Hey ladies!
We currently live in Orlando, FL, but DH is interviewing for a position with a company located in Needham. He's flying up there for his 2nd interview this week and so far, all is looking good. If he does get the job, what areas should we be looking at as far as places to live? We'd ideally like to rent a house, and be relatively near good schools since we have a 3 1/2 year old. I was looking into the Needham, Milton and Braintree areas (at DH's suggestion...he went to Northeastern and is more familiar with the area than I am, since I've never been to MA), but are there others we should consider?
Also, if you have any daycare suggestions (since I will also be working as soon as I find a job up there), that would be great!
Thanks ![]()
Re: Possible relocation...question :)
Hey there! I'm originally from Orlando....We moved up to MA back in 2007, lived in Natick until we moved to Grafton this year.
Any questions you have, I am glad to help. We really enjoyed living in Natick, and I think it's a great place to live and raise a family.
A few things about the area....you won't see a lot of apartment/condo complexes like there are in Orlando.....but it is also harder to find a single family home to rent with spending a lot of $$. A lot of rentals in the area will be in multi-family homes, which was an unusual concept for me when we first got here, but worked out OK for us. Check out Realtor.com and Craigslist.
Other than the cold weather, also be prepared for a higher cost of living up here....it can be a bit of a shock.....but you'll get used to it.
Welcome, and keep us updated on the move.
Needham is a nice town and such a nice area. I agree that Braintree and Milton are kind of awkward from there, it's doable but there might be better options.
Needham, Natick, Wellesley and Newton all have great school systems and a great areas to look into, although some areas can get a little pricey!
My husband and I actually relocated to Boston (but I'm orginally from the South Shore, MA) from Maine this past summer when he got a new job in Wellesley. We looked at a lot of areas nearby, but we ended up looking mostly in Dedham and Norwood because we got more space for our money and they were more options. I would check out Dedham and Norwood and maybe even Walpole. I'm not sure about the school systems, however, but I haven't heard anything horror stories or anything like that. I really like living in Dedham so far and we're only one town over from Needham. Best of luck!
Thanks again for all the help and the warm welcome! I'm a Florida native, but DH is from Connecticut and I lived up there for a year with him so the weather won't be too much of a shock
cwbykitty -- you're totally right, I have been a little shocked by how few single family rentals there are...there are TONS in Central FL so I know we may have to keep our options open.
Dedham does look like a good area too so thanks for the suggestion on that...I actually saw a couple of single family houses over there that are in our price range. And I'll look into Norwood too.
Again, thanks, and if DH does get the job, I look forward to getting to know all of you!
We're renting a house in West Roxbury (it's awesome to be walking distance to everything we need and still only be 5 miles from downtown Boston) and this city is pretty great. Roslindale is also nice, as is Norwood (7 mi south of West Rox, and omg does Norwood have gorgeous houses and town square) and Dedham. I know WR, Roslindale, and Dedham are either on commuter rail lines or close to a direct bus route to the nearest Orange Line T.
There are a number of great schools in West Roxbury, Holy Name is a popular Catholic elementary with adorable uniforms, but I'm sure there are others as well. We don't have kids yet so I haven't paid much attention to day care and school systems.
Hi!
I'd also add Westwood to the list you have. Great schools but it might be hit/miss on finding rentals. It's definitely worth checking into and it's very close to needham.
I don't think you'll have much luck in Westwood. They don't have apartments, so your only option would be renting a house or someone who has an in-law/two family.
Norwood is safer than Dedham. Neither Norwood or Dedham have fantastic schools, especially for their area (most other towns surrounding them have good schools).