Nickel

Hey --

(TL;DR: tell me where to live for 2k/month max for people that like cycling for transportation; need to commute to waltham/newton)

My partner and I will be moving to Boston this summer. My main questions have to do with housing locales from a cyclist's perspective.

Background: We currently cycle for mostly everything, both for fun and for transportation. We would like to continue this lifestyle and could use some suggestions on where to live. We are both cargo bike people and roadies.

Details: We plan on renting and I think the upper monthly limit will be $2k-ish. # of bedrooms doesn't matter but we absolutely need a garage (not underground or ramp parking but this. )

Housing: From my meager understanding from cruising citydata and craigslist, it seems like the housing stock ranges from McMansions, condos, brownstones/apartments, and triple decker housing. We were hoping for this. Are there neighborhoods with small family homes (~1000 sq ft or less) ?

It seems like garage accessibility may be a suburb thing and not possible closer to the Metro?

My partner will be working in the Newton/Waltham area; are those soul-sucking places to live? The condos are in our price range and they look like they are in a 'city-like' part (more density) and not in a cul-de-sac away from everything.

Can anyone comment on taking commuter rail (say the Fitchburg line) outbound if we were able to live closer to the city? I was surprised at how cheap the public transportation is.

Additional, non-cycling: Can anyone comment on the food scene? We really like food cooperatives and CSAs and have gotten accustomed to bulk purchasing (being able to refill soap/cleaning product containers, bulk grains, coffee, etc.).

Nickel

Better to use a broker?

pocky

Check out Watertown, which sits on the Cambridge side of the river between Cambridge and Newton/Waltham. (Belmont fits here too, bordering Watertown to the North, but you may find it's more expensive.) This makes for a very easy cycling distance to Newton and Waltham as well as extremely easy cycling and T access into Boston proper. We bought a condex here (condo-ized duplex -- we own the bottom and our neighbor owns the top) on the side of Watertown closest to Cambridge almost ten years ago now, and we love it. You will find plenty of homes in your price range and square footage in this area, many of which will have garages like what you're looking for. Ours does not have a garage but does have four outside parking spaces plus a full basement, shared among the duplex, and we have a large outdoor shed in our yard. If this fits your needs, you may want to check out the upstairs unit at my place -- my upstairs neighbor is moving out in June and the upstairs owner is looking for a new tenant, so send me a personal message and I can put you in touch with him. But if you really need a roll-door garage for some reason, you'll find plenty in this part of town. The houses on either side of us both have them.

Boston has an incredible food scene with plenty of CSA's and bulk food stores, not to mention incredible restaurants. All within biking distance from my neighborhood, I'd recommend Russo's in Watertown for produce (HIGHLY recommended!), the Harvest Co-Op in Cambridge for bulk foods, and the great CSA run by Ward's Berry Farm that picks up in front of the student union at Boston University, as well as a Community-Supported-Fishery called Cape Ann Fresh Catch, which picks up at the Morse elementary school on Memorial Drive, right on the Cambridge side of the BU Bridge. And every Friday and Saturday you can bike or T to the Haymarket. But we rarely go, because Russo's is so great!

There is nothing inherently soul-sucking about living in Newton or Waltham. There are loads of lovely properties there, and in Newton, you can find neighborhoods that are right on the Green Line, but those neighborhoods might be pretty expensive. In Waltham, you can find places on the commuter rail line that are also served by fairly frequent bus lines out to Watertown Square, which is a major bus hub.

You're unlikely to find a single-family home, particularly with a garage, anywhere around here, and if you did I'd strongly suspect it would be above your price range -- but there are tons of duplexes. If you want to find a single family home with a garage in your price range, you're going to have to look much further out and likely be tied to the Commuter Rail.

Boston's commuter rail services just don't operate on a frequent enough schedule for my lifestyle, so I'm glad to be a couple-minute walk from the electric bus lines and a 30-minute walk from the Red Line. These come so that you're no more than a 15 minute wait for a bus or train, even after midnight. (Note that all of Boston's public transportation services shut down by 1am, though they have been talking about reestablishing the Night Owl.) Most of the Commuter Rail lines operate on a schedule where, if you miss a train, you're going to wait an hour or more for the next one. However, this might not matter to you, and if it doesn't, you certainly have more options!

godshammgod

Just wanted to post to second what Pocky said. All those communities are great options. I used to live in Newton and it's a great city. I currently live in Needham (the next town over), which is a great option as well. You're right on the commuter rail and still close to the Green Line. It's also great for cycling. If you're looking to rent it can be very affordable. My girlfriend and I currently pay about 1300 per month for a very spacious one bedroom.Oh, and the food scene around here is great. Dozens of CSAs, local farms, etc. If you move to Newton, check out Allandale Farm.

