Early in 2015, we found out that the newest adventure in our life would be moving to Boston with a family and a dog. It was a city we knew nothing about and had never even visited. Everyone who had been or that we knew lived there in the past loved it and raved about what an exciting city it was. But when we stepped off of the plane with our 17 bags, two kids & a dog, it immediately felt scarier than exciting. Two hotels and a house later, we’re acclimating. We’re learning the city and the rules of the city for families. And we’re learning all of the kid friendly and family friendly places in and around the greater Boston area.
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Moving to Boston with a Family… the Easy Way
Well, let’s first be honest and say there’s really no “easy” way to move. But I don’t have too many complaints about the process we took. It has most definitely been a learning experience.
Fly Southwest Airlines.
They fly into Boston -Logan International Airport, have reasonably priced tickets, and allow two bags per person, free car seats, free strollers at the gate, two carry ons per person, and one carry on per lap baby. That being said, we did not have to drive with kids the whole way, got everything we needed from OKC to Boston in 17 items without costing us a single penny more than our ticket price.
Take the Logan Express to then get a Rental Car
We took the Logan Express to Woburn where we have Enterprise pick us up. It made the airport less stressful, it meant we weren’t driving in Boston traffic after traveling with kids, and it was just easy. Especially with all of our luggage.
Stay in a family friendly extended stay location – Element
For us, though it wasn’t necessarily the easiest decision, we had never been to Boston before moving there. So we stayed at Element in Lexington. It was pet-friendly, clean, and of course family friendly. They served breakfast every morning, an appetizer/small dinner from Monday-Thursday, had a mini kitchen, paid laundry services, a pool, was right next to hiking trails and two highways. It made it well worth our stay as we were house hunting.
Search for houses in Family locations and neighborhoods.
Of course, make sure your commute is decent. This is a great reason to not buy or rent before you have had the full experience. Consider places like Somerville, Arlington, Medford, JP, and Brookline to name a few. They’re all close to the city with close or direct access to the T, but are maybe a bit more family oriented than some of the other areas. It’s easy to connect with moms if you go where moms are. And while you can look further outside of the city in places like Lexington and even as far as Nashua, NH, there are plenty of close-to-the-city family friendly places to live.
Get a stroller that’s great for public transportation.
When we moved, I thought I had the greatest stroller in the world. And I still love it. But letting one child ride while trying to get the other to walk or letting the other ride while wearing one can be difficult. So the single didn’t work. Plus, getting something that is compact and not a side-by-side double stroller can be important if you’re wanting to ride the bus or not feel like you’re navigating a mack truck on and off the train. We settled on an Uppababy Vista. It technically has the ability to be a triple when the second rumble seat and kick-board are added meaning it could grow with our family but was compact for city use. This made exploring our new home a lot easier!
Have you experience moving to Boston with a Family? What are your tips or tricks?
Learn more about how we downsized in order to move here.
[…] with thus far has allowed 1 carry on, 1 car seat, and one stroller. I also had one experience where Southwest allowed an extra checked bag for my lap […]