An hour's distance opens you to a lot of possibilities! Also, your skewed view of real estate prices in CA will help you around here - they are a little lower here but not exorbitantly so. We have our own version of crazy home prices here too. I live in Arlington, which is about a 10-15 minute drive to Boston without horrible traffic. With traffic, it can be much longer. Any of the suburbs like mine and in this general area are awesome and with excellent schools, but for your price range, stick to Arlington, try Lexington (more expensive), Bedford, Concord, Acton, Lincoln and Burlington. In the more westward (also known as "Metro West") area, there is Newton (a larger suburb actually classified as a city, where prices can vary a lot, you have to really look... it does tend to be pricier for what you want, but there are a lot of different "neighborhoods" with their own name and character, so give it a try... the most expensive is Chestnut Hill) which I love, Sudbury, Stow, and Wellesley, though Wellesley is super pricey. Again, with all of these, it can only help you to search and see what is out there. Home prices have come down here in the recession a tad. Your price limit opens you to a lot of possibilities, actually. Sometimes a house is amazing on the outside and neat and clean inside but just very dated, and that requires work of course. Sometimes it's the other way around. You have to look, look, look. Get in touch with a realtor in this area as well, and s/he can keep you informed of houses just coming on the market that might not be on line yet.
Finally, a little plug for my town - LOVE it! Great schools, neighborhood feel, nice people, near Cambridge and Boston, great restaurants, and just a lot to do in the area. Arlington is a lot more down to earth than towns like Wellesley and Stow - it's all what you are looking for. Feel free to contact me with more questions and good luck, that is quite a move!