Natick is quite suburban in nature, however, it does have commuter rail T access to south station. Newton, Wellesley and Brookline are all great areas. Brookline is awesome and is closest to Boston but it is very pricey. Wellesley is an area with million dollar homes and a cute downtown. You should also look into Brighton and Allston. These are student areas that are relatively inexpensive and are near the mass pike for you to drive out to Natick.