The bad news: DH found out today that his position is being contracted as of September 1st. The good news: there is a position that his director wants him to apply for, that he would be ideally suited for. The crazy: it's in Boston and is likely to start in 8ish weeks. I am currently in Buffalo with a very active one year old. 
Talk to me-my head is spinning! What do I need to know??!
pear / 1696 posts
@LovelyPlum: We just relocated to the Boston area from the west coast 6 months ago. We have family here so plan to stay in the area for the long term. However I was really sad to leave our last city and all my friends.
So we had 4 weeks notice to move! Crazy! If you want mover or vehicle transport recommendations let me know.
I would highly recommend renting first so you can get to know the towns and neighborhoods before buying. We found our rental on craigslist. But beware even with rentals you have to pay a broker fee (usually equivalent to one month rent), not sure if like that in Buffalo but I never had to pay such a large fee with rentals before... Also utility bills are higher here then in other areas of the US, so factor that into your budget.
What else would be helpful to know about?
coconut / 8472 posts
Will his job be in the city of Boston or somewhere outside it? I live north of Boston and have been in this area for 8 years. I grew up in NY and went to college an hour south of buffalo. I think the biggest challenge for you guys will be getting used to the cost of living and how spread out things are compared to the buffalo area.
Any specific questions you'd like answered?
pomegranate / 3350 posts
Good luck to your dh on getting the new position! I agree to rent rather than buy and figure out what part of the city the office is in before starting your search. There are lots of family friendly towns surrounding Boston if you don't want to stay in the city itself but the trains into the city go into different stations so if you don't live on the "right" line it can be a pain to get to work.
grapefruit / 4988 posts
Boston is very expensive these days so prepare yourself for some sticker shock. I agree with others who say to rent first. Where is your husband's job located? Are you planning to work? One tricky thing is that commutes can take far longer than you'd imagine based on distance alone so I recommend figuring out where your DH needs to get to before deciding where to live. I've spent most of my life in the Boston area so feel free to wall me if you have any specific questions or want advice about neighborhoods/towns.
Good luck! Boston is a great place to live with kids, especially if you are already ok with snow. 
eggplant / 11408 posts
@lady grey: @ShootingStar: @skipra: @catlady: Thank you!! I'm sorry this was a bit disjointed. It has been a totally insane day. We had been talking about staying in Buffalo long-term, so this has come as quite a shock.
Questions? Well, his job would be in Newton Center, and we are a one car family. Ideally, I would like to find something family-friendly and public transport friendly in the area. I love the idea of living in a bigger city than here, but Buffalo is so family friendly and feels like a close-knit community. I just don't want to lose that sense of closeness within a bigger city. I think finding the right community will help.
Yes, we will be renting first. Thanks for the heads up on the brokerage fees. I'm also super nervous about finding a daycare that we will like and can afford. We love the one we are going to have to leave. We have some time for that, though, as I will likely be staying at home until I go back to school in January.
We are already good with the snow, so got that covered. And I'm excited to be close to the coast. The cost of living does scare me, but we are hopeful for a decent raise to offset it.
Sorry for the rambling. As I know more/have questions, I will post. Thanks again!!
grapefruit / 4988 posts
@LovelyPlum: You should consider renting in Newton itself. It is very popular for those who want to move outside the city but not too far! It is a city in its own right with lots of shops, restaurants, etc., plus it is connected to Boston via public transportation. There are lots of families there because the schools are excellent.
pomegranate / 3350 posts
Newton is a great place to live! I lived there for several years and LOVED it. Look for apartments along the green D line as that will probably be easier than driving. There are also buses and the commuter rail running through Newton so that even if your DH can't take the T to work you would still have other transportation options. Other towns to check out - Brookline and Wellesley although may be pricey, but are close enough that he can probably take the T.
kiwi / 548 posts
@LovelyPlum: Newton Centre is a great place to live with tons of young families, accessible via the T and tons of things to do! It's also pretty expensive, but you can probably find a decent 2 bed for $2500-$2800 a month. Daycare centers in the area run about $500ish a week for toddlers (more expensive per day for part time), but it's much easier to find toddler spaces than infant. Try the big tent groups garden moms,Newton mammas and JP moms for local resources. Other neighborhoods of Boston that are family friendly and close to Newton Centre are Jamaica Plain, Roslindale, West Roxbury and Brighton. Watertown and Waltham are also more affordable options nearby. Good luck...when you get over the cost of living, you will
pear / 1696 posts
@LovelyPlum: yes, probably easiest for you to live in newton, near public transport that can take you into the city. Join the "Newton Moms" facebooks page, its very active. There was just a thread on there about more affordable daycare and some mentioned were The Learning Zone and Family Access.
