Moving to Boston: where will we fit in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To answer some questions, we delayed our move to summer 2022 and we are keeping an eye on real estate. DH has been applying to Boston-based jobs and my current employer will allow me to telecommute. Our current HHI is around $300k and we don't have a mortgage for our current house, which will likely sell for $1.6M, so we will have plenty to work with.

Hopefully, DH will have his job in place before we finalize which Boston suburb we move to. He is hoping for Concord, Sudbury or Wayland (all very different, from what I know).

They're actually all super similar, except Concord has a small town center and the others do not.

[Anonymous]

I've lived in Needham, Sudbury, and Belmont (current) with the same budget. Needham felt too suburban to me, but many love it, and it's relatively close to Wayland. We had a gorgeous house in Sudbury with tons of land, but it is a *really* long drive (Route 2 in normal traffic is no joke!) to Boston in non-COVID times. Also felt like our neighborhood, while lovely, was very preppy and privileged. We're now in Belmont and I adore it, though our lot is small. Walkable, with progressive and interesting neighbors. Child is in private now but we will likely switch to public for middle/high school.

It really depends on your priorities. I'd just caution against going too far out on Route 2 if you may be commuting into Boston regularly.

[Anonymous]

Milton MA. Redline and commuter trains into Boston. French immersion schools. can get into city within 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've lived in Needham, Sudbury, and Belmont (current) with the same budget. Needham felt too suburban to me, but many love it, and it's relatively close to Wayland. We had a gorgeous house in Sudbury with tons of land, but it is a *really* long drive (Route 2 in normal traffic is no joke!) to Boston in non-COVID times. Also felt like our neighborhood, while lovely, was very preppy and privileged. We're now in Belmont and I adore it, though our lot is small. Walkable, with progressive and interesting neighbors. Child is in private now but we will likely switch to public for middle/high school.

It really depends on your priorities. I'd just caution against going too far out on Route 2 if you may be commuting into Boston regularly.

Hi Belmont! We’re in Arlington and love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Milton MA. Redline and commuter trains into Boston. French immersion schools. can get into city within 15 minutes.

We're looking into Milton. Do native french speakers get priority in the immersion program? What's your plan for high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milton MA. Redline and commuter trains into Boston. French immersion schools. can get into city within 15 minutes.

We're looking into Milton. Do native french speakers get priority in the immersion program? What's your plan for high school?

Milton is nice in sections but it’s location is not great in terms of other nearby towns, such as Norwood, Randolph,
etc. Also you can get into the city limits, but not downtown. It’s on the outskirts near very residential Hyde Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milton MA. Redline and commuter trains into Boston. French immersion schools. can get into city within 15 minutes.

We're looking into Milton. Do native french speakers get priority in the immersion program? What's your plan for high school?

Milton is nice in sections but it’s location is not great in terms of other nearby towns, such as Norwood, Randolph,
etc. Also you can get into the city limits, but not downtown. It’s on the outskirts near very residential Hyde Park.

One can get to downtown by car - 93 via Gallivan boulevard or Morrisey. Or commuter rail at Hyde Park or red line via trolley to Ashmont. There are also buses. Park at river st and hop on commuter rail to Back Bay in 15 minutes. If u work in Longwood medical area, u can take backroads via arborway in 20 minutes. It is in a very convenient location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milton MA. Redline and commuter trains into Boston. French immersion schools. can get into city within 15 minutes.

We're looking into Milton. Do native french speakers get priority in the immersion program? What's your plan for high school?

Most kids are French/English from first grade. Coming in, u probably need to do a placement - should have no problem. Also check out Cunningham pond when in town - it’s open now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milton MA. Redline and commuter trains into Boston. French immersion schools. can get into city within 15 minutes.

We're looking into Milton. Do native french speakers get priority in the immersion program? What's your plan for high school?

Most kids are French/English from first grade. Coming in, u probably need to do a placement - should have no problem. Also check out Cunningham pond when in town - it’s open now.

Thank you so much. We're looking into Milton (for the immersion program) but also Canton due to lower taxes and it looks like the Milton and Canton high schools are pretty evenly matched. Would you say that seems about right?

[Anonymous]

If your in-laws are in Wayland, why not look in Wayland or Weston, or even Sudbury?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. To answer some questions, we delayed our move to summer 2022 and we are keeping an eye on real estate. DH has been applying to Boston-based jobs and my current employer will allow me to telecommute. Our current HHI is around $300k and we don't have a mortgage for our current house, which will likely sell for $1.6M, so we will have plenty to work with.

Hopefully, DH will have his job in place before we finalize which Boston suburb we move to. He is hoping for Concord, Sudbury or Wayland (all very different, from what I know).

They're actually all super similar, except Concord has a small town center and the others do not.

Those towns are very different than Del Ray, spread out, snooty, and tough commutes. You guys should be wary of the commute in Boston. Commuting from Alexandria is really so easy by comparison.

[Anonymous]

I live in this area, and I used to live in Del Ray. Honestly, they are all formal and rural. These are limousine liberals, much different than Del Ray. Wayland is probably the best choice, then Sudbury, then how about branching further for a better vibe to someplace like Beverly.

[Anonymous]

PP here, Acton is actually not a bad choice either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milton MA. Redline and commuter trains into Boston. French immersion schools. can get into city within 15 minutes.

We're looking into Milton. Do native french speakers get priority in the immersion program? What's your plan for high school?

Milton is nice in sections but it’s location is not great in terms of other nearby towns, such as Norwood, Randolph,
etc. Also you can get into the city limits, but not downtown. It’s on the outskirts near very residential Hyde Park.

As a prior resident of Randolph and alum of RHS, I resent this remark. You are actually advising pp to not move to Milton because it abuts Randolph?! Op, Randolph is far more diverse than Milton. It has its issues, but not so bad that you can’t live in an abutting town. Audi Cornish and I are proud to have called it home and are graduates of its schools.

Milton is lovely and with your budget, you can find some very nice old or new homes on generously sized plots. - and I93 separates you from Randolph if you desire such a barrier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Milton MA. Redline and commuter trains into Boston. French immersion schools. can get into city within 15 minutes.

We're looking into Milton. Do native french speakers get priority in the immersion program? What's your plan for high school?

Milton is nice in sections but it’s location is not great in terms of other nearby towns, such as Norwood, Randolph,
etc. Also you can get into the city limits, but not downtown. It’s on the outskirts near very residential Hyde Park.

As a prior resident of Randolph and alum of RHS, I resent this remark. You are actually advising pp to not move to Milton because it abuts Randolph?! Op, Randolph is far more diverse than Milton. It has its issues, but not so bad that you can’t live in an abutting town. Audi Cornish and I are proud to have called it home and are graduates of its schools.

Milton is lovely and with your budget, you can find some very nice old or new homes on generously sized plots. - and I93 separates you from Randolph if you desire such a barrier.

I'm the "Randolph" critic and my point is that there's not much going on there. Whereas in Metro West, most towns have a great town center, shopping, restaurants, etc. Just more going on. Randolph is pretty sleepy. And it's a tough to get to area in general.