What's the catch? (Dover-Sherborn) (Framingham, Natick: house, public school, college)

[Amontillado]

It's kind of ironic that there are places where you can go for a nice long walk on the local trails, but you can't walk to the center of town.

[tikaram]

All great points here.
Also, even if you are not into the whole walkability thing, there's still nothing close by. You have to drive to neighboring town for shopping, restaurants and such. My friends lives in Dover, and she does all her shopping in Natick / Framingham or Wellesley. It might be close, but it all adds up, especially if you have busy schedule.
Taxes are high (compared to say Natick, but kind of inline with Wellesley) Dover only has oil heat - no gas lines. (Is Sherborn the same?) If you think how much it costs to heat up huge houses they have over there... And yes, it's quite isolated.
It;s very safe though, and kids walk and play on the streets - if they are fortunate to have playmates in the vicinity.

If you are into horseback riding, you can easily own horses in Dover / Sherborn - yet it's not so easy if not to say impossible in Wellesley or Brookline. There are special requirements for properties and rules and regulations one has to meet.

[kmann-sherborn]

Amontillado, There are a few neighborhoods like Ivy Ln where you can walk to town. We just can't where we are, as we're a little further out. I see people do it but I never would, too scary. I'm looking forward to the rail trail being completed. It'll be so great to be able to bike to more places!

[snatale1]

Originally Posted by Atheneum

Is it true that you don't get your trash picked up in Wellesley though??

Yup! You'd think with the amount of money flowing through that town, you'd have a basic service like trash pick up! I can see people not wanting broken, scummy looking trash barrels all over the streets, but most nice places now have the 96 gallon barrels with covers and wheels, either a dark green or brown which doesn't look bad at all. As far as I'm concerned just another way for the town to pocket more of their overpriced taxes.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by kmann-sherborn

If you're considering Needham you may want to look at Wellesley as well (ranked #11 in Boston Magazine). I often find that my clients who like the feel of Wellesley also like the feel of Needham and vise versa.

I do find a lot of people cross-shop Needham, Newton, and Wellesley. I think it's because all three offer a lot of the same ammenities, but each town certainly has its own feel to it.

Originally Posted by Atheneum

Mike, thanks for the hint about visiting schools. Are they quite receptive to that, do you know? We certainly don't need an acre, but I would prefer not to feel like I am living right on top of my neighbors, or that there is hardly a yard for the kids to play in. 10000 sq ft would be just fine for us. From a look at the real estate listings, it looks like we could find some quite lovely places in Needham in our price bracket.

I deal quite a bit with clients being relocated from across the country and many of them are completely unfamiliar with the area and the school systems. They've had no problem in the past arranging to visit schools in person and to meet with school officials to get a better feel for the school system and its curriculum.

Personally, I think we're very lucky to live in a state with overall such a great public school system. I have friends who live in Florida that wouldn't dream of sending their kids to the public school in their towns.

Originally Posted by snatale1

Yup! You'd think with the amount of money flowing through that town, you'd have a basic service like trash pick up! I can see people not wanting broken, scummy looking trash barrels all over the streets, but most nice places now have the 96 gallon barrels with covers and wheels, either a dark green or brown which doesn't look bad at all. As far as I'm concerned just another way for the town to pocket more of their overpriced taxes.

I grew up in Framingham and later lived in Newton both of which have trash pick up. When I moved to Needham years ago not having trash pick up took some getting used to. As already mentioned, you can hire someone for a pretty nominal fee to collect your trash right from your house. Alternatively, a lot of people in town seem to really enjoy taking their trash to the transfer station. On the weekends, it's almost a social scene.

The official line on no trash pick up is that they don't want to put the burden of trash pick up on the tax payer. I'm not sure who they think is paying for it in the end though. You still have to pay for a stick to access the transfer station and for the special trash bags to put your trash in. Many of my fellow Needhamites really seem to like that they don't see trash barrels rolling around in the street on a regular basis. I think in the end it's really an aesthetic issue more than anything.

[sherborn townie]

There has been several posts about "walkability" which depends on how you define it. Sherborn is my favorite place to walk/run as one can run for miles without having to wait for traffic lights, getting up/down curbs, etc. There are beautiful trails and quarries that makes you think you're in VT. So if you want to walk to a beautiful meadow, pond, or quarry rather than a commercial strip, this is the town for you. Yet one can drive to the Natick Mall or Wellesley center in 15 mins. There are great restaurants in Framingham, Natick, Medfield, and Wellesley all under 15mins drive. Tip: one can access Rt 9 and MassPike with less crowding during rush hour if you live near Western Ave on the western part of Sherborn rather than having to drive through rts 16 and 27.

[mlhm5]

Sherborn is very special. House prices are lower than either Wellesley or Dover and it is 7 miles from my house to Whole Foods in Wellesley. I suspect with Wellesley traffic, residents may beat me by a minute or two. If you are familiar with the West coast, Sherborn is the Woodside of the East coast.

[MikePRU]

I miss posts by Kmann-Sherborn. She was a wealth of information when it came to towns like Sherborn and Dover. It's a shame she hasn't logged on in over a year.

[mlhm5]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I miss posts by Kmann-Sherborn. She was a wealth of information when it came to towns like Sherborn and Dover. It's a shame she hasn't logged on in over a year.

I have lived in Sherborn for 20+ years.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by mlhm5

I have lived in Sherborn for 20+ years.

And I'm glad to have you here.

My comment on missing someone else's posts was not intended to be a slight on anyone who is here contributing. The poster I mentioned had in-depth knowledge of many towns aside from Sherborn and like you only made the discussions here better. Can't have too many people like that IMO.