I am moving to Boston and I am looking for a great place to live with my husband an my 8 and 10 year old kids.

My husband will work downtown Boston so ideally we would some place close to the city. We love spending time in the city.

Public Comments

1. If your budget permits, live in Back Bay.
2. I suggest Cambridge or Wellesley if your budget allows for it. They are both beautiful. Cambridge is closer to Boston than Wellesley, but Wellesley has open space if you need it. If you want to live in the heart of Boston, though, I suggest the North side.
3. Somerville is where you want to live if you have kids of that age. We have a great school system here in Somerville. We have been talked about as having one of the best school systems in MA. I am 26 and I have lived in Somerville all my life and I like it a lot. It is wicked close to Boston and T assible. There are tons of great elementary schools here too. The high school has a great vocational program as well. There are also tons of great parks here in Somerville where your kids can play.
4. I'll put my oar in for City Point, South Boston. Beaches and parks for the kids. Churches every two blocks. Really spacious old three deckers and duplexes of real charm and function. The public transportation to downtown Boston is so good that it is not necessary to consider driving to work. Great neighborhood spirit and friendliness. Innumerable social activities going on all the time for the kids and adults. Do take a look at "Southie," you'll be surprised and pleased that a neighborhood within walking distance of a major capital city can have so much real charm, so much to offer for all.
5. The Boston area in general is very expensive. If you are not familiar with the area expect to pay at least $500,000 or more for a smaller house within 10-15 miles of the city. Some of the best close in suburbs will be Wellesley, Newton, Arlington, Belmont on the west side of the city. On the south side of the city there is Milton, Canton and Braintree. If you prefer in the city keep in mind that the schools are terrible. Some good areas to look at would be the Back Bay, North End and the South End. Don't confuse the South End with Southie they are two very different neighborhoods. If you prefer a little further out but still in the city try West Roxbury again don't confuse with Roxbury. Again if you are coming from somewhere else in the country be prepared for some major sticker shock. I spent most of my life in Boston but moved to Maryland 2 years ago. I was amazed at how cheap houses are here in comparison. I could never have afforded my current house if I was in Boston. That said I would still like to go back. If after surveying the real estate market you find that you can't afford the close in suburbs try looking on the south shore. It is generally cheaper that North or west of the city. There are a lot of nice towns with good schools down there as well.
6. Unless you can afford private school, DO NOT live in city limits unless you are CERTAIN you can bully your kids into the Advanced Work Class. I taught in BPS for 4 years and I will tell you that unless they're in AWC, you will be REALLY unhappy with the school. AWC is a feeder program for the exam schools and goes from grades 4-6. In grade 6 they take an exam that will allow them to get into one of the 3 exam schools for grade 7, and those 3 are the equivalent of any good public or private school. As for towns that have good public schools, you could try to live in Newton, which has some of the top rated schools in the state. Some of them are snobby (the average house price is 800k) but most are fine. There aren't a ton of rentals in Newton, but they do exist. Arlington has decent schools and wouldn't be the worst commute for your husband either. If you live in Cambridge, send your kids to a predominantly white school. It sounds awful to say, but after I taught in Boston, I taught in Cambridge and there is seriously a two-tiered system there. I would never let my kids go to the high school though--Rindge and Latin (Cambridge's Public High school) is not a great school. Waltham is solidly middle of the pack. I wouldn't send my kids to high school here, but it's not terrible as an elementary program. Schools are done by neighborhood so you'd need to do your research and rent in one of the two good elementary schools' areas. Otherwise, private schools are plentiful and amazing and you probably want to live in Fenway, Back Bay, Jamaica Plain (in the nicer parts), or the nicer parts of Allston and Brighton. You can find school rankings on Boston.com in the education section.