Boston!!

Budget plays a huge part in this decision, as well as how much space you need.  Do you need parking?  Outdoor space?  What other needs?  There are some 'hoods that will be necessarily ruled out based on that.

For instance, I visited someone's home in Beacon Hill.  Despite the 7 figure price tag, they had to pay for a parking space in a ramp several blocks away.  There are many trade-offs.

I moved from Sacramento to Worcester in August, so I don't know all the ins and outs yet, but I do know somethings

Back Bay is a stop on most South Station bound commuter trains, so, I'd cut out anything north of the city right away.

Second big thing is budget.  Newton is usually thrown around as "best" inside the 93/128 beltway - great schools, great area for families, etc.  It comes at a price though, it's just about San Diego real estate prices .  Between 93 and 495, there are quite a few good towns with very good schools - Franklin immediately comes to mind: good schools, right on a commuter line, close to shopping (outlets down the road in Wrentham, some nice shops next door in Foxboro, etc).  Franklin to Back Bay on the T is an hour though.

Outside 495 would be pushing your commute time - it takes an hour twenty to take the train from Worcester to Back Bay.  Worcester has awful schools though, so I'm not suggesting it.  Just east is Shrewsbury which has great schools, but it's a very long commute!

Besides the obvious it's cold in the winter, and commuting takes longer in the snow, the biggest "culture shock" for me was how many people still smoke!  Even though it's illegal to smoke indoors anywhere, there are many more smokers here than in CA, even compared to the central valley!

Yeah, I should have included that.  I would like a 3+ bedroom house with a small-medium yard in $500 to $550k range. 

I grew up in and around the Boston area and live in NH now.

IMO, you want to be north or west of the city.  Living south of the city and commuting north into BB is horrible.  If you want a house with somewhat of a yard, you'll have a lot more than a 45 minute commute coming from the south.

North of the city you can go for a smaller town with a decent school district (Melrose, Wakefield, Reading) and expect to pay around $500k for a nice house in a good solid neighborhood.  It's suburban, so you won't get a ton of land but you'll be near Rt 93/95/1 and be able to get anywhere in Boston within 30 minutes w/o traffic (morning commute is closer to 45-1hr if you hit traffic).  Or you could go a little further north and get some more room (Danvers, Peabody, Lynnfield) and have the option of a private school (St Johns) and probably be about the same traffic time by taking Rt 128/1. 

West can get pricey is you're close to the city.  Newton and Wellsley come to mind.  Very nice cities, as mentioned, expensive.  Good school system, definitely get the stigma when you live there.  They're close enough to Boston but don't expect much of a yard or space in the house.  Private schools are always an option out there too.

Off the top of my head, north of the city you'd get roughly 2,000 - 2,500 sf with MAYBE an acre or two of land for $500k.  West (Newton/wellsley) 2k max sf and a driveway for the same price but you'd be closer to the city.

The T, Boston's version of the subway, runs all over Boston and the suburbs.  The commuter rail has stops in just about every direction and is a good choice for getting into Boston if you don't want to drive.

Let me know if you have any questions on neighborhoods or anything.

If I had stayed in the city, I would have bought a home on the south shore.  Some of my best friends live in and around Milton and have gotten great deals.  The red line will run you right into the city as well as directly to Harvard. 

Otherwise, I'd consider Needham, Dedham, Brookline, Waltham, Lexington Winchester, Woburn or Arlington.  All have good school systems (most of the students I recruit to my institution are from these areas) and all have great neighborhoods that are reasonably priced and have good public transit into the city. 

I used to live/work in the Back Bay and it's a fantastic area, but so are the 'burbs and the rest of MA and New England.  For what you'll be giving up in San Diego, you'll gain in different ways here.

If you'd like to PM me, I'm happy to ask my friends for their realtor's name and pass it along.  Or if you want more information about the area, I'm happy to share.

ETA: Here's a pricing map of the city from Trulia: http://www.trulia.com/home_prices/Massachusetts/Boston-heat_map/

I'm a Boston area resident and have lived in the Boston area since grad school which was um.. let's say a while back. I chose my town looking through the better school systems and then cross comparing with commute time and home prices, finally factoring in extracirrculars.  I'm actually one town north of Framingham already mentioned. Love it.

Anyway, I'd recommend listing your priorites out.  Is a great school system most important?  A HS with a strong swim team?  There are MCAS school listings on boston.com and http://www.bostonmagazine.com/best-schools-in-boston/index.html which highlight the towns with stronger academics. Since you have a son on the younger side, I'd think you'll probably end up commuting by car mostly since you never know when they'll get sick and most schools require you to pick them up within 1 hr and trains don't provide that flexibility.  The T is a possibility depending on location.

Considering you're from SD and probably prefer beach to winter sports then you need to think are you more of a Maine beach person or a Cape Cod beach type person?  or neither?  (if you do enjoy skiing/winter sports you most definitely do not want South Shore) If you expect to spend much time on Cape Cod the traffic is BRUTAL on Rte3.  Personally I would never chose a commute where I'd have to drive rte 3 and most definitely not 93.  The Big Dig was a sham and traffic is no better than it was before the project.  The commute west is better although a lot depends on the time of day.  I used to commute at 6am and 3pm and it was a dream.  I now have a 7:15 am commute and it added 30 min to my commute.

Newton and Needham are out of your price range but Waltham, Dedham, West Roxbury, Westwood(?)/Norwood(?) and Quincy might work depending on how high of a priority you place schools. I probably wouldn't recommend going North Shore of Boston with a Back Bay commute as there are only so many ways to cross the Charles River.

Feel free to PM me with any questions. I know a few excellent REA if you'd like a recommendation there.

GreenMtnLabbit - 2012-10-18 9:37 AM I don't live in Boston, but I visit my friend in Cambridge often. She rents in a nice neighborhood 2 mins walk from Porter Square, and bikes to her job on the north side of the Common. Can't help you with your housing search, but I just wanted to tell you that swimming in Walden Pond is THE BEST. Look it up! And welcome to New England.

Am I the only one who disagrees with this statement?  I think Walden stinks.  Like literally stinks.  I make myself sick from the smell after swimming there.  Maybe I've just been spoiled by better ponds. 

mighty mom - 2012-10-18 11:54 AM

GreenMtnLabbit - 2012-10-18 9:37 AM I don't live in Boston, but I visit my friend in Cambridge often. She rents in a nice neighborhood 2 mins walk from Porter Square, and bikes to her job on the north side of the Common. Can't help you with your housing search, but I just wanted to tell you that swimming in Walden Pond is THE BEST. Look it up! And welcome to New England.

Am I the only one who disagrees with this statement?  I think Walden stinks.  Like literally stinks.  I make myself sick from the smell after swimming there.  Maybe I've just been spoiled by better ponds. 

The only ponds close to me are murky and so so so smelly and dirty. I was so happy with Walden Pond! I guess it's all relative!