I grew up in Newton and spend a day a week there these days taking care of my mother's home.

Newton is very nice in that it's made up of villages and you are generally no more than a mile's walk to any village for shopping. It also has several MBTA stations (Woodland, Waban, Eliot, Newton Highlands and Newton Center) which you could use to get into the Longwood Medical Area. Or you could take Route 9. There's also ample bus service.

The schools were excellent when I went but that was a long time ago. I would assume that they are still good but others could comment or you could look at ratings and reviews.

Newton is convenient as there's easy access to the Mass Pike and Route 128 so you can go east-west and north-south. There is often a lot of traffic on those highways. There's also Newton-Wellesley Hospital which is part of Partners for medical care if you need it in a hurry or if you want something nearby.

A lot of the homes are older and not necessarily in the best of shape and may require work to get to modern standards. Newton is friendly to senior citizens and many live there.