I live in a subrurb north of Boston. In Saugus you can easily get a home in the $500-600k range (although not one of the new McMansions). There’s sufficient acreage, and it’s an easy drive into town. One problem is that there’s no direct commuting.
Next town over is Melrose, which is a very nice town (I lived in an apatrtment there for years), and prices are a bit higher, as are taxes. But you ought to be able to get a nice home in your price range. Melrose has a nice, functioning downtown and good schools. It also has both commuter rail running through it, with three stops, but also the terminus of the Orange Line from the subway system. You can definitely commute in to the city without a car. It’s far enough out that you won’t feel congested, and can park in the street.
Both Melrose and Saklem are within easy driving distance of Salem, if that’s what you like (I certainly do). It’s a bit further to Lexington and Concord.
Arlington is closer in, and I get the feeling that it’s more congested and more expensive. It, too, has a nice downtown and public transit (and a movie theater!), and it’s on a commuter bike path (which doesn’t get you into the city, however) We looked at houses there, but didn’t buy. But I know people who live or have rented there.
OK - for easy access to North Station plus reasonably sized lots and single family houses, look at Winchester and Ipswich. I’ll see what other ideas I come up with.
Medford is a strange beast. There are swaths of it that are Somerville-dense, but other swaths that are very suburban. And actually, the suburban parts remind me of older suburbs in the Midwest --lots of 1920s Tudor. Medford is also a bit more affordable than some places. That said, access to the North End isn’t great, either by car or transit. The Green Line is coming, but not for six or eight years.
I might actually recommend Melrose – the OP can probably find a place in his price range that would meet his needs, and the Orange Line would get him nicely to the right part of Boston. It’s a nice little town, too.
Dinsdale, I’ve lived in Reading, MA for about 8 years now, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. We love it here!
It has a centrally-located commuter rail station, and the trains go straight to North Station in half an hour.
It’s convenient to both major highways, should you need to drive anywhere.
It’s a very walkable town, with a nice town center and several parks.
It’s mostly single-family detached houses in a reasonable price range (300k - 600k)
It was recently voted “best affordable suburb” in Massachusetts!
As it’s north of the city, it’s a shorter drive to the utterly fantastic hiking in New Hampshire. It’s less than two hours from our driveway to the White Mountains, for example.
I can answer more specific questions about it, if you’d like. Good luck with your search!
But all that said, I find there’s something a little underwhelming about Reading. Hard to say what, exactly, but to me it’s not a town with a ton of personality. Maybe I find the downtown a bit blah.
A second bakery recently opened up here: Sammy Jo’s, also close to the train station. I like it even more than SwissBakers, which I also enjoy.
Well, to each his/her own, I suppose. It has plenty of personality for us, though I agree it’s not super-vibrant in an urban sort of way. It’s right on the cusp between suburban and rural. One more positive: the town itself is well-managed and well-maintained. Just a couple of years ago they put it new nicer crosswalks, sidewalks, street lamps, bollards, etc., making the downtown much more aesthetically pleasing. Last year they did a bunch of work improving the main town park.
