Newton, Waltham and Brookline make the top 100

We searched extensively in Waltham before finding a house in another town and found 95% of the housing offerings to be poorly maintained, on small lots, and quirky. (Two sump pumps for the price of one! Shared driveway with your neighbor! Etc). That's not to say that I think this is representative of Waltham as a whole - I would consider living there if we had to sell our current place.

As in other towns, there are sections that are a little rougher-around-the-edges than others but overall I found it to be a good value for the proximity to Boston.

I would be interested to hear from actual residents as to how town services are, taxes, etc. I know taxes are lower because of the large number of corporations taht subsidize these.

In response to your comments above, you are correct. Waltham has some of the lowest taxes plus a tax exemption plan that knocks around $934 of yearly, once you have lived in your home for one years time. The public schools have rated very well especially MacArthur and the new Fitzgerald school, soon to open for fall 2008. Waltham has many different areas, desirable residential neighborhoods such as Cedarwood/Warrendale and a fantastic condo market mostly near Main Street and Moody Street.

In terms of district rankings, Waltham schools rank 266/360 ish in the state (see schooldigger.com). Those don't count as good schools in my book and are what keep me away...

I bought a small and efficient house in North Waltham 5 years ago. There are several hundred acres of open space in my neighborhood, including a property with ponds and a cascading waterfalls. I can walk to the commuter rail station and bus stop. The tax rate is lower than any surrounding town. The public senior center is an excellent resource for older folks and it is staffed by caring people. The current mayor is in her second term and she is doing all of the right things for the city.

I've been a resident for about 5 years and have come to appreciate Waltham's proximity to the city, it's diversity, open spaces and night life. Of many of the towns we were looking at, it seemed to have a good mix of everything for folks that are fairly active and is a town that is reasonably priced. As someone mentions, the overall score of the schools is fairly lackluster. From my research, it doesn't appear that the teachers or resources are the culprit, but rather, the large percentage of english as second language learners and families where parent involvement is minimal. So the diversity which causes me to embrace the town is also one of the reasons the schools systems are often pinged. Regardless, the town has changed considerably, for the better, in just the 5 years that I've been there, so I think it's a sound investment and going in the right direction.

I've rented in South Waltham for 6 years, and just bought a house out in Stoughton. I would have loved to buy a place in Waltham, but you're just not going to find many nice "starter" single-family homes around here. Waltham is one of the best commuting locations in the Boston area - you are always opposite the flow of traffic, excepting the drive downtown. We have an express bus at the end of my block that arrives in South Station within 25-30 minutes. On the other end, bus routes can take you to Harvard Square. There are multiple commuter rail locations as well. There are a nice collection of restaurants around Moody St, and the city is well-funded through its strong tax base. I've always been impressed when I've seen the police dept in action. I attended the Waltham fireworks show - if you want to see the textbook definition of a "diverse" locale, that was it.