looking for advice... (Boston, Natick, Franklin: living in, prices, shop)

[bc02eagle]

Well both of our families are south of the city and we go to the cape quite a bit.

[Beachcomber4]

Of the towns mentioned south of Boston, I would choose Norwell. Great schools, tons of activities for kids, easy access to commuter line and amenities but not overbuilt. I like Scituate very much as well but it's very removed from the highway.

I'm not a fan of Hanover at all. I have no really good reason other than I think it is one of those towns that has out of place McMansions tucked in between older, more modest neighborhoods. You can literally have a million dollar plus home next to a little ranch or cape. Route 53 is very overbuilt and continues to be built up- even though many buildings are currently vacant. It's too bad. Location is great, and schools are good but the way the town has been built out has left it looking like a mish mosh mess.

[ogre]

If it's not too far from your relatives, you might check out Littleton. Housing prices are not through the roof, you can have a good-sized yard, it's on a commuter rail line, and it's within your preferred commuting range from Burlington.

[brightdoglover]

Littleton would have some of the advantages of Acton and other advantages of a smaller place. A half-acre or more is relatively easy because everyone has a septic system and needs the land for a modern system. Littleton is also right off I-495 to go to 3 or 93, unlike Acton.

[bc02eagle]

Yes, Littleton is a town that I have looked at. Similar to Acton but seems to be a little more reasonably priced with slightly lower tax rates. I guess the main thing I am weighing is, would I rather have a slightly shorter commute and live somewhere like Littleton or Acton or live on the south shore and be close to family. Since my wife works from home I do not want her to feel isolated. We should probably just take a saturday and drive through each of the towns on our list to get a feel for things.

[bc02eagle]

And yes, I know that in Scituate it is a decent drive just to get back to route 3. The reason I like that town so much is that I grew up on the cape and love the water.

[NY'er lost in MA]

I realize family is a huge factor but taking Norwell as an example, it is not an hour commute. It's called insanity!

As others have suggested, it makes more sense to split the difference and look in-between or further up on 495 (Littleton).

I still think Needham might make the most sense...

Originally Posted by bc02eagle

I actually work with several people that live in or around those towns. The commute to burlington is i hour + or - ten minutes typically.

[bc02eagle]

I would love needham. The only issue is that I cannot seem to find anything that meets our criteria. For 450k or so you get a pretty small house with a pretty small lot.

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by bc02eagle

And yes, I know that in Scituate it is a decent drive just to get back to route 3. The reason I like that town so much is that I grew up on the cape and love the water.

Well you know that it's a long commute- to get to pretty much anything -but if the ocean is more important than that to you, go for it. It's one of the more affordable seaside towns north of Plymouth. I think it's a great place to raise a family.

[ogre]

If you're going to seriously consider living near the coast south of Boston, at least go in with your eyes open about the commute you'd be dealing with. NY'erLost . . . is giving you some good fair warning. Due to heavy traffic, the commute up to Burlington from well south of Boston will be substantially longer during rush hours than you might expect if you consider only the distance involved.

In addition to Needham, a couple of other towns in a decent in-between location would be Norwood and Westwood. I don't know much about the schools in Norwood, so that's something you would want to check out further. Westwood may be a reach on price, but it could be a really good town for you if you could search out a property within your price range.