"My husband, children and I are relocating to Boston this spring. We are very excited about it. We are coming from the southeast and therefore are having to double our mortgage (at least) which is something we are ok with. However, we can't go as high as our salary supports because we do not have a ton of equity in our current home and do not wish to wipe ourselves clean for a down payment. Do you have an opinion on some great family towns where $600K buys a single family with a bit of a yard and 2000 sq feet? Good schools, good community etc? We are heading up on a house hunting trip later this month and are so happy about our new city! Thanks!"

What Nancy is looking for sounds fairly reasonable - 2,000 square feet, a yard big enough for the kids to stretch their legs, and a half decent school system - but we live in a fairly unreasonable housing market. It all comes down to location, location, location.

For starters, Nancy has a leg up on the average Greater Boston home buyer, who is struggling to nail down a home that is not completely falling apart and still stay within the $300,000 to $400,000 range.

But $600,000 doesn't buy what it used to, even with the downturn.

The choice is likely going to boil down between an older home in need of work in say, Lexington, or in the inner suburbs, or a newer home farther out, say in Boxborough.

Here are two listings, one in Lexington and one in Boxborough, both for about $600,000, that offer a taste for what your money will buy in these two towns.

Unless she's got a stomach for renovations, I'd advise Nancy to look west beyond 128.

What's your advice for Nancy?