Nickel

Thanks for the tips on Watertown. We started looking there and have found some nice sites that will hopefully work out. We do want a garage because my partner works on his car and if something takes a few days, or if you have to run to grab some extra oil, it is a real pain to jack something up and down and up again instead of being able to leave your 'work in progress'. Your condex does sound very similar to what we are looking for so if you do hear about anything else, feel free to let me know!

I'm relieved to hear that information about CSAs and bulk items; I can't imagine having to buy new containers for some items (cleaning supplies, cooking staples) anymore so to have to restart doing that would be a huge bummer.

My suburb hesitation comes from there being an enormous attitude difference between 'city folk' and 'suburb folk' here in the Midwest and I suppose I am assuming the worst about the same situation existing everywhere. Here, some suburbs tend to be pro-driving everywhere and anti-cycling and anti-pedestrian (or cycling brings in the riff raff attitude). Some areas even make me nervous to seen in my interracial relationship.

Thank you for the tips also!

Nickel

Also, if anyone had a company/realtor recommendation, please let me know.

berner

Boston is a great city. I know your question was about location but Boston has a superb combination of city life, nearby pockets of neighborhoods with excellent restaurants, (Italian, Oriental and everything in between, world class cultural events, (Boston Symphony, Boston Ballet), a fine jazz environment, world class universities, world class medical facilities and teaching hospitals. I'm not a guru on city life but you would be hard pressed to find a similar sized city with such a high level of culture and technology.

I believe you could draw a semicircle around Boston with a radius of say, 15 miles, and be totally satisfied with the neighborhood. I would add that this observation comes from a New Yorker.

https://www.crw.org/ The Charles River Wheelmen is one bike club but there are others. If you locate toward the south of the city, you may wish to ride with my club. https://nbwclub.org/.

himespau 

+1 on the looking for a duplex. We're happy (-ish, landlady issues) in ours in Brookline Village with a garage and 2.5 bedrooms, 1 bath, and in unit dishwasher and washer dryer for $1800. It's old looking and needs updating (and the single pane windows drive up winter heating costs), but decent location and good space. Probably not going to find a single family unit in your range. We've had pretty good luck finding a couple of apartments here now just using Craigslist. The nice thing is that if you filter for rented by owner/no fee, you're not out the half first month's rent broker fee. Unfortunately, a lot of brokers will still post in the for rent by owner so you have to read the ad carefully, but it's not too bad. In my part of the city (and many others I'm sure) August is the big month for apartment turnover due to new students coming in, don't know when you're looking.

Nickel

Thanks for the info. We started looking more closely at duplexes and condos and have a few places lined up to take a look at. We are heading out in a few days and hopefully will have some success. We do have to move in by July so we want to get this taken care of so we don't end up with a Sept 1 move-in.

bostongarden

With a stronger bias toward riding for training, I'd give a good look at southwest Needham -- although, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Belmont, and all parts of Needham could all work well for you. The nice thing about it is that bing bang boom, you are on good roads with limited traffic and access to other towns with similar conditions, such as Dover, Medfield, etc.

With a similar bias, Waltham bordering Belmont, Lexington or Lincoln could be really good choices too.

If you want a little more city feel and want to be closer to Boston, Brookline can be a nice choice; although, it might be hard to find what you want for $2k or less.

I understand that commuting to work is an issue and I have not given that as much weight as it might deserve.

godshammgod

This. Very much this. One of the biggest perks of moving to Needham from Newton. Living in Newton I had to deal with a 20/30 minute ride through rough city roads until I got to the nicer riding. At my current location, I'm on the great roads the second I roll out from my doorstep.

Not really what the OP was asking, but I figured I'd chime in with another plug for my town.

Nickel

Thanks again for the help and advice. Our main priorities at this time were garage and an easy commute for my partner. Despite our short time window, we were able to get a property in Waltham that met all of those needs, and will also allow us very easy access to the downtown/shopping/restaurant area. We also saw a bunch of cyclists commuting in town which made us feel better. We really do not like having to drive for errands and such so this seems like it will work out for the first year. I'm sure we will find things we like/don't like and it will be a lot easier to figure something out next year after being here and getting a feel for the area. Plus, I need to find a job later this year and that might alter where we want to live as well.

