I am a single 20-something female who might be moving to Boston by myself. I do not know much about the city/surrounding areas. I know bad things can happen anywhere, but are there particular neighborhoods that are more dangerous than others? What are the names of some neighborhoods that are known to be more safe? How easy is it to get into Boston from the suburbs? How is it to get from one suburban area to another? (say brookline to medford). is it hard to get into Boston from the suburbs by using the T? Thanks in advance for your help! That's a lot of questions. Yes, some neighborhoods have more crime than others. The BPD has crime stats online. Because someplace is outside the city doesn't mean it's crime-free. It's not hard to commute in from the suburbs. The subway and commuter rail are heavily used. Parking intown is available but expensive. Before you pick a community, figure out parking at T stations and fare in. Commute rail fares are high. Living in the city seems expensive, but if you don't have a car (don't really need one), that's also a savings.

Oh, missed the one about getting from Brookline to Medford. The city has lots of traffic. You want to consider your commute when you pick a place to live. 2 destinations mentioned in this post Thank you every much for your insights!Boston will be a wonderful place to live and explore. This really is not a relocation forum. You live close enough that you can visit. I suggest spending at least a long weekend if not a week. Also, contacting a good real estate agent can help with your specific needs. It's really not possible to make any blanket statements about getting from suburb to suburb or suburb into the city. Traffic, availability, and train/bus frequency are not evenly spread out. For example I work with a person who lives in Arlington (about 9 miles out of Boston) and from her house it takes about an hour. And other people live like 20-30 miles outside the city but next to a commuter rail and it takes them less than that. I don't know much about (anything, really) the cost of living in Rochester NY but make sure that you look into the cost of living because chances are good that the income you need to support yourself there is lower than what you will need in Boston.

You don't mention where you are working. I think that might be one of the biggest considerations. is a valuable resource for all kinds of demographic data broken down by city and neighborhood.Truck Wheels And Tires Combo What would you be moving here for? Cute Laptop Bags With Shoulder StrapTo go to college? Patio Furniture West Palm Beach FloridaMy answer really depends on the reason you're moving. I personally live outside of Boston, about 20 min by car. My husband works in Boston and takes the commuter rail. It's a 30 min commute for him every day. If you live in Boston you don't want a car. If you move to Boston I would recommend avoiding renting in Dorchester/Mattapan. While there are nice areas, there's also a higher rate of crime.

I would be moving for work and a change of pace. There has been a lot of layoffs at my work and I am afraid I might be next. I am getting sick of worrying about it so I am looking into other options. I was thinking about moving to a suburb right outside of Boston. I am a teacher and do not think that I could afford the city. Thank you for your reply!Boston- How much does it actually suck? Sign up today and Get 6 FREE Financial Modeling Lessons Sign UpOR Learn More 2 posts, read 8,510 timesWe currently live in New York and my husband has a job opportunity in Boston (offices near Chinatown area?) we need to start looking for a place to live ...possibly for October/November 2010. We would appreciate any advice on Boston suburbs/inner suburbs as we don't know the area that well. Our priorities: easy commute to Boston (public transportation would be ideal - under 40 minutes?), safe and family friendly (we have a 2yr old), good public schools, a community with a town center/pedestrian feel, close to nature/water, diversity, restaurants/cinema/yoga...does a place like this exist??

Budget: hoping to find a 2+br/2ba in 450-550k range, willing to pay more for entry into a great neighborhood... From my research - it looks like areas such as Lexington, Winchester, Newton, Wellesley, Dedham, or Hingham may fit the bill? We welcome all advice - thank you in advance! (Also any tips on what to expect in terms of major NYC to Boston differences (i.e cost of living or culture changes...) 2,954 posts, read 9,467,899 times 93 posts, read 298,554 times 199 posts, read 696,344 times I don't know where you from in NYC but we recently moved back to MA from Riverdale (end of the #1 train) in April after living 5 years in NYC; we lived in Crown Heights in Brooklyn for a months before we bought our co-op in Riverdale. I'm from MA though but haven't lived in the state for 10 years. I have a 4.5-year-old. One of the reasons why we decide to return to MA was due to the school situation in NYC; it's a complete mess. I'll say that you will not have as much sticker shock here as NYC.

Many of your bills going to be less - electric (our ConEdison bills are nearly double), subway and/or bus fares (MTA are a bunch of pirates), taxes, co-op fees, and the list goes on. So we have the advantage moving from NYC to MA that people from other parts of the country do not enjoy. With your budget, you should be able to find a condo or single family home in some of the best neighborhoods already mentioned - Brookline, Wellesley, Newton, Needham, Belmont, Lexington, Hingham are good choices. These are good communities with good school systems, though they tend to be pricey as well. I agree about Dedham; it's the odd one out. Boston Magazine ranks public high schools and these tend to correlate to wealth, housing, race, etc. /boston/public2009 - broken link) - which might help. MA publishes a list of MCAS results for towns and cities which might be helpful for elementary schools. There's also GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community which rates schools.

In addition to the places posted before, I'd suggest Arlington. The town is diverse and the Brackett school is a top elementary school. Arlington borders Cambridge and you can catch the red subway line. It's more middle class than the other places mentioned. Sharon is another possible alternative, though it's Jewish and more rural than the other places mentioned. Swampscott might be possible too, if you'd like to be on the ocean but be able to take the commuter rail to Boston. Since we've moved back to MA, we've been very happy. We've got easier access to the beaches, mountains, parks, Boston and other cities, and lovely towns without the whole city following you. Although I know MA is considerably whiter than NYC, I'd say it's much more diverse in some places than it was 10 years ago. On the whole I agree with the previous poster who said you will not find it as jarring to move here - unless you're a real die-hard NYC person or prefer concrete. Thank you everyone, this is amazing feedback - and so quick!

holden125: your tips on commuting are so helpful for someone who doesn't know the T/rail subtleties, appreciated. and town reccs and descriptions were great - I guess maybe I meant Needham not Dedham? Thanks for the heads up on Hingam commuting and for mentioning Belmont and Arlington - will definitely check those areas out. A couple more questions....are any of the south shore (or north shore) towns easily commutable to south station? Also, in terms of housing stock, if we are more interested in single family homes (vs. condo/TH) do you know which towns would be best for the 450/550k range? Thanks also for the pointers on major differences to expect - also appreciated - sounds like you have a good feel for both places...thanks for taking the time to help the newbies navigate. wivenhoe: thanks for the overview...Yes, I think the kid in the city is the tipping factor for us too - we are coming from the upper east side currently, but I would say in general we are more of a Brooklyn family given that info (and that we would prefer single home vs. condo/TH) - any other towns to add to our list?

or put at the top of the list? also two random questions while I have the experts ears...is the weather any better on south shore vs. rest of Boston? and is it a pain to travel north from the metro-western or south shore towns? 5,466 posts, read 11,252,650 times 5 posts, read 9,783 times Originally Posted by ues2010 Whether the weather is "better" depends on what you mean by "better." It snows more than in NYC both north and south of Boston, but tends to snow more on the North Shore. Ogre's right that the big difference is farther south, toward the South Coast (New Bedford, Fall River) and the Cape. And even if it's snowing on the North Shore but not on the South Shore, of course it's not going to be balmy. It will most likely be cold rain. Personally I prefer the snow. It gives the classic New England winter look.Flickr - Photo Sharing! (/photos/portimages/3243733371/in/photostream/ - broken link) For a commute, it is a huge pain to commute from the North Shore to the South Shore.