Cape Cod communities (Falmouth, Yarmouth, Bourne: homes, rental, hotels)

[caldsr]

I am looking for a 2nd home in Cape Cod. Two towns always come up in conversation-Osterville and West Falmouth. They seem to have the least tourists and beautiful homes. Any input?

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by caldsr

I am looking for a 2nd home in Cape Cod. Two towns always come up in conversation-Osterville and West Falmouth. They seem to have the least tourists and beautiful homes. Any input?

I grew up in Falmouth and lived in Osterville for a while.

Plan on spending a lot of money for your home. Osterville has a cute town center with expensive shops. The beach there is fabulous. I believe it's also a residents only beach...but I'm not sure.

West Falmouth has a very choppy beach that's fun to swim in. There's a lovely community of people there as well.

There's not many places on the Cape that aren't overrun with tourists in the summer. You might have more luck going down Cape more, say into Brewster.

I can tell you Falmouth is VERY busy in the summer.

Good luck with your decision...I just moved off the Cape!

[capecodcathy]

Falmouth has a very high inventory of homes for sale. West Falmouth is very nice. North Falmouth, too. You could stay a little closer to the bridge in Cataumet, Pocasset or Monument Beach and get a little more for your money. The traffic is much less congested in these areas in the summer. Mostly year round and some summer residents but very few B&B's/hotels/motels. You can still take the back roads to downtown Falmouth if you want to shop, eat out, etc.
What's your price range?

[Ronniec78]

Everyone has their own opinion of the Cape but I'll break down my opionions:

Bourne (Cataumet)
Falmouth (North Falmouth
Barnstable (Osterville)
Truro
Chatham
Harwich Port
Wellfleet

These places are all great.

[ctman1987]

Personally id go with Chatham...amazing downtown and beautiful scenary...but thats just me

[Ronniec78]

Chatham is a great town. Definitely one of the best towns on the Cape. Brewster is nice but very quiet. I forgot to mention Orleans. This is a great town as well. In my opinion you can't go wrong on the Lower or Outer Cape. To me the Upper and Mid Cape just don't have a true Cape Cod feel.

[snowmuchfun]

Hello Caldsr,

What is it that you seek in moving to the Cape? Ronnie and Ct man are right... the lower Cape is great .. I live in Brewster and work in Chatham.. People think it is expensive here... but it is not. And our taxes are dirt cheap .. 3.50 per 1k ... approx.. And your investment is well protected as these communities are blue chip investments !

[Ronniec78]

I wish I knew more about Brewster. It is a very nice town but it seems it doesn't get mentioned much (like Eastham). The Lower and Outer Cape are the way to go. I guess if you're looking for a little excitement the Lower Cape is your best bet. I'm just not sold on the Upper or Mid Cape. I've spent most of my time in both and neither appeal to me as far as a place to live. However, I could live in Osterville very easily along with some other villages in Upper and Mid Cape towns but overall I would opt for the Lower and Outer Cape. Now that's true Cape Cod to me.

[RLCMA]

Both places you mentioned are nice but they are villages, not towns. Osterville is definitely the most posh area of Barnstable. It is the most expensive village in Barnstable and has a lovely little downtown area. West Falmouth is alright but definitely not the nicest area in Falmouth. North Falmouth and Falmouth Heights would be better choices in my opinion. It really depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for an area where there aren't many tourists I would say the Upper Cape and parts of Barnstable are your best bets since they have more owner occupied homes (hence less rentals) than towns from Yarmouth on down to Provincetown.