Anyone Live in Boston?

[Udaman]

Well, I'm taking the plunge and moving from my alma mater (Duke), up to the Duke of the North (Hahhhvahd) to take a job in their central finance office within Arts and Sciences. It is exciting...but terrifying as we try to contemplate selling, buying, moving, finding a job for my wife, on and being apart for 5 months as my kids finish the school year here and I start up there. Ughh.

With that in mind - any Bostonians on the board with any advice about:

1) School systems? In doing some research, it looks like about 1/3rd of the school systems have Kindergarten as only a half a day, which is a major bummer. My youngest starts K next Fall, and no way will we do half a day. Any idea how to find out which offer full time?

2) Anybody put their kids in any good summer camps?

3) Any decent housing areas that are associated with good schools? Of course the market up there is getting smoked right now, but it's not as good as it seems. It's like a stock that went from $40 seven years ago to $100, and now it's at $85. People are complaining, but fail to remember where it used to be.

Finally, for those who do the commuting thing...it's been a while since I lived that life (seven years), and I only had a 1 year old at the time. Any advice on how to keep your kids from being too sad while you are gone? Anyone use a video system so you can see your family on the monitor?

Thanks.

[YmoBeThere]

I am also new to the Boston area(well got here 6 months ago) but am single with no kids. There are a few that post here that may be able to answer your questions. (BostonDevil comes to mind.)

[billybreen]

I've been here for 5 years, but I'm a dink and am unqualified to answer most of your questions.

I can say that the North Shore town (Melrose) where I live is relatively affordable and appears to have a high percentage of upwardly mobile young families. We are on the end of the Orange Line, and my wife takes the T to work in the MIT area every day.

I think your ideal choice would be Arlington, with a short Red Line commute into Cambridge, good schools, and the best Indian restaurant in the Boston area. However, I'm guessing it's prohibitively expensive, even with the recent correction.

One last thing: prepare to pay a ton of money for something built in 1900. Coming from the south, that was a big adjustment.

[YmoBeThere]

the best Indian restaurant in the Boston area

Name names!

[billybreen]

Name names!

Punjab. They recently moved 2 doors down into a much larger and nicer space. Given all the business I've brought them in the past 4 years, personally and by referral, I like to think I'm responsible for their success.

Our first 2 years in Boston, we lived just over the Cambridge side of the Cambridge / Arlington line. Punjab was about a mile away down Mass Ave, but it sadly took us about a year to find it. We've had a once-a-week habit every since.

[Bostondevil]

The median (MEDIAN!) price for a single family home in the entire state is $315,000. You didn't say how many kids you have or where your Harvard job would place you. If you're in Cambridge you should look out the Route 2 corridor which is Cambridge, Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, Concord although Concord is starting to be a long commute.

Other than Cambridge almost all cities have some sort of early release day for all kids in elementary school. Where I live in Newton, it's Tuesdays. All kids, k-5 get out at 12:30pm on Tuesdays. In Arlington and Belmont, I think it's Wednesdays. The Kindergarten is mixed half day, they go until 3pm 2 days a week. If you're dead set against half-day kindergarten, I would look into a preschool for that year. Most of the preschools offer a kindergarten year. Cambridge Montessori School, where my older 3 sons all went and where we plan to send my youngest next year has all day kindergarten. It's not cheap but if you factor in paying for after school programs at the public school it's not too much different. Is it money or your particular child that makes you so against half-day kindergarten. Many public schools offer onsite after school programs, although not all, and they can fill up, so look into that when you are looking at a particular school system.

Newton is not too bad of a commute to Cambridge, really, especially if you're working on the west side of campus. Crossing Harvard Square is never easy and at rush hour can add 20 minutes to your commute, by car at least. If you're a public transportation guy, look into towns that have commuter rails that stop a Porter Square. I don't know too much about towns that are further out.

What else do you want? If you want diversity, Cambridge, although man is it expensive. I lived in Cambridge for 15 years and you pay for the space big time. Basically, there are no single family houses for under $1 million. Anything that's listed as single family for less than that either isn't really a single family (it's attached to something else) or it needs MAJOR renovations or it's only got 2 bedrooms.

