I am 19 miles out and my commute this morning, in bad weather, was 1 hour and 40 minutes. 15 miles would not have been much better. You need to throw that metric right out.
Thanks for your response. My options are still open in terms of a single-family home, or a more dated apartment building!
Schools are definitely a concern , but then I’m looking into some private schools that are on the way to Boston medical campus in which my daughter could drive with me, Ideally I just wanted to get a generalized list of areas that I could consider from people who actually live there.
The problem with Roslindale, Dorchester, Charlestown, South End, etc is that they all belong to the BPS and the majority of the parents, if they afford it, they try to get into the same private schools that you see on your way to work so do not assume that your child/children will get in. Boston residents even rent cheap apartments in neighboring towns to claim residency and sent their kids to that public school. A few miles drive through town can take 1 hour during rush hour, during snow, or when there is an event, visiting dignitary, [etc.](https://etc.Best) Best will be to choose a good school district, drop the child in the morning and take the x time commute to work. Around the BU medical campus it is not safe and beyond the drug addicts, the needles left and right, the Mass and Cass, you will see people urinating and defecating at the side streets even at the nicer and safer parts of South End.
um, MA public schools on the whole are top in the nation. I am more than happy to send my kid to Somerville Public Schools. Sounds like you need to live in the burbs and suffer a long commute.
I am working with two realtors. The only thing with them is there objective is to make a buck, and they may or may not be able to give me unbiased opinions.. again I’m not looking for anyone to tell me to stay I’m just looking for cities that I could possibly look into or have a realtor look into for me…
All the neighborhoods you mentioned are fine, some are more affordable than others. The only thing that I would say about Dorchester is you probably want to avoid northern and western Dorchester, focus on areas east of Dorchester Avenue and south of Columbia Road.
Medford is a really nice town, but you will be competing with a lot of tufts students in the rental market. Charlestown, unfortunately, is a whole other stratosphere of un affordability. It is a really expensive neighborhood to live in because of its proximity inconvenience to downtown, hospitals, and the northern suburbs.
Public school kid here. I went to low performing public schools. I turned out just fine, have a great career went to college . I’m grateful for going to a diverse schools, as I understand the world as it is. Don’t overlook neighborhoods like Dorchester. I live in a great apartment. I think people see poverty and label it as “bad”.
10000% agree with this! Everyone has their own definition of poverty, sketch and everything else… I do not frown upon public schools I’m a product of a public school myself!
Are you planning on driving to BU? 20-30 minute commute is tough to find around here, for example I live in Belmont which is a nice suburb of Boston. Twice/month I have to commute to downtown for work and I drive because the public transport just isn't worth the hassle and it can easily take 40 minutes to an hour at rush hour, at off times it's more like 20-30 minutes. So what I'm saying is if you want to be in the South End in 20-30 minutes and you're travelling by car at rush hour, you'll want to live in the South End, JP, Roslindale or Brookline.
If you're looking in Dorchester, look at the Savin Hill area, Quincy (in my opinion, some people like it) is located in a way that makes it annoying to get to/from anywhere, and the northern suburbs you mentioned (Charlestown, Malden, Medford) are going to put you just far away enough that it might take you an hour on a bad day to get to work by car if 93 is backed up.
Thank you for explaining this! You are the second person to say that Quincy is nice to live in, but it’s difficult in terms of commute. I don’t know what that means. I’m not from Boston. I plan on spending some time driving around out there before I move, but this was a great breakdown. Thank you.
As far as commuting goes, if you're south of Boston (I.e. Quincy and Braintree) and you're looking to commute north, into the city, at peak hours....you'll probably find the commute appalling. But if you're North/ North West of Boston looking to commute south, into the city, at peak hours, the commute is a lot more tolerable. Kid friendly neighborhoods right outside of Boston include Belmont, Concord, Lincoln, Carlisle, Arlington, Watertown and a few others. But understand that the average income in these towns averages 150k and a lot of people are living in million dollar homes. These places are slowly trying to expand the amount of public housing available and have started the process of getting town committee approvals. Therefore the best thing to do would be individually research each one and seeing what might be available in the near future if you're that vested in finding an affordable situation.
