Relocating to Boston

[patentman]

Hey all, i posted a while back about relocating to boston, but now that things have become more concrete I thought I would post again. My wife and I will be leaving the DC area for boston in the beginning of August. Thus, we are in full on househunting mode.

That said, one area that has piqued our interest is charlestown. It's 5 minutes to where I will work (near cambridgeside galleria), ~10 minutes to where my wife will work (government center), and seems to have somewhat affordable housing. Thing is, I have heard charlestown can be a bit of a rough neighborhood from some people, and my wife and I are a tad nervous about living in a more urban environement (we're self admitted suburbanites). Nontheless, the prospect of a 5 minute commute is hard to resit, especially in a town known for traffic jams and odd roads.

If anyone has any insight into this town I would love to hear it. If you think it sucks/is great, tell me why. If you have suggestions for other places we should look, please let me know. We are looking in the 500-700k range min 1150sq feet in town, 1800 if we end up in the suburbs, so no newbury street, belmont hill etc. recommendations please

Thanks in advance.

-P

 

[Tommouse]

I would be interested to see what people have to say as I'm moving to Boston soon too. Although I will be looking in the apartment section.

 

[dartworth]

just remember the code of silence...:Q

 

[compuwiz1]

Worcester (Wooster) is full of fish market fronts. Lot's of Soprano types living there.

 

[Red Dawn]

How rough can a neighborhood be when 1200 SQ FT Houses go for between 500 and 700K? I mean that isn't exactly Section 8 territory.

 

[compuwiz1]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
How rough can a neighborhood be when 1200 SQ FT Houses go for between 500 and 700K? I mean that isn't exactly Section 8 territory.

Fish market fronts, but doin somethin else in da back.

Where do you live?

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: compuwiz1

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
How rough can a neighborhood be when 1200 SQ FT Houses go for between 500 and 700K? I mean that isn't exactly Section 8 territory.

Fish market fronts, but doin somethin else in da back.

WTF???

 

[compuwiz1]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: compuwiz1

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
How rough can a neighborhood be when 1200 SQ FT Houses go for between 500 and 700K? I mean that isn't exactly Section 8 territory.

Fish market fronts, but doin somethin else in da back.

WTF???

Lemme help ya out with this. I have an Italian friend who moved from wooster to Washington state. He told me all about it. He said he wanted to get outta the heat, where he could raise his kids, so they would never see what his brothers were doing. Apparently they have fish markets on the front, but some of the stuff they do / did, are like real world Sopranos. One brother supposedly lives in a major mansion, but the obvious means does not fit the end, if you know what I mean.

And, sorry. It was not my intent to derail this thread.

 

[dwell]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=x-64CaD8GXw

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: compuwiz1

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: compuwiz1

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
How rough can a neighborhood be when 1200 SQ FT Houses go for between 500 and 700K? I mean that isn't exactly Section 8 territory.

Fish market fronts, but doin somethin else in da back.

WTF???

Lemme help ya out with this. I have an Italian friend who moved from wooster to Washington state. He told me all about it. He said he wanted to get outta the heat, where he could raise his kids, so they would never see what his brothers were doing. Apparently they have fish markets on the front, but some of the stuff they do / did, are like real world Sopranos. One brother supposedly lives in a major mansion, but the obvious means does not fit the end, if you know what I mean.

If you say so. I do know that the Townies, like the Southies use to be predominantly Irish but that's probably changed.

 

[compuwiz1]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: compuwiz1

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: compuwiz1

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
How rough can a neighborhood be when 1200 SQ FT Houses go for between 500 and 700K? I mean that isn't exactly Section 8 territory.

Fish market fronts, but doin somethin else in da back.

WTF???

Lemme help ya out with this. I have an Italian friend who moved from wooster to Washington state. He told me all about it. He said he wanted to get outta the heat, where he could raise his kids, so they would never see what his brothers were doing. Apparently they have fish markets on the front, but some of the stuff they do / did, are like real world Sopranos. One brother supposedly lives in a major mansion, but the obvious means does not fit the end, if you know what I mean.

If you say so. I do know that the Townies, like the Southies use to be predominantly Irish but that's probably changed.

But what was that song? :musiclease come to Boston... My visions of Boston as a kid, was that it must be some awsome place.

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
How rough can a neighborhood be when 1200 SQ FT Houses go for between 500 and 700K? I mean that isn't exactly Section 8 territory.

Well, the boston housing authority decided that it would be beneficial to put housing projects in almost all of the city districts. Thus, it is quite possible to have a million dollar condo right next to a project. Not that I am saying that people living in the projects are necessarily bad, but when you have that sort of fiscal disparity right next to each other, there is bound to be some tension.

As for rough, the crime index in Charlestown is ~330, relative to the national average of 100. Newton, one the other hand, has a crime index of ~15-20.

And I wouldn't judge safety by the prices of a neighborhood, especially in Boston. Waltham and Watertown are much less expensive than Boston proper (~500k gets you a really nice townhouse in those areas, v.s. a sort of cruddy 2 BR apartment in the city) but have a significantly lower crime rate. The fact of the matter is that there is a land shortage in and around Boston, which drives the price of real estate up just about everywhere close to the city.

 

[patentman]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
How rough can a neighborhood be when 1200 SQ FT Houses go for between 500 and 700K? I mean that isn't exactly Section 8 territory.

Well, the boston housing authority decided that it would be beneficial to put housing projects in almost all of the city districts. Thus, it is quite possible to have a million dollar condo right next to a project. Not that I am saying that people living in the projects are necessarily bad, but when you have that sort of fiscal disparity right next to each other, there is bound to be some tension.

As for rough, the crime index in Charlestown is ~330, relative to the national average of 100. Newton, one the other hand, has a crime index of ~15-20.

And I wouldn't judge safety by the prices of a neighborhood, especially in Boston. Waltham and Watertown are much less expensive than Boston proper (~500k gets you a really nice townhouse in those areas, v.s. a sort of cruddy 2 BR apartment in the city) but have a significantly lower crime rate. The fact of the matter is that there is a land shortage in and around Boston, which drives the price of real estate up just about everywhere close to the city. Thus, even "rough" areas can still be expensive.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Charleston used to be were the wanna-be mafia started out.

 

[compuwiz1]

Funnily, how people who live there, do not already know this. Apparently they don't

I imagine, if they stay in their space, most will never have to worry.