Arlington is more up and coming as people are priced out of Cambridge. It's got some interesting housing stock. It used to be mostly blue collar. It's suffering some growing pains as the Cambridge types invade. Prices are going up, school system is OK. Some elementary schools have better reputations than others, Brackett comes to mind as one that people like. Commuting to Harvard from Arlington by public transportation is by bus, no T-stops in Arlington. I don't know about commuter rail but I don't think so. You could also look at Somerville but the reputation of the schools is very mixed bag, towards the not so good. Still, I do know people who are raising their kids their. Although, to be honest, most are doing private school.

Lexington and Concord are similar in their aesthetics. They are not diverse. Good schools, not too bad a commute, not cheap but cheaper than Cambridge and you can get a yard.

Belmont might be worth looking at, the schools are good although reputation puts them at slightly under Lexington and Newton. Personally, you couldn't pay me to live in Belmont but that's just because I find the housing stock depressingly boring. It's also a dry town, no beer at the corner store. I do however send my kids to summer day camp at Belmont Day School (it's a private school but the summer program is wonderful. It fills up by January.)

Newton, where I live, is about as diverse as you're going to find a suburb in the Boston area. It's still mostly white but there is a mix. Newton is also known for it's large Jewish population. Public schools are great here but the facilities themselves are almost all of them in need of repair. Newton's population is large enough that it qualifies as a city. It has 15 'villages'. When you say you live in Newton, the next question is 'What part? which means what village. Within the city, the villages have different personalities. Price per square foot in Newton is cheaper than Cambride, but, basically everywhere is cheaper than Cambridge. I don't know where you're moving from but be prepared for sticker shock. Hope that helps.

[billybreen]

Commuting to Harvard from Arlington by public transportation is by bus, no T-stops in Arlington. I don't know about commuter rail but I don't think so.

If you are on the east side of Arlington, you will likely be in walking (or at worst, short bus ride) distance from Alewife, the end of the Red Line. Alewife is right on the Arlington/Cambridge line. That would give you a 20-30 minute commute into Harvard Sq.

There is no commuter rail in Arlington.

You could also look at Somerville but the reputation of the schools is very mixed bag, towards the not so good. Still, I do know people who are raising their kids their. Although, to be honest, most are doing private school.

Having lived close to Somerville, I strongly recommend staying away. There are some fairly not-nice parts, and driving / parking are horrible. Small roads, lots of cars, hills. Hell.

[Channing]

to comment on long distance communications - i have been using Skype with a webcam to keep in touch with family in South Africa. The program is extremely easy to use, the webcam costs about 50 dollars, and its free.

[bluebear]

Nearly lifelong bostonian here and Bostondevil gave a great summary. We live up on the North Shore which has some really nice suburbs on the ocean but the commute can be a challenge. The train system (commuter rail) extends pretty far out and can make it easy to get into the city but not so much for getting to cambridge..
I have several friends with families who live in Newton, as well as a bit further out in Wellesley. Similarly with Cambridge, extending out into Lexington and Concord. All those towns would give you a fairly reasonable commute into Harvard.
As others mention, it really depends on what you are looking for..Wellesley, Lexington, Concord are really nice suburbs but not very diverse and lot more sleepy. Cambridge would be great if you would prefer something more diverse and active but prices are extremely high. A lot of people love Newton for having the benefits of a nice suburb without that sleepy, sprawl feel..

[YmoBeThere]

Punjab. They recently moved 2 doors down into a much larger and nicer space. Given all the business I've brought them in the past 4 years, personally and by referral, I like to think I'm responsible for their success.

Our first 2 years in Boston, we lived just over the Cambridge side of the Cambridge / Arlington line. Punjab was about a mile away down Mass Ave, but it sadly took us about a year to find it. We've had a once-a-week habit every since.

Thanks, I'll be sure to give it a try some time.