When I lived in the eastern part of the state the Fitchburg LIne ran through the orchard behind our house. That was 50 years ago but the memories of the Budd liners zipping by on their way to the city is still fresh in my mind. This line has recently been rebuilt back to a double track and may be one to look at as far as living close to it,the further west the better. Even out here(6 miles from the VT. border) housing is nuts! If your children's education is a top priority, then consider home schooling,you won't have to deal with the insanity going on right now in the schools and you'll never regret it. I'll attach a train line map.
All the best.
https://cdn.mbta.com/sites/default/f...essible-v2.pdf