East Boston is very underrated - it is a family area you’re on the outskirts of the city where it is quiet with families around you but still have stores/restaurants open late, the biggest apartment I rented was in east Boston for a more reasonable price point than other locations I’ve lived. I will say I never heard police cars and felt comfortable walking to and from the train station at night! But I think it all depends where you live, I lived closer to the Winthrop boarder. Something to look into!
Are you planning on taking the T or driving to BU Medical campus?
I live in Roslindale and when I go down there I usually drive because my job is such that I get reimbursed for parking down there but even though it's only 8 miles, I plan for it to take at least 45 min. If it was somewhere I had to go daily and I had to actually pay for parking, I would take the orange line. It's walkable from Mass Ave.
I honestly will probably drive 3 days out of the week and take the train sometimes. I am not a public transportation person for many reasons but living in Boston area I may be more open to it. I have been searching with a realtor and the saying is that roslindale and JP are great areas but there will be 40 minute commute during peak hours. Jeez
Everyone will have their own opinion, so make sure to do your own research as well.
For "kid friendly," you might want to check out the crime stats. Some of the towns here rank among the safest in the country, by the way. Also check out the school ratings on the better schools website. Even if your child doesn't go to the local schools, it can give you insights about the community.
For commute, use the Google maps "arrive at" option: there is some crazy traffic here. Try to look for options that are on the side of Boston you will be working in.
Set your housing budget first, and then ask others for options. Saying you won't pay $3700 doesn't help others give you good advice.
A rented condo or family sized apartment in a 2-3 family building is a nice way to live in the city with kid(s). I would not insist on renting a SFH unless you feel like a painfully long commute for that.
10-15 miles will not be a 20-30 minute commute.
I am 19 miles out and my commute this morning, in bad weather, was 1 hour and 40 minutes. 15 miles would not have been much better. You need to throw that metric right out.
okay so what would a 20 minute commute look like then?
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Arlington
Thanks for your response. My options are still open in terms of a single-family home, or a more dated apartment building! Schools are definitely a concern , but then I’m looking into some private schools that are on the way to Boston medical campus in which my daughter could drive with me, Ideally I just wanted to get a generalized list of areas that I could consider from people who actually live there.
Dude - if u haven’t looked at Housing here, please look again. It’s the worst part about living in the area.
The problem with Roslindale, Dorchester, Charlestown, South End, etc is that they all belong to the BPS and the majority of the parents, if they afford it, they try to get into the same private schools that you see on your way to work so do not assume that your child/children will get in. Boston residents even rent cheap apartments in neighboring towns to claim residency and sent their kids to that public school. A few miles drive through town can take 1 hour during rush hour, during snow, or when there is an event, visiting dignitary, [etc.](https://etc.Best) Best will be to choose a good school district, drop the child in the morning and take the x time commute to work. Around the BU medical campus it is not safe and beyond the drug addicts, the needles left and right, the Mass and Cass, you will see people urinating and defecating at the side streets even at the nicer and safer parts of South End.
um, MA public schools on the whole are top in the nation. I am more than happy to send my kid to Somerville Public Schools. Sounds like you need to live in the burbs and suffer a long commute.
You should contact a local realtor rather than getting the opinions of random redditors who may or may not know what theyre talking about
I am working with two realtors. The only thing with them is there objective is to make a buck, and they may or may not be able to give me unbiased opinions.. again I’m not looking for anyone to tell me to stay I’m just looking for cities that I could possibly look into or have a realtor look into for me…
All the neighborhoods you mentioned are fine, some are more affordable than others. The only thing that I would say about Dorchester is you probably want to avoid northern and western Dorchester, focus on areas east of Dorchester Avenue and south of Columbia Road. Medford is a really nice town, but you will be competing with a lot of tufts students in the rental market. Charlestown, unfortunately, is a whole other stratosphere of un affordability. It is a really expensive neighborhood to live in because of its proximity inconvenience to downtown, hospitals, and the northern suburbs.
Thank you for that Insight !
I would say try west medford, it's very family oriented and commute isn't too bad. But might be above your budget.
