Holliston - right for first house? (Boston, Cambridge: transplants, real estate, houses)

[RHW1]

We are a young family looking for our first house. We've been searching for a while, but we haven't found the right place. So many towns seem to present too many compromises for our price range (sub 450), and we can't seem to get much for our money. We basically want a nice, safe town, good schools, lots of open space, family friendly community feel, and the ability to commute to Boston (though a longer commute is okay). We recently came across Holliston. We'd never heard of it before, and now we've only visited once. Seemed pretty, commute to Boston seems okay but on the longer side. We're wondering if anyone can give us a general sense for the feel of the town, how it is for young families, playgroups, community involvement, etc.

Thanks!

[MikePRU]

I don't know Holliston to the level of detail you're asking about, but I do have some family and some friends that live there so I know what they say about it and what I know about it from driving through.

It's a lovely town and I hear nothing but good things. The town center is nice and there are plenty of nice neighborhoods. I also hear good feedback about the school system as well. The downside is if you want to commute into Boston. There's no train stop in town so you'll have to drive a little further to get on the commuter rail vs some other towns that have stops. The people that I know who live there all commute either locally or to places like Needham & Framingham which are driving commutes anyway.

My friends who have small children and live in town seem to love it there. Their kids always seem to be involved in one activity or another.

[RHW1]

Thank you Mike. We have spent a considerable amount of time looking north of the Pike (Sudbury, Wayland, Acton, Stow etc.) and love the feel of those towns but are finding that the options within our budget are far and few. We have only visited once but Holliston seems to have a similar feel, however it is hard to tell simply by passing through.

[kmann-sherborn]

I grew up next door to Holliston and now live next door in Sherborn. It's a wonderful town with a strong sense of community. There are lots of community activities and a very active newcomers club. My sister-in-law is very involved with the newcomers club & I'm sure would be glad to chat with you about her impressions about the town.

Holliston has a top 20 public school system that's won awards for its French immersion program in the elementary school. There are lots of pretty parks & trails, and the town is part-way through a project to create a rail trail. In the town center you'll find Fiske General Store (family owned by a super nice couple who are always looking for fun & creative things for kids), Pejamajos Cafe with music at night, the children's park which is currently undergoing a big renovation, artist studios, the library, tennis courts, and a handful of boutiques. A mile or so away is Lake Winthrop.

The only downside is the commute time since it's a bit far from major highways. There also isn't a ton of shopping in town but are bigger stores next door in Ashland.

I posted a bunch of pictures of Holliston on Flickr awhile ago. I'll see if I can find the link.

[RHW1]

Thanks again! It seems like a great town, however my only concern is the distance from Boston. We are transplants to the city and right now we live and work in town, but are craving some open land especially now with a kid. We love the towns we have visited with the larger lots of land and lots of conservation, but have found that they are either to far or too expensive. This was the appeal of Wayland type town ( maybe too pricey?) It goes without saying that schools and resources for young families are important as well.

The frustrating part is that we don't feel like we are being unrealistic trying to purchase starter home (1250-1500 sqft, 3 bdrms, 1.5 btrms) in a nice town, but the options are so limited!

Does anyone have any other suggestions on towns? We are not necessarily limited to a specific area as long as Boston is within a 45 min commute by car.

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by RHW1

The frustrating part is that we don't feel like we are being unrealistic trying to purchase starter home (1250-1500 sqft, 3 bdrms, 1.5 btrms) in a nice town, but the options are so limited!

If what you've stated is truly all you want (i.e. no hidden must-haves), I think you need to find a new real estate agent. 2000+sf, 3+br, 2+baths is incredibly difficult to find in that area without paying closer to $1 million than $500k, but 1250-1500sf and 1.5 baths shouldn't be extremely difficult. Yes, it won't be totally updated and it will have quirks like all homes, but the trick is to pick one with quirks that are least bothersome to you.

[pixiegoose]

I've been a lurker for awhile but decided to register just to respond to this question! We just bought our first house in Holliston and have been happy with our decision. Our budget was much less than yours (almost half of what yours is!) and we got a 4 bed, 1.5 bath, 1900 sqft ranch. Yes, it needs lots of updating and we have a bit of a water problem in the basement but it's completely livable and we can update as we go. My husband drives into Cambridge everyday and it only takes him about 30-45 minutes (he leaves the house at 5:30 am and leaves work around 3:15/3:30 pm). I take the train from Ashland one day a week (we live right on the border with Ashland) and it takes about an hour into Back Bay/South Station.

There's a very active newcomer's club and I have met people through it, including a playgroup (I mostly stay home with our 19 month old). The schools are great (our top concern when looking for a house- we don't plan on moving before our daughter starts school) and I'm looking forward to my daughter being in French immersion.

With your price range, you should be able to get just about everything on your wish list, probably more, here in Holliston.

[konfetka]

North of Boston is less expensive than metro-west and and you will find larger lots of land in: Lynnfield, Middleton, Topsfield, Boxford (2 acre minimum), North Andover, Hamilton, Wenham, parts of Danvers and Beverly.

Especially in Ipswich, Rowley and Georgetown, but those are further away.

[kmann-sherborn]

If you go north of the city I personally like the feel of Hamilton & Wenham, and they have very well rated schools and lots of open land as well. There's also train access into North Station. Lynnfield is also very nice but pricey.

Also if you'd like more info about Holliston you can search previous forums on the site. I live in the neighboring town so have written about it a lot. :-)

[heather3]

Like you, we were looking in the metro west for houses while my husband would commute into Boston (Back Bay area), however after actually going out there and driving we realized that he's be on the train for a long time. I realized that with three children (over the age of 9) I wanted my husband to have a shorter commute so he could be home earlier and attend soccer practices, Scout activities etc so we began looking closer to Boston. Here, in MD, he drives 1 hr and 20 min each way to work. We really dug deep, asked questions and found a great realtor who showed us the Reading, Wakefield and Andover areas. These are right next door to Lynnfield, which Kmann-Sherborn mentioned. You can get a house for $450K as long as you don't need more than 3 bedrooms. Also, the schools are great. Those are the areas we are looking and now that our house in MD is on the market, we'll be looking at every house that pops up and adding it to our "to see when we go to Mass next month" or nix it. Best of luck!

Originally Posted by RHW1

We are a young family looking for our first house. We've been searching for a while, but we haven't found the right place. So many towns seem to present too many compromises for our price range (sub 450), and we can't seem to get much for our money. We basically want a nice, safe town, good schools, lots of open space, family friendly community feel, and the ability to commute to Boston (though a longer commute is okay). We recently came across Holliston. We'd never heard of it before, and now we've only visited once. Seemed pretty, commute to Boston seems okay but on the longer side. We're wondering if anyone can give us a general sense for the feel of the town, how it is for young families, playgroups, community involvement, etc.

Thanks!