Need help and opinions from you MA guys

so my wife and i might be moving to MA for a job, but we know nothing about the area. we have no clue about where to live, what areas are affordable, how the commute to work would be, etc..

from what i understand, the housing prices follow a blast radius from boston. the farther you get away from boston, the cheaper it is. the office i may work at is in Needham, so i guessed that west and south of Needham would be the places to look?

so where should my wife and i look for housing for the best price, nice area, and best commute (if that exists). i know cost is relative to the area that you are in, but for a referrence, my wife and i are in a 1500 sq ft apartment that is $1425 a month. could we find a house to rent for that price and size thats close enough to Needham?

thanks for your help.

 

Well Massachusetts also known as TAXachusetts can be pretty expensive anywhere close to boston. Western and southern Massachusetts is reasonable. I'm sure you'll pay less in rent than what you pay now. You could easily pay a mortgage for less than what you pay now.

 

Needham is ranked at #15 for the wealthiest towns in MA, so living and working there is most likely out of the question with your budget.

Where you start looking all depends on what you are looking for house/apt(i.e. country, burbs?) and the commute which can vary drastically. Needham is off of 95 between the pike(90) and 93, unfortunately that section of road always has VERY heavy traffic

 

Feel free to PM me, I live pretty close to that area and work in Boston. I recently bought a house and went through a lot of those areas close by to Needham. Needham isn't terribly priced but is up there, the areas directly south and west are very, very expensive but also very nice if you can afford it (Westwood, Dover, Sherborn, Wellesley). The northern side of Framingham is nice but the southern side is spotty. Heading north, Wayland has an awesome school system, is kind of pricey but very nice and so is Weston. Waltham is decent, can be spotty in areas but has a fun downtown strip. Some of the areas south along Rt. 109 such as Medway, Medfield and Millis are nice and wouldn't make for a bad commute for you either (all back roads and not much traffic, this is how I get to work).

Would you prefer to be closer or further from the city, rent or own, condo or house, etc? Again, feel free to PM me, I live fairly close to that area and drive by it frequently on my daily commute.

 

^pm sent

 

Good luck NetMonkey, on your move !
Sounds like Pugga has the data you need.
Try to buy if you can.

I'm originally from Western MA. (South Hadley/Chicopee)
If I still lived back there I would be rigged for sand and chasing Stripers on Cape Cod National Seashore and other stretches of beach.

 

er, um, Stripas !

And Sam, steamas and lobsta !

 

thanks, but i have to get the job first

 

Plus, chowda and Dunkin Donuts on every corner

 

As a railroad employee I can place myself somewhere new every 14 days or whenever I get bumped...I tend to stay in Worcester, but at times for the right job I go to Boston or Framingham and once in a great while West Springfield.

What's my point you may ask? I live in NE Connecticut and commute...LOL

Good luck, I was a Ct resident when I went to work for the RR in mass....after numerous searching of the local areas I deemed it better to stay in Ct, just had to come to the NE corner from the SE. I do miss the shoreline tho.

 

If you work a regular 9-5, I would recommend looking South/East of Needham since the commute to/from Framingham is bumper-to-bumper. Check out Norwood and Dedham, both fall near your price range.

 

Net:
Spent 15 years in and around the greater Boston area. Used to be in the legal side of real estate (also still a licensed broker). I have a very good buddy who owns an office in Brookline (area is too expensive to think about) but he can assist you all over. Commuting is a bitch in Boston, period.
I don't know why they bother with rush hour traffic reports. Cuz, once you get past about 6:30AM, let's face it your screwed with the commute. Evening, the shiot starts around 3:30-3:45 PM ad Sundays are not much better. Traffic is bumper to bumper and ya gotta watch out for the breakdown lane, cuz it is a legitimate travel lane during rush hour (AM & PM). The drivers in Boston are notoriously aggressive, rude and overall, pretty bad...just might want to keep that in mind.
You, like many others, are (might be) thinking, "hey move away from the "blast zone" cheaper houses," but longer commutes. People bought outside Worcester (mid state) to commute into Boston....I wouldn't recommend it. Also, those on the South Shore no nothing about the North Shore until you hit "New Hampster".....those on the North Shore no nothing about the South Shore until they hit "The Cape."
Your choice might also depend on what you like to do for hobbies/enjoyment. (skiing/camping mountains) vs. beach. Drop me a note, Happy to discuss. Good luck

 

well... i got 2 offers today and i am leaning towards the company in MA.

i will miss the "masshole" meet this sunday, but i should be able to go to the next one

 

Offers are good, congrats!