Boston Area - Where Not To Move?

[bostonasphalt2]

Arlington is not a dry town.

 

[TheGreekFreak]

I grew up in Belmont. I never liked it. I was always too feral for suburban life, but I'll advise you nonetheless. Belmont hill is where all the rich folks live and you cant get a house for less than 600 grand. On the other side of town, in the lower lying Waverly area, there's a lot of double and triple deckers and you can find (relatively for the town in question) cheap housing. There's a commuter rail stop on the cheaper side of town and in the town center. The 73 bus services the cheaper area, the 75 services the center and the 78 services the uppity side (all of those buses are out of Harvard square). They used to be target and hunting only for LTCs but apparently they have relaxed their restrictions. Also, be prepared to go to Watertown, Cambridge or Waltham for booze. Belmont was a dry town from prohibition up until a few years back and as far as I know, there's still no decent packies in city limits (I believe the same sort of situation exists in Arlington as well). PM me if you have any other questions.

Seems pretty spot on except a simple house on the hill, nothing big or crazy, will set you back at least $1 million nowadays. Fricken condos converted from two family homes are selling for $600K a unit so its become pretty expensive to buy in. The Waverley side is the worst part of town imo so I would avoid it if possible.

If you're looking to rent a nice simple 2 bedroom in a good neighborhood, try looking for apartments in the southeastern part of town. Cheaper than the hill but nicer than the Waverley area. You'll also be close to Storrow Drive which gets you downtown in like 15 minutes. T ride is pretty easy from there too if you ever use it. Taking it from the hill is more of a pain and Waverley is a much longer bus ride. I would estimate rent to be in the $2K range in that area for a bare bones no frills basic 2 bedroom.

 

[Peicemaker]

Seems pretty spot on except a simple house on the hill, nothing big or crazy, will set you back at least $1 million nowadays. Fricken condos converted from two family homes are selling for $600K a unit so its become pretty expensive to buy in. The Waverley side is the worst part of town imo so I would avoid it if possible.

If you're looking to rent a nice simple 2 bedroom in a good neighborhood, try looking for apartments in the southeastern part of town. Cheaper than the hill but nicer than the Waverley area. You'll also be close to Storrow Drive which gets you downtown in like 15 minutes. T ride is pretty easy from there too if you ever use it. Taking it from the hill is more of a pain and Waverley is a much longer bus ride. I would estimate rent to be in the $2K range in that area for a bare bones no frills basic 2 bedroom.

Good grief, man. Thanks for another reminder as to why I left that damn town. My folks still live there and they bitch about their property tax bill from time to time. I think 9 grand a year was the last figure they quoted.

 

[JoeT]

if you decide on Boston, look around for Greek Pizza places. If you find a big mac pizza and an owner with a shitty attitude, let us know where it is

 

[modernhamlet]

Thanks all for the responses.

For the common questions so far: I'm currently in Somerville and commute to Waltham. The reason for staying closer to Boston is social events plus work-related trips which take me into Boston often enough where I don't want to move too far. I'll be renting in my new place and schools do not matter. From the comments here, Alrington and Belmont seem to fit the bill for green plus location.

On Winchester, I've driven through many times and really like it. There seems to be minimal rental properties though.

Shameless ask as well, but if anyone here is landlord and looking to rent a 1br or 2br property to a fellow 2A supporter, please PM me.

Based on these clarifications, I'd say if you can afford a 1 or 2 bed in East Arlington, that'd be ideal. Puts you within a 15 minute drive of work with easy access to the Red Line / 77 bus to get into Boston/Cambridge.

If you can't afford East Arlington, then maybe roll the dice on Waltham itself, now that it's green? There are good and bad areas in Waltham, so be selective.

There aren't really any other good green options that put you close to both Waltham and Boston.

 

[Paul455]

Medway, Milford, Franklin.

All green and near the commuter rail line.

Zero crime and good schools.

 

[kalash]

I work in Boston (financial district). Looked at Arlington and Belmont but bad commute options and their sleepy nature made me pick Waltham - moving in a few weeks north of Main St; very happy with the location.

 

[richc]

The chief in Medfield is a supporter of second amendment rights.

Go to Dedham, Westwood or Norwood....I know people with unrestricted in those towns...

Pretty close to the University train and one other that goes on the other side of Dedham.

 

[garandman]

Thanks all for the responses.

For the common questions so far: I'm currently in Somerville and commute to Waltham. The reason for staying closer to Boston is social events plus work-related trips which take me into Boston often enough where I don't want to move too far. I'll be renting in my new place and schools do not matter. From the comments here, Alrington and Belmont seem to fit the bill for green plus location.//

If you could be near Route 2 that would make the commute pretty reasonable.

 

[JoeT]

Medway, Milford, Franklin.

All green and near the commuter rail line.

Zero crime and good schools.

have Milford schools improved? We moved out of there in 2007 and schools were the #1 reason.

We moved to Northbridge that year and then they cut something HUGE from the school budget. Our kid's teacher suggested we take them out of the schools and put them in private school so they could get a good education.

 

[rivet_42]

I work in Boston (financial district). Looked at Arlington and Belmont but bad commute options and their sleepy nature made me pick Waltham - moving in a few weeks north of Main St; very happy with the location.

Congrats! Good luck in the new place.

 

[free]

Medway, Milford, Franklin.

All green and near the commuter rail line.

Zero crime and good schools.

Zero crime? I don't think so.

 

[Mr.E]

Watertown will also downgrade. Good to hear about Waltham changing. It's still a shitty town lol

While Waltham still has plenty of work to do, as housing in Boston continues to become restrictive towards many I believe the city will become more gentrified.
Housing in Waltham for anything worth living in is already quite expensive (I'm talking nice single family homes), it's pretty "commutable" to Boston, home to quite a few businesses and industries (biotech/pharma, utilities, tech.), two private colleges, restaurants (Moody st.) etc.
I work in the city and went to Grad school there, definitely some shady areas but as more businesses move in that don't want to pay Boston rents those people are going to be looking for places to live...I do miss Watch City Brewery though..

 

[crazymjb]

We like Framingham thus far. Commute downtown in rush hour isnt fun though. If you work near south station the express line on the commuter rail is only 40 mins.

ETA, commute to Waltham is reasonable.

Mike

Sent from my cell phone with a tiny keyboard and large thumbs...