, especially in towns with good school systems. People spend a larger portion of their income on housing than in most other areas of the country. You may want to reconsider your housing budget and cut back on other expenses.
When considering apartments, pay attention to whether parking is provided. This can be a problem in some areas and can be a big, additional expense.
2007-09-18 15:41:01 · answer #6 · answered by christnp 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try Lowell, Ma it is a 45minute train ride to Boston, but cheap. Lowell is North of Boston where there are very many cheap housing cities, but Lowell is the best. Unless you get HUD money fron the government I don't think you will find anything close to three bedroom for $1300. Of course, if it wasn't for the HUD, you would likely be able to find that price range fairly easily.
2007-09-18 10:45:34 · answer #7 · answered by Tim O 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You won't likely find a 3 bedroom for 1300, atleast not near the T
2007-09-18 17:38:03 · answer #8 · answered by ST 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You'll be lucky to find a one bedroom place on your budget, and in a somewhat lesser neighborhood at that. I love the city and love the area, but left due to the insane cost of living.
2007-09-18 05:49:24 · answer #9 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