Also search for "Newton Mamas BigTent" and join that group, its a message board.
You're looking at rents of 2500-3000 for a 2/3 bed in newton, fyi. Very family friendly area though, tons of stuff to do with kids!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
Nooooo!!!!!!!! Don't leave me! Our really good friends moved to Boston a few years back. Shitz expensive!!!! But his new job pay for all the relocation fees so definitely negotiate for that!
If you live in the outskirts there's a train that gets you to the subway that is within Boston metro itself. Definitely agree about living as close to his job as possible. You can always go into the city on the weekends or take the car that day. Otherwise commute is hell.
They miss our city dearly.....
honeydew / 7235 posts
@LovelyPlum: exciting!!! Newton is a great area!! Love it there but it is pretty pricey! But if we could have afforded we definitely would choose that as a place to be! We both work in Boston but live on the north shore near the ocean. The commuter rail and T are pretty good and we relied on them for many many years and still do.
If you can live somewhere in Newton I would do that and try to be walking distance to one of the trains. We have friends in Needham who love it, again, pricey, but easy access to city and walking to many things. But like others said Newton is very family friendly and lots to do. You're also really close to Boston so you can get in easily.
Exciting! Good luck with everything! I'm sure it's totally overwhelming!!!!!
kiwi / 589 posts
I live very close to Newton and it's a great area, certainly manageable with one car. We love the area, tons to do with young children (many that are free), lots of young families and great date night places without having to go into the city. Definitely recommend joining bigtent, it's a great resource for daycares, apartments etc. I love being in New England. We can be at the beach or the mountains in under two hours! Good luck with your decision.
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
Newton is great but one of the most expensive places to live in the whole state (and country) - you should consider Needham!! It's one town over from Newton, AMAZING community, on public transport, a bit cheaper. Maybe rent in newton when you arrive then look to buy in Needham.
honeydew / 7235 posts
@JoJoGirl: our friends bought in Needham and it was crazy competitive!! I can imagine Newton is worse though. Both such awesome communities!!
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
@hellobeeboston: Yes, it's MUCH worse in Newton. Newton is almost as bad as Brookline - we were looking in Needham, Newton, and Belmont and Needham was by far the most cost-effective market while still having the perks (public transport, walkable city, close to Boston, great for families). Plus Needham is a really small, tight-knit community (where Newton is huge and sprawling) so we are just obsessed with it 
grapefruit / 4545 posts
@LovelyPlum: I dont live there now so I cant offer super current advice but first off - Boston is my favorite town ever - so thats AWESOME. You will love it. It felt very family friendly when I lived there - although that was well before I had LO.
I lived in Brighton Center, Brighton and Brookline in my day. All were near Newton center. It is a gorgeous town with amazing historical homes! I found Brighton Center to be nice - they had a great Y while I was there and it was price friendly. In addition to the T and commuter rail - there is also an express bus that was a great option for getting downtown if you were right next to a T stop.
Also - with regard to being a 1 car family - should not be a big deal. I actually gave up my car while I was there (my roommate had one if we needed it) and I used zip cars also!
Fingers crossed he gets the job! I'd move back to Boston in a heartbeat if I could!
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
Just chiming in to say that Newton has excellent public schools and lots of great parks. Great place to raise kids! And great for renting while you check out neighborhoods to buy in.
And you can totally live with one car especially in Newton. We live further out but have only had one car since before we had kids.
grapefruit / 4703 posts
Yay! Boston area is awesome Newton is my dream city - close to everything, good mix of urban/accessibility and suburban safety and space. BUT... it's super expensive. Just to throw out some other neighboring towns with lots of available rentals and also with access to public transportation, Watertown & Waltham both have huge rental markets (lots of 2 family homes on quiet streets) and cheaper than Newton. Brighton (a neighborhood of Boston) is right next to Newton Centre and is more young people/college kids, but also lots of rentals. To the west, there's a commuter rail line that runs along the Mass Pike (Rt 90) so you could look at towns like Natick, which is up-and-coming and has a great downtown area and a giant mall.
