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chengbinzhang2010 t1_j3cgdeg wrote

Wife and I recently moved to Newton from JP (we've also lived all over the state including Quincy, Malden, Allston, Brighton, etc.). So we have a pretty good sample size over 15 years.

- Everyone here will complain about Newton being pricy and it is. But there's a wide spectrum of neighborhoods within Newton. Waban is the most affluent part and you have areas like Nonantum that are relatively less expensive. The beauty is you have access to the public schools which are quite good. A decent condo ~500-600k. For an existing single family home ~$800-1mil+. New constructions can run $2+ million dollars. I would try to avoid any home too close to the I90 or Route 9. It's very loud and has bad resale value.

- We chose Newton because it balances convenience vs public school. There's a green line running through Newton which means you can actually take the T into the city (Longwood) if you want. That's a huge plus because many other suburbs with decent schools don't have access to the T. Brookline being an exception but they're even more expensive :).

- Newton isn't as diverse as Boston. It's predominantly Caucasians and Asians. HOWEVER, it is still MORE diverse than most other suburbs (ex. Weston, Wellesley, Dover, etc.).

- Infrastructure is old so there's always new utilities being updated. The residents generally care about their communities and it's relatively safe. Expect to find a lot of families and kids.

- Annoying thing about living here is people try to price gouge you for any home repair jobs. And neighborhood groceries lack diversity and has a "newton" markup. We do all of our shoppings outside of Newton because it's cheaper and better selections.

In any case - a lot to share so happy to chat more if you DM me.

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rubbish_heap t1_j3cner5 wrote

>we've also lived all over the state including Quincy, Malden, Allston, Brighton, etc.

"all over the state" according to a Bostonian, haha
good info on Newton, though

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divariv t1_j3d0fje wrote

I think your comments are spot on as someone who recently moved to Newton!

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nomjs OP t1_j3djhfo wrote

Great info here!!! Thanks so much for taking the time to write this up!

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high_gravity t1_j3fbcwb wrote

Also live in Newton, this comment is spot on. DM me if you want a similar perspective.

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anubus72 t1_j3ffz8o wrote

Wow I thought you were crazy saying you could find a single family for 800k, but sure enough there are a couple on Zillow for less than that even. Don’t look too good, though. But I’m surprised

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chengbinzhang2010 t1_j3fi8kp wrote

A single family house down the street from us just went pending at 750k. It's not particularly big or new but you don't need 1 mil to live here. It also helps that I look at listings every day (local realtor).

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