Boston Beach house (Worcester, Quincy, Plymouth: oceanfront, apartment, condos)

[tamara611]

Hi,

My Husband works in South Boston right next to South Station. We live in Western MA. He drives to the commuter rail in Worcester and takes the train into South Station every day.

We love our community, schools, and the lower COL here but the commute can get to be too much. We were thinking of purchasing a small condo or cottage on or near a beach that would make for an easy commute. Does anyone have any suggestions on where we could start looking?

Cost is a factor so we'd be looking for something in less expensive areas but need a direction to start. Thanks in advance for your help.

[brightdoglover]

Offhand, I'd say there isn't a "less expensive area" that would be any help with the long commute. But I'd be happy to be shown to be wrong.

[Beachcomber4]

On the beach, forget it. Even a modest home can easily go for over a million with oceanfront access.
Near the beach, might be doable. For less expensive beach communities check out Hull and Plymouth to the south. Relatively speaking, compared to other beach areas on the South Shore, they are cheap. In Hull, you can find a few 3/2 for around 300K, Plymouth you will find more. From Hull, the boat to Boston is a commuting option or drive to Hingham for the train, in Plymouth it would be the train from Kingston.

[tamara611]

We were doing some research last night and thinking that maybe a small condo might just be the perfect option for us. We are seeing some 500-800 square foot apartment type condos that are in the 90-150K range near the bay.

I was told staying near the bay in south Boston is pretty safe (we have two small kids) but we found some spots in North Quincy near a beach. On the beach it says "Squantum Yacht Club". Is anyone familiar with this beach and is it accessibly without a yacht?

Any other beaches like this near South Boston, or the T, where we can narrow searches?

[tamara611]

Hmm, that beach in Quincy does not look all that promising. How is the commute from Hull?

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Originally Posted by tamara611

We were doing some research last night and thinking that maybe a small condo might just be the perfect option for us. We are seeing some 500-800 square foot apartment type condos that are in the 90-150K range near the bay.

I was told staying near the bay in south Boston is pretty safe (we have two small kids) but we found some spots in North Quincy near a beach. On the beach it says "Squantum Yacht Club". Is anyone familiar with this beach and is it accessibly without a yacht?

Any other beaches like this near South Boston, or the T, where we can narrow searches?

That's Wollaston Beach. The SYC and the Wollaston Yacht Club are right next to each other -- believe me, if I ever saw an actual yacht in either place I think I'd drop dead! (Squantum, btw, is the peninsula that's right off the beach. Have you heard of Marina Bay? That's considered part of Squantum).

Very easy commute into Boston. By car you'd only have to hop onto Quincy Shore Drive, which feeds into the expressway over in Neponset. There's also a T station (Red Line) over by the CVS on Beale St -- South Station is one of the stops.

Everyone hangs out at the beach in the summer -- kids, families, adults, you name it. The only dicey part is swimming -- over the years the beach has been closed off and on many times because of sewage overspill. It's supposedly been cleaned up now, but people who have lived in the area for eons still are quite hesitant to take the plunge, myself included Outside of that, it's considered one of the "better" areas in Quincy

[NewfieMama]

In terms of commute, Quincy is about 100x easier than Hull. The beaches? Well that's a different story. I originally thought Hough's Neck (Quincy) might fit the bill for you, but it looks like there are no condos in that area.

Honestly, while you could find a 2 bedroom, 800-ish SF condo in Hull for the budget, it would likely be on the northern end of the peninsula, and I think the commute would be a dealbreaker. You do have options: you have the ferry from Hull and you have the Commuter Rail (I think the closest stop is Nanatasket Beach). The issue is that the Hull ferry doesn't run very often. And while the commuter rail schedule is more regular, it's going to be a long commute. Probably 20 minutes to the train, then another 40 into the city. While I don't think that's a crazy commute for most, the whole point of this condo is to make your commute bearable and I think buying in Hull would defeat that purpose. But who knows, maybe it's worth you checking it out.

[tamara611]

I think you are right. I think we are maybe better off buying in the city to save on his commute to work and make the commute to beaches longer. Maybe we can find a place with an indoor pool.

[chaxey]

2 Questions for clarificatioN:

Are you looking for a vacation home/pied a terre? or Are you looking to move and replace for your primary home?

what commute time are you looking for? 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50+ minutes?

[chaxey]

2 Questions for clarificatioN:

Are you looking for a vacation home/pied a terre? or Are you looking to move and replace for your primary home?

what commute time are you looking for? 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50+ minutes?