Also - Newton is GIANT, and has 13 different neighborhoods/villages (Newton Centre is one of them). They do range in price, so somewhere like Chestnut Hill is $$$$, where somewhere like West Newton is more affordable.
pear / 1955 posts
I would definitely rent in Waltham or Watertown while you're figuring out where you'd like to buy (IF you want to buy - is it a long-term position, or do you think you'd want to move back to Buffalo if he finds something there?) You can scout neighborhoods from a cheaper place since your LO isn't in school yet, and figure out what works best for your fam, while not paying a premium price. So exciting!
eggplant / 11408 posts
@raspberries: @Shutterbug: @MrsKoala: @mrs. wagon: @rachiecakes: @Mrs D: @JoJoGirl: @hellobeeboston: @brady80: @lady grey: @Sparkler: @skipra: @catlady: @ShootingStar:
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much. This is invaluable information and advice. We will know much more on Friday, when DH talks to HR. But the long and short of this is, I can't believe this is real life and happening so fast. I will be back if I have more questions, but for now, just really, THANKS 
One quick thing- if Newton is giant, does it really matter where I look within it? Is most of it on the green line??
@regberadaisy: I know, I know, we are SO sad. We thought this might be our forever city. Trying to get excited, though, because I am excited about Boston. We need to get together before we leave!!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@LovelyPlum: yes!!! It will be harder to get the girls together now that I'm full time. But I work downtown now so we can definitely get together for lunch! Or dinner one night? You know via my IG where I work. 
pomegranate / 3275 posts
@LovelyPlum: if you don't get a relocation package, fight for one! When we moved from Buffalo we would have lost so much money on our house! Thank goodness for our relocation package. Do you own? I can give you relators to NOT use hahahaha
coconut / 8279 posts
@LovelyPlum: Nope - one side of Newton is the green line, the other is the commuter rail.
cantaloupe / 6206 posts
@LovelyPlum: The thing about Newton is some parts are BEAUTIFUL and very upscale and have ridiculously overpriced homes (Waban, some parts of Newton Centre), and other parts are... not as nice..? Newton Corner, Nonantum. West Newton is nice and sort of falls in the middle. So it's really just sort of a huge, sprawling city like any other city on a smaller scale! You'll have to look around a LOT to find neighborhoods you like, which are near public transport, etc. But again, because the school system in Newton is top-notch, everything is very pricey!
clementine / 849 posts
@LovelyPlum: Exciting! I grew up outside Boston and never left (stayed for college and grad school, lived all over the city, now in the burbs). Newton is awesome, and agree with others who recommended renting there or in Watertown. One of my besties who is expecting her first next month lives right near Newton Corner on the Watertown line, it's a super cute neighborhood. Keep us updated on what other questions you might have and good luck!
pear / 1696 posts
@LovelyPlum: Hows it going with your moving plans? did you guys get more info from DH's HR? hope you're not too overwhelmed! we just went through a relocation too, stressful.
pomegranate / 3729 posts
I worked in Needham on the Newton line for years. It is a really great area. I never lived in town because I commutes at the time, but I had looked into renting in Dedham or Norwood because the rents were a little cheaper. But that was several years ago and I had a car. Good luck with your potential move! Newton has really access to the city and is close to highways to get to other parts of the state, too
eggplant / 11408 posts
@lady grey: hey there! Thanks for checking in on us. The long and short of it is: we still know very little 
DH applied for the job, and the office likes him. However, the specific position for which he applied needed someone to start ASAP, so I think they went with someone local. However, the office still needs help, so it looks like he may take a remote job for a few months then possibly move up to the Boston office?? We have been out of town for a week, so hopefully we will know more tomorrow. I do know that Boston wants him to come up to meet everyone, and they are paying for it, so that is good! That should happen in the next two weeks or so. We will keep you updated.
In the meantime, we are also pursuing ways to potentially stay in Buffalo, too. We really like it here, but we can't stay without a job. It has made everything really unstable and confusing. I'm anxious to start to get some answers, especially since we have 30 days until he has no job...
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