Moving to Boston

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boston suburban resident here (who lived in DC a while too) - check out South Boston (lots of young professionals who moved here after college now staying here post kids - you'd want private school), Cambridge (we bought an investment condo there - $450k 2 bed, parking 1100 sq ft - public schools good), Arlington (you can do public through at least elementary - upper schools getting better but my understanding still a work in progress), Somerville close in to Cambridge (real estate cheaper but prop tax higher and you'd need private school) and Watertown (you'd need private schools). Brookline and Newton are great but v expensive and "posh". If you prefer a house over condo you might also check out Waltham close to Moody st where there is shopping/restaurants. It's farther out but has (at least to me) a similar vibe to where you are moving from. I would also recommend renting for a year before you but to get a feel for the different neighborhoods. What I like about the area is that even the suburbs have nice town centers so more of a community / urban flair than most of the DC suburbs offer.

waltham's kind of dumpy.

I found boston really provincial and not welcoming to those of other races.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about Newton?

Lucky-you ...we'd go to Boston IN A HEARTBEAT!

Me too!! I WANT TO GO HOME

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boston suburban resident here (who lived in DC a while too) - check out South Boston (lots of young professionals who moved here after college now staying here post kids - you'd want private school), Cambridge (we bought an investment condo there - $450k 2 bed, parking 1100 sq ft - public schools good), Arlington (you can do public through at least elementary - upper schools getting better but my understanding still a work in progress), Somerville close in to Cambridge (real estate cheaper but prop tax higher and you'd need private school) and Watertown (you'd need private schools). Brookline and Newton are great but v expensive and "posh". If you prefer a house over condo you might also check out Waltham close to Moody st where there is shopping/restaurants. It's farther out but has (at least to me) a similar vibe to where you are moving from. I would also recommend renting for a year before you but to get a feel for the different neighborhoods. What I like about the area is that even the suburbs have nice town centers so more of a community / urban flair than most of the DC suburbs offer.

waltham's kind of dumpy.

I found boston really provincial and not welcoming to those of other races.

We're only not welcoming if you put up major tude. And it's not a race thing, it's an attitude thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Newton?

Lucky-you ...we'd go to Boston IN A HEARTBEAT!

Me too!! I WANT TO GO HOME

Same here! Boston and the suburbs are so beautiful, there isn't anything quite like it here. Cape Cod summers, New England skiing in the winter, scenic coastlines.... we are so land locked here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Newton?

Lucky-you ...we'd go to Boston IN A HEARTBEAT!

NP here. This thread is interesting. I'm trying to make myself have the "want" to move to the Boston area to be close to family now that I have kids growing up. I've never lived there though! My sibling relocated to that area so I have visited quite a bit but don't know if I could handle cold winters and cold oceans at the beach! But I do like that there seems to be decent options in housing, not amazing bang for the buck, but pretty comparable. I like it here, but I'm not married to the place- the pull of family is getting stronger as I get older too.

Having lived both places, Boston and its western suburbs are definitely pricier than DC.

+1

For good reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Beacon Hill or Back Bay...You could live in a tiny town and commute. St. Mark's, Dexter, Southfield are great private schools.

$$$$$$$$

Also, OP is looking for a true Bostonians' local knowledge, not some PITA DC person googling and trying to chime in as a self proclaimed expert.

Typical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boston suburban resident here (who lived in DC a while too) - check out South Boston (lots of young professionals who moved here after college now staying here post kids - you'd want private school), Cambridge (we bought an investment condo there - $450k 2 bed, parking 1100 sq ft - public schools good), Arlington (you can do public through at least elementary - upper schools getting better but my understanding still a work in progress), Somerville close in to Cambridge (real estate cheaper but prop tax higher and you'd need private school) and Watertown (you'd need private schools). Brookline and Newton are great but v expensive and "posh". If you prefer a house over condo you might also check out Waltham close to Moody st where there is shopping/restaurants. It's farther out but has (at least to me) a similar vibe to where you are moving from. I would also recommend renting for a year before you but to get a feel for the different neighborhoods. What I like about the area is that even the suburbs have nice town centers so more of a community / urban flair than most of the DC suburbs offer.

I think this is a pretty harsh assessment. Arlington schools are good. Maybe not excellent, but pretty good. Arlington HS ranks 22nd in the state of Mass., which is probably comparable to many high schools in eastern MoCo.

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/massachusetts/districts/arlington/arlington-high-school-9264

[Anonymous]

What about Salem? Now, the schools are pretty rotten but if you're open to private, you can do that. It's a cute downtown right on the water and the commuter train is doable for both parents going into Boston to work. Housing is pretty decent for the price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Salem? Now, the schools are pretty rotten but if you're open to private, you can do that. It's a cute downtown right on the water and the commuter train is doable for both parents going into Boston to work. Housing is pretty decent for the price.

Salem is 16 miles away from Boston. Equivalent to Reston, VA vis-a-vis DC. Not what OP is looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about Salem? Now, the schools are pretty rotten but if you're open to private, you can do that. It's a cute downtown right on the water and the commuter train is doable for both parents going into Boston to work. Housing is pretty decent for the price.

Salem is 16 miles away from Boston. Equivalent to Reston, VA vis-a-vis DC. Not what OP is looking for.

Yup, at least an hour commute on a good day.

[Anonymous]

Maybe I'm missing something, but the Northern side of Brookline seems a little more diverse in terms of housing stock (more condos/apartments) and seems pretty walkable and urban and is great for them commute-wise. Even though Brookline and Newton may seem a bit too "posh" it seems like a waste to spend the $$$ on private schools when a lot of those little towns have some of the best public school systems in the country with great commutes. Maybe rent for a bit to get a feel?

[Anonymous]

Hi, OP again, the idea of renting for a year and getting our bearings seems reasonable. How is Lawrence Elementary School in Brookline? It is very close to BU.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]Hi, OP again, the idea of renting for a year and getting our bearings seems reasonable. How is Lawrence Elementary School in Brookline? It is very close to BU.[/quote]

All the Brookline schools are highly rated. You could try the gardenmoms group (on bigtent), Boston's equivalent of dcurbanmom.

[Anonymous]

Thanks I filled out the form to join garden moms. It is super invasive. They want your child's full name, birthdate, and your phone number. Much prefer DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks I filled out the form to join garden moms. It is super invasive. They want your child's full name, birthdate, and your phone number. Much prefer DCUM.

Yeah their moderators are pretty awful. If you leave one thing out they deny you. If you can't tell them when you're moving they deny you. Despite nothing being anonymous their clientele is about as trolly as DCUM!