Marion, Mass? (Boston, Newton, Waltham: hardwood floors, for sale, house)

[airedaly]

Be very careful about moving to New Bedford. It is very diverse, but there are some extremely bad areas in N.B. With kids 8 & 14, you should look into the schools and neighborhoods very carefully. I would suggest moving to a town in the N.B. vicinity (Fairhaven, Dartmouth), and enjoying the cultural activities by driving to N.B. on the weekends.

Just my opinion.

[capecodcathy]

Marion is a beautiful town. I'm just south of the Canal (not far away from B Bay). Don't worry about the kids freezing at the bus stop. We may get a few days of below freezing temps but generally snaps pretty quickly.
New Bedford is pretty urban so has it's good and not-as-good areas. I've seen a lot of jobs in the area on Monster.com but it would depend on what you're looking for.
Since you're not too far away and the weather's still good, you may want to do a day trip to get the feel for it. Lot's of history and beautiful surrounding communities.

[FrozenAngel]

Originally Posted by Dashana

Hi everyone, my name is Andrea, and I am thinking about moving from Springfield, MA to New Bedford, Ma. I have always wanted to live near the ocean, I find it peaceful and I love the smell of the salt and the way the water feels on my skin, kinda weird I know. Can anyone tell me about the schools and the jobs. I have 2 kids ages 8 & 14, so the high school and middle school would be cool. How long does it take to get to the water like is it 1/2 hour away from all parts of New Bedford? What is the population like? white, Black, poutuguese, asian, french, irish, etc..I have to live in a diverse area coming from the city with all diffrent cultures and lifestyles. Any information would be great. Hope to hear from everyone. All the stuff I have read says New Bedford has the nicest people. Do you all get any snow in winter or at least on christmas day?

Unfortunately, New bedford, MA. and Marion, MA. have not one thing in common except they are both in MA.

New Bedford's crime seems to get worse everyday. It the cheapest place in the US to purchase herion! Therefore, crime, drugs, welfare .... The school system has some excellent teachers but the schools are flowing with drugs and many of the buildings are on toxic ground. Very sad actually.

Best to find a place in Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Acushnet, Middleboro, Freetown, Mattapoisett or Marion. Stay away from Fall River which is a mirror image to New Bedford. Sorry to be so blunt but I am just telling you the truth I would want to be told if I was asking the question.

[seldomseen]

I own property in Marion...it is a very quaint predominatley white town. The high/junior school system is regional, but the elementary school isn't. Both school systems are good. There also isn't very much in Marion in terms of shopping/stores, and major employment--so be prepared to commute. But the good news is a new 695,000 sq foot shopping center is being built in the abutting town which will offer about 45 different, which will be very convenient.

[Ronniec78]

I live in Bourne which is 2 towns away from Marion. Marion is a very nice town right next to Wareham and Mattapoisett. Marion is considered very overpriced for the area but it is a very nice town. Mattapoisett is also an upscale community while Wareham is definitely not. Marion has a great private school called Tabor Academy, and it's tuition is as much as an Ivy League college. Overall, I would say Marion is a very nice town on the South Coast. It's a place I really think you'll enjoy and you'll be 15-20 minutes from Cape Cod and about 45 minutes from Providence.

[FrozenAngel]

Originally Posted by Ronniec78

I live in Bourne which is 2 towns away from Marion. Marion is a very nice town right next to Wareham and Mattapoisett. Marion is considered very overpriced for the area but it is a very nice town. Mattapoisett is also an upscale community while Wareham is definitely not. Marion has a great private school called Tabor Academy, and it's tuition is as much as an Ivy League college. Overall, I would say Marion is a very nice town on the South Coast. It's a place I really think you'll enjoy and you'll be 15-20 minutes from Cape Cod and about 45 minutes from Providence.

You are also only 1 hour away from Boston with very easy highway access. Marion's taxes are much lower than Mattapoisett and every bit as nice as Mattapoisett....

[seldomseen]

Keep in mind while Marion is only "1hr" from Boston the drive commute into the Boston and surrounding cities/towns is brutal---and when you factor in the price of gas nowadays it makes matters worse. Commuting into Providence by car will be faster and easier than Boston.

[surfingatwork]

depends upon how you interpret brutal. i commuted from lakeville to boston for many years and most of the time it took me an hour but I also learned to drive the back roads from the south shore plaza into the city).

[seldomseen]

Keep in mind that Lakeville is closer to Boston than Marion is...and the "backroads" aren't really no such thing---especially from Marion. The highways are the fastest, and most direct route into Boston. lol The bottom line reality is commuting from Marion to Boston is FAR. Marion to "Boston" is about 60 miles one way, and once you factor in traffic on Route 24, 128, and 93. You are adding at least another 30 minutes onto the "1-hour" commute. And depending on where you work in Boston plan adding more travel time to your 1-hour commute into Boston. The combination of distance, and traffic will wear on a person fast!! lol

[surfingatwork]

Originally Posted by seldomseen

Keep in mind that Lakeville is closer to Boston than Marion is...and the "backroads" aren't really no such thing---especially from Marion. The highways are the fastest, and most direct route into Boston. lol The bottom line reality is commuting from Marion to Boston is FAR. Marion to "Boston" is about 60 miles one way, and once you factor in traffic on Route 24, 128, and 93. You are adding at least another 30 minutes onto the "1-hour" commute. And depending on where you work in Boston plan adding more travel time to your 1-hour commute into Boston. The combination of distance, and traffic will wear on a person fast!! lol

never said it wasn't far just that it certainly is doable. heck i commuted from lakeville to newton for 2 years (it all depends on the person). Backroads from braintree to boston is the best way to go instead of SE expressway not backroads all the way in (it's possible to do - route 18 - i think that's the route, i've only done that once) but i wouldn't recommend it.