Hingham's not working for me anymore... (Boston, Quincy: lower-class, fit in, renting)

[jan0105]

Originally Posted by massnative71

How about Scituate? Pretty seaside town, but imho friendlier that Hingham or Cohasset.

Ooooh, good idea -- there's a gorgeous waterfront contemporary Colonial with tons of windows for sale in Humarock right now! OP, I have no idea what your budget is, but check out 4 Cliff Road South on Redfin.

[hingham-x]

We did a lot of research before we moved here. Our kids had a great education, lots of classes, sports, etc. As I said, I like latte, drive an suv (albeit a hybrid), live in a pretty house, etc. I guess I am a lot like some people here but there is one major difference: the people here are basically mean. I have been quietly observing this place from the sidelines for the past two decades. The close friends I've made over the years never stay. They move away. The values here are a disgrace. But those who live here love it, snobbery and all. They couldn't be happier, until they're not.

What about Lincoln? I see there is a lot of open land there.

The thing is, I'm used to living in a pretty place now. "Wherever you go, there you are." Maybe what I'm talking about doesn't exist in this country.

No one cares about the older people here. They just want to deliver meals-on-wheels so they can grab the house they've lived in for 50 years and gut it to make room for the Viking stove and wine cellar. The elderly person has no value as a human being, resource, source of wisdom, etc. No money = no value. I've ignored it for years but I'm tired now. It's worn me down watching greed and hate in action.

[mwbms28]

I don't want to paint with too broad of a brush, but I think of what the author is describing as "new money" wealthy, whereby people load up on objects (house, car, boat, etc.) to show off how successful they are. These people are often heavily leveraged and might very well be SOL if the main wage earner lost his/her job.

Lincoln and Concord fit more of an "old money" paradigm, in which the money has been in the family for generations and the heirs have grown uninterested in all of the "objects." These people are often so much richer than you (general "you" not "you" the author) that your materialistic games seem ridiculous. No one's worried about losing a job in this case because the 3% dividend from government bonds on 10 million dollars of principle is coming whether the job is there or not. The snobbery is still present, but it's not as much in your face.

This distinction, to a great degree, can be seen in the placement of the houses in Wellesley versus Dover, for example. In Wellesley the huge houses are all right next to the road, for all to see. In Dover you do not get to see the house, only the gate. Less in your face. More nature to give everyone their space.

I completely understand that no town is all new money or all old money, far from it. But that's the dynamic I think the author is talking about, and I'll think he'll get more of an old money feel in Concord (and Wayland, for that matter, though I wouldn't even consider it an old money town).

Partial Observer makes a good point, though. If you really want to get away from the money attitude, you need to go somewhere where people don't have it, or at least not everyone has it. Move to Cambridge?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by jan0105

Ooooh, good idea -- there's a gorgeous waterfront contemporary Colonial with tons of windows for sale in Humarock right now! OP, I have no idea what your budget is, but check out 4 Cliff Road South on Redfin.

Sounds very nice! Of course be wary of flooding in Humarock.

[edsox15]

I would second Norwell or Scituate. Pretty much everyone I've met from those two towns has been down-to-earth and friendly. (I live in Norwell and like it a lot).

[Boston_Burbs]

Essex, Ipswich, or Marblehead. Marblehead being the most suburban.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by mwbms28

I think the towns in the Wayland/Lincoln/Concord/Sudbury zone would serve you well. I have never been to Hingham so I don't know much about it (other than that it's an affluent town), but the "style" of money in the towns I mentioned is different than from what you are describing in Hingham, even though these towns are just as wealthy (more or less).

Terrific nature options in Concord - many preserves and hiking trails.

I think people in Wayland/Sudbury are different than people in Concord/Lincoln. You'll find the same thing in Wayland/Sudbury as you do in Hingham. You don't find as much conspicuous consumption in Concord/Lincoln because there is older money there. People in that area, including Carlisle, are known for their crunchy lifestyle.

Originally Posted by hingham-x

What about Lincoln? I see there is a lot of open land there.

The thing is, I'm used to living in a pretty place now. "Wherever you go, there you are." Maybe what I'm talking about doesn't exist in this country.

Yes, Lincoln and Carlisle. Concord to a lesser extent, but you might find Lincoln/Carlisle to be too rural for your liking. Concord has an actual downtown area that you will find charming.

[hingham-x]

Originally Posted by jan0105

Ooooh, good idea -- there's a gorgeous waterfront contemporary Colonial with tons of windows for sale in Humarock right now! OP, I have no idea what your budget is, but check out 4 Cliff Road South on Redfin.

Wow! That place is perfect! You know your job! Spouse won't live that close to the ocean.

I have two others I really love, one in Norwell and one in Lincoln. But my spouse says that wherever we go we'll find more of the same so why leave? Do you think that is true?

Lincoln: https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/...d/pid_9046441/
41 Great South Road, Lincoln

Norwell: https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/...e/pid_7333112/
85 Harbor Lane, Norwell

We're not rich or from money, just working class people. But we care about other people: the poor, the elderly, the young, people who are different. We accept and embrace people not for what they have, but for who they are as a person. That is so not the case in Hingham, unless you're a salt of the earth townie.

[jan0105]

Loooove that Norwell house! Norwell's median house price is actually higher than Hingham's, but I agree, there's a more laid-back feeling there (if only because there's no downtown for the Lululemon-clad size 0 blonde women to converge on! .

Someone from metrowest correct me if I'm wrong, but I think South Great Rd in Lincoln is a busier street.

[notsobkcuf]

Maybe it's nicer in Marblehead because it's so hard for people to drive out of there and hang out anywhere else that they figure, may as well make good with what's around you including the people. Marblehead is a beautiful area if you love the ocean, and the houses my god some extra-ordinary and extra-ordinarily expensive real-estate of the old wealth there. Shubbie's is a good lil market too with some killer gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.

I find some people around Salem/Swampscott to be rude (mostly knuckleheads) but Marblehead much nicer, What about Newburyport? Haven't spent much time but someone here was saying the blue-collar and white-collar mesh rather nicely or more-so than other areas, no personal experience though.

Originally Posted by traffic_lover

I lived in marblehead for 2 yrs & was shocked how friendly & laid back the community is. It's not flashy at all. Lots of townies & just regular nice ppl. We have a theory that b/c the rich folk in marblehead are OBSENELY wealthy they have nothing to prove or flash around. In fact the opposite, stay obscure. It's the wannabes that play the Jones act. Highly recommended marblehead