Where to live? Boston Hanscom AFB

[MeggerasMa]

Would appreciate your thoughts re where to live in the Boston area for a young single professional. Commute to Hanscom AFB for work. Will have own vehicle. Loves city living (think Washington D.C.), safety is a absolute concern but has lived in cities so not a newbie to being sensible. Would like commute between Hanscom and apartment to be not longer than 40 minutes. Also is looking for locale within walking distance for jogging (i.e. a safe park or trail) and would love to be able to walk to restaurants, etc. Off street parking is essential. Willing to do rent up to $2000/month. Won't consider Craigslist or any ??? sources for information.

Information on appropriate areas to live would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

 

[Mariep26]

Would appreciate your thoughts re where to live in the Boston area for a young single professional. Commute to Hanscom AFB for work. Will have own vehicle. Loves city living (think Washington D.C.), safety is a absolute concern but has lived in cities so not a newbie to being sensible. Would like commute between Hanscom and apartment to be not longer than 40 minutes. Also is looking for locale within walking distance for jogging (i.e. a safe park or trail) and would love to be able to walk to restaurants, etc. Off street parking is essential. Willing to do rent up to $2000/month. Won't consider Craigslist or any ??? sources for information.

Information on appropriate areas to live would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

Newton/Chestnut Hill would fit the bill in terms of the area. Very safe and can be very city like as you move closer and closer to Boston. You could also check out areas of Cambridge (near Harvard University is nice) but not all areas of Cambridge are so great. You could also consider areas of Boston. Your commute from these areas would be around the 30-40 min mark.. you would be going against traffic as you went out of the city, pick up a bit of traffic on I95/128N as you head towards Hanscom but it would be a pretty easy ride. Cambridge is closer than Newton and you would be able to take backroads through Arlington, Lexington, Bedford in a pinch.

Based on your description Newton fits the bill but it is further south than Cambridge.

Those are just my initial thoughts.. let me know if you have any questions!! I grew up in Arlington but now we live in the burbs near Gillette Stadium.

 

[Mariep26]

Now that I think about it, give Arlington a look. It gets more city like as you move closer to East Arlington but there are nice neighborhood and the Minuteman Bike Path runs right through Arlington all the way up to Bedford.

 

[SueInBoston]

I agree with PP about Newton/Chestnut Hill. Brookline is also another good choice. Boston would be tough with a car, you won't get anything decent in Boston with garage parking for $2k. Brookline is the hub for single professionals, with the medical area and cambridge near by.

 

[Mariep26]

I agree with PP about Newton/Chestnut Hill. Brookline is also another good choice. Boston would be tough with a car, you won't get anything decent in Boston with garage parking for $2k. Brookline is the hub for single professionals, with the medical area and cambridge near by.

True.. I forget that Boston is not car friendly at all. Chestnut Hill/Brookline would probably be my favorite choices.

 

[Riles_and_Gabe]

I love the Cambridge are. If I ever could have afforded it, that is definitely where I would have lived when I worked in the Boston area. Instead I had to commute from Salem (which is also an awesome city!!)

 

[pacrosby]

I grew up in Lexington (and my folks still live there). You say you can spend up to 2000 but do you want to? And are you looking to rent a house or a condo? Are you looking for a real urban feel or something that's alittle more residential? You say you have a car but do you want to be close to public transportation for quick and easy access into Boston? Answering these questions can really help you narrow down your choices.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

Newton/Chestnut Hill would fit the bill in terms of the area. Very safe and can be very city like as you move closer and closer to Boston. You could also check out areas of Cambridge (near Harvard University is nice) but not all areas of Cambridge are so great. You could also consider areas of Boston. Your commute from these areas would be around the 30-40 min mark.. you would be going against traffic as you went out of the city, pick up a bit of traffic on I95/128N as you head towards Hanscom but it would be a pretty easy ride. Cambridge is closer than Newton and you would be able to take backroads through Arlington, Lexington, Bedford in a pinch.

Based on your description Newton fits the bill but it is further south than Cambridge.

Those are just my initial thoughts.. let me know if you have any questions!! I grew up in Arlington but now we live in the burbs near Gillette Stadium.

Chestnut Hill is spectacularly gorgeous, but I don't really think of it as "city living" (I lived there while in grad school). There are other Newton villages that I think might fit the bill a bit better such as Newton Center, West Newton or Newtonville which have more in the way of restaurants and shopping. I agree that Cambridge is a neat place to live and has a nice vibe to it, as well as Somerville, which is slightly less expensive (or at least it was when we moved away). Arlington is also very nice and safe. Another place to consider is Waltham, which has some nice areas (and some very not nice areas) which is super close to Hanscom and I suspect is much less expensive than the others.

 

[abdmom]

I would not recommend commuting from Newton or Brookline. You will spend a lot of time in the car. You will also spend a fortune in rent. I would look for something a lot closer to the base. Concord and Lexington are both nice towns.

 

[mtemm]

arlington (used to live there, great town, very safe, parking usually avail and easy in to both boston and cambridge, lots of restaurants and things to do in walking distance), maybe some areas of somerville, would fit the bill and be a reasonable commute. the minuteman bike trail runs through and can be busy on weekends, but is a lot of fun and runs all the way to lexington. dh and I used to walk or ride our bikes into cambridge, very easily doable if you don't mind traffic. on sundays (do they still do this?) they close off part of memorial drive to car traffic so that is a nice place to ride/walk to.

 

[kwelch10377]

I live in Newton and love the area. I pay $2100 for a 3 bedroom plus office and there are plenty of apts under $2000 in the area. Watertown, Belmont and Arlington would also be good areas to look at. Watertown has a great running trail along the Charles River. These areas aren't too bad with commuting and you could take back roads and avoid some of the 95 traffic.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

I would not recommend commuting from Newton or Brookline. You will spend a lot of time in the car. You will also spend a fortune in rent. I would look for something a lot closer to the base. Concord and Lexington are both nice towns.

They are wonderful and beautiful towns, but are also the antithesis of city living, which is what OP seems to want.

 

[abdmom]

I lived in Newton and still have relatives who live there. I wouldn't call it city living either.