Archive for the 'Your real estate wish-list' Category

The great thing about the Boston area is that you can get to farms and orchards and surf without driving too far from the city.

When I decided to move out of Brookline/Boston on a quest for more space at an affordable price, friends and family thought I was demented. How could a former New York City girl, a Brookline and Boston resident for many years, contemplate the suburbs.?! Not just the suburbs, but a location on the edge of rural Massachusetts!

Every real estate decision involves trade-offs. If you can fulfill your entire wish-list, you are a rare buyer. I wanted more space—for a design studio, for guests and grandchildren, for gardening. Knowing and loving Brookline and the western suburbs close to Boston—this wasn’t an easy decision. But the appeal of space (inside and out) and an extraordinary, raw basement area ripe for renovation, was too hard to resist. (Click here to view renovated basement space).

It was an adjustment. No question about it. For one thing, I was driving more. In an era of diminishing energy resources, I was very aware of my increased gasoline consumption. Not ideal. A great deal of my business life is in Brookline, Boston, Cambridge and Newton, so I would be driving to meet clients, present offers, deliver documents. My network, both professional and personal, was a distance from my home. Again, not ideal. But, then again…

The sweep of the western sky is beautiful from my deck. I have watched the corn grow from tiny plants at a farm a mile down the road. The spring was stunning. And negotiating the tasks of daily life—grocery shopping, doing the banking, going to the post office—is easier in the small town of Hudson. My town.

It’s interesting to note that the concepts of “smart growth” and the creation of walkable towns and cities are giving way to new ideas about cities in the global economy. Will increasing gasoline taxes encourage people to drive less, leave the suburbs and move into cities?  Or will the genuine attractions of non-city living and the realities of jobs and salaries keep suburban living vibrant . James S. Russell in his new book, The Agile City, uses the term, “megaburbs” to describe a new version of the city, an area that combines the attributes of city and suburban living.

I live and work in a “megaburb”—the Greater Boston area. It’s all good. It’s about meeting your needs, that complex combination of money and value and comfort. Let’s talk about your unique real estate needs. Like me, you will find there are many ways to get from here to there. Please contact Roz or call 617.763.4902 to talk about Greater Boston area real estate and your unique needs.