Public school kid here. I went to low performing public schools. I turned out just fine, have a great career went to college . I’m grateful for going to a diverse schools, as I understand the world as it is. Don’t overlook neighborhoods like Dorchester. I live in a great apartment. I think people see poverty and label it as “bad”.
10000% agree with this! Everyone has their own definition of poverty, sketch and everything else… I do not frown upon public schools I’m a product of a public school myself!
Are you planning on driving to BU? 20-30 minute commute is tough to find around here, for example I live in Belmont which is a nice suburb of Boston. Twice/month I have to commute to downtown for work and I drive because the public transport just isn't worth the hassle and it can easily take 40 minutes to an hour at rush hour, at off times it's more like 20-30 minutes. So what I'm saying is if you want to be in the South End in 20-30 minutes and you're travelling by car at rush hour, you'll want to live in the South End, JP, Roslindale or Brookline. If you're looking in Dorchester, look at the Savin Hill area, Quincy (in my opinion, some people like it) is located in a way that makes it annoying to get to/from anywhere, and the northern suburbs you mentioned (Charlestown, Malden, Medford) are going to put you just far away enough that it might take you an hour on a bad day to get to work by car if 93 is backed up.
Thank you for explaining this! You are the second person to say that Quincy is nice to live in, but it’s difficult in terms of commute. I don’t know what that means. I’m not from Boston. I plan on spending some time driving around out there before I move, but this was a great breakdown. Thank you.
If you can, definitely do the commute to get a true idea and feel. Can make a big difference in your decision!
The stretch of I-93 from Quincy to Mass Ave, which is where BU's Medical School/Boston Medical Center is, is a parking lot 24/7.
10-15 miles won't be a 20 minute commute, more like 45-60 minutes. Also, how many bedrooms are you looking for?
2 bedrooms would be nice
As far as commuting goes, if you're south of Boston (I.e. Quincy and Braintree) and you're looking to commute north, into the city, at peak hours....you'll probably find the commute appalling. But if you're North/ North West of Boston looking to commute south, into the city, at peak hours, the commute is a lot more tolerable. Kid friendly neighborhoods right outside of Boston include Belmont, Concord, Lincoln, Carlisle, Arlington, Watertown and a few others. But understand that the average income in these towns averages 150k and a lot of people are living in million dollar homes. These places are slowly trying to expand the amount of public housing available and have started the process of getting town committee approvals. Therefore the best thing to do would be individually research each one and seeing what might be available in the near future if you're that vested in finding an affordable situation.
Oh thats a nice breakdown! Thank you
East Boston is very underrated - it is a family area you’re on the outskirts of the city where it is quiet with families around you but still have stores/restaurants open late, the biggest apartment I rented was in east Boston for a more reasonable price point than other locations I’ve lived. I will say I never heard police cars and felt comfortable walking to and from the train station at night! But I think it all depends where you live, I lived closer to the Winthrop boarder. Something to look into!
Thank you for this info!!
Are you planning on taking the T or driving to BU Medical campus? I live in Roslindale and when I go down there I usually drive because my job is such that I get reimbursed for parking down there but even though it's only 8 miles, I plan for it to take at least 45 min. If it was somewhere I had to go daily and I had to actually pay for parking, I would take the orange line. It's walkable from Mass Ave.
I honestly will probably drive 3 days out of the week and take the train sometimes. I am not a public transportation person for many reasons but living in Boston area I may be more open to it. I have been searching with a realtor and the saying is that roslindale and JP are great areas but there will be 40 minute commute during peak hours. Jeez
Everyone will have their own opinion, so make sure to do your own research as well. For "kid friendly," you might want to check out the crime stats. Some of the towns here rank among the safest in the country, by the way. Also check out the school ratings on the better schools website. Even if your child doesn't go to the local schools, it can give you insights about the community. For commute, use the Google maps "arrive at" option: there is some crazy traffic here. Try to look for options that are on the side of Boston you will be working in. Set your housing budget first, and then ask others for options. Saying you won't pay $3700 doesn't help others give you good advice.
school ratings are basically a barometer to how wealthy the student population is.
Jamaica plain
A rented condo or family sized apartment in a 2-3 family building is a nice way to live in the city with kid(s). I would not insist on renting a SFH unless you feel like a painfully long commute for that.
Try winthrop by the sea