We did end up using a broker and I do feel it really helped because we got to see exactly what we were looking for. This included some properties that weren't listed yet, which gave us a bit of time to think things over. It seemed like negotiating a lease is more of a hassle out here so it was nice to have someone do that for us.

If it were a few years ago, I would be more concerned with riding for training but I haven't been racing the last few years and I think I probably won't...start up again. It is tempting with better MTBing, a great CX scene and a velodrome nearish-by...

I will take all sorts of recommendations for bike shops to check out, paths to ride, cafes to get coffee....delicious food to eat.... I was told that I need to check out the Charles River bike path and one called Minuteman. I did see a Waltham shop called Spoke n' Wheel but didn't get to go in since it was closed. Bike advocacy groups? Playing broomball??

mthomas

Welcome to Waltham.

I live in the Cedarwood neighborhood of Waltham and commute year round in to Harvard Square (half residential streets, half on the Charles River bike path). The Boston/Newton side of the river has a much nicer bike path for commuting than the Watertown/Cambridge side because there are fewer road crossings and it is better maintained, but both paths are interesting. They've even been plowing it quite well for the last several winters (courtesy of New Balance I understand).

Favorite bike shop: Harris Cyclery in West Newton.

bikemig 

The bike path along the Charles River is OK. The Minuteman trail is much better and once you get to the end in Bedford, there is great road riding north and west out of the city. You can get maps that will show you a bunch of rides that start at the end of the Minuteman trail. I've ridden in a lot of different areas both in the US and abroad. The rides north and west of Boston are really great; you'll enjoy the roads in the area.

godshammgod

Waltham is a good little city. My girlfriend used to live there. You have easy access to a multitude of locations.

Spoke n' Wheel is a nice, small shop. One of my friends goes there frequently and has a very good relationship with the owner. Definitely not a ''high-end'' shop, but my friend speaks highly of their mechanics and service.

Oh, and go visit Taqueria Mexico in the downtown area. Order a horchata and some chilaquiles. You can thank me later.

Nickel

I *did* notice that we will be pretty close to Harris Cyclery and we were interested in checking it out, for historical appreciation, but I'm glad to hear that it is still a good choice. I'm also glad to hear bike paths are plowed. We are very spoiled here bike-wise, so I am a little worried about 'down-grading' to a place where bicycles might not be highly regarded as a transportation choice by government-types (e.g. our main bike highway is usually plowed before the roads). I'm assuming we won't be the only nuts with a cargo bike? We might not actually need it that much considering so many things are within walking distance....

I think I saw that taqueria, near the river?

pocky

Nope, you won't be the only nuts with a cargo bike. And over the past few years, Boston government types have been taking bicycles very seriously as a transportation choice -- thanks to Mayor Menino. Got us a huge number of bike lanes and signage, tons of events, and even bike share system, over the course of only a few years.

Leebo

Find yourself at watch city brewing, moody st waltham, yum. Also check out wheelworks in belmont. For paths /off road find western greenway, metro path, rocky medow, beaverbrook and beaverbrook north, all in biking distance.

buzzman

I second the Harris Cyclery suggestion but would add Belmont Wheelworks to your list of shops. They tend to be my "go-to" source for parts others don't have in stock. Welcome to Boston's Metro West!

Nickel

Does anyone have a bank recommendation? It looks like our choices would be:

- Citizens
- People’s United
- Watertown Savings
- Sovereign
- RTN Fed Credit Union
- Rockland Trust
- Blue Stone Trust
- Digital Credit Union

Midol_Mohawk

TD Bank too! My wife and I have a TD Bank joint account and I have had a Sovereign one since I was sixteen. Sovereign is great, though their owned by Banco Santander, and TD has awesome hours.

I have lived about an hour north of Boston my entire life, and love the city. Cost of living close to Boston is high, but I have seen prices better south of Boston (Quincy, Braintree, etc.) than north.

Good luck!

HillRiderEast

For more urban feel, try Somerville/adjacent city (they all blend together) or Charleston section of Boston. Malden, Medford or Arlington -

Nickel

Are there any free bike maps of Boston or MA? Good brand to buy, if not?

HillRiderEast

start here
https://massbike.org/resourcesnew/pathstrails/

himespau 

I picked this one up at the lbs.
https://www.bikemaps.com/urbmaps.htm

I think they run like $8 for the paper copy and $12 for the waterproof platick-y one.