Hingham's not working for me anymore... (Boston, Cambridge: 2015, foreclosures, new home)

[sal1181]

Originally Posted by timberline742

C'mon Powerball!

Already bought my numbers!

[hingham-x]

[quote=495neighbor;42621162]

Originally Posted by hingham-x

This sounds more like nouveau riche materialism than snobbery.

Both! I am probably being totally judgmental, but the people who have new money come to events dressed to the nines in all this flashy, glitzy stuff...It's hard to watch. Then you have the Connecticut crowd with their thinly veiled contempt for non-financial/law people. They join hands and the circle is closed.

[hingham-x]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

Good places to find the crunchy, politically progressive, techie community you are seeking -- Natick, Acton, Lexington. Natick and Acton won't have as many pretty streets and contemporary style homes as Lexington, but you will likely find a beautiful contemporary style townhome in all three towns.

Concord and Lincoln are green but not very nerdy. Lincoln has been home to several pioneers of the contemporary mid-century modern architecture. Custom homes designed by Marcel Breuer, and Walter Gropius, and of more recent history Earl Flansburg are to be found there.

Wayland is green and a little bit nerdy.

Here's a beautifully preserved and updated home for sale in Wayland designed by Breuer.
68 Moore Road, Wayland, Massachusetts 01778 | MLS 71832756 | Gibson Sotheby's International Realty

It almost pains me to see it still on the market for almost the same price as a hideous McMansion.

Thanks so much! This place is to die for...I totally LOVE it!

I think I will start with Concord, Lexington, maybe Lincoln, and Ipswich/Essex. I'm sure I would love living in Cambridge but I can't see transitioning from a huge family home in Hingham to a 1000 SF condo in Cambridge in one fell swoop. Maybe that will be next after the kids have all gone.

One of my good friends defected to Lexington last year (against her will). Her husband made the decision: it was time to get out. She is a professional with an MBA from Harvard, SAHM of two, and she LOVED it here and did not want to leave. Loved her garden (gardener), big house, (housekeeper), the country clubs, restaurants ($$$), cupcake shop ($$$), etc. Smart, worldly...went into Cambridge a lot. She would never have left Hingham. Her husband wanted a shorter commute.

[johngolf]

Many uptight New Englanders would call that house (the link to Wayland) one of them high tech chicken coops. Especially the ones that could not afford it.

[n1ey]

[quote=495neighbor;42621162]

Originally Posted by hingham-x

This sounds more like nouveau riche materialism than snobbery.

Watch out! Norwell is not far behind.

[ladyalicemore]

"In the land of social climbers Hingham is a breeding ground for mountaineers." What a wonderful quip, hingham-x!

I live in Boca Raton, FL and think I understand whereof you speak, though conspicuous consumption here is often locked away in gated communities, so regular people don't have to see it.

I am busy trying to find a MA community that is at least friendly to lapsed D-Soc folks like myself, but even in Mass they are getting scarcer. I may end up in Maine, which is in theory conservative but in fact pretty much live-and-let-live, at least in the southern sections--and live and let live suits me fine, too. One of the promising MA towns for me is Ipswich, as I am a history freak and Ipswich is like the mother-ship of Mass history. But it is a little out of my price range.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by johngolf

Many uptight New Englanders would call that house (the link to Wayland) one of them high tech chicken coops. Especially the ones that could not afford it.

I suppose that would be a slam at me. I assure you, we could afford it. I still think it looks like an office building instead of a residence. It has no appeal to me at all.

[traffic_lover]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

I assure you, we could afford it.

PHEW....what a relief!!

[semiurbanite]

Originally Posted by hingham-x

It has to be someplace beautiful and safe, like Hingham. I need a nice house with privacy and a yard. I don't know anything about either place but I'll check them out. Thanks!

A nice house with privacy and a yard will cost over a million in Somerville and over 1.5 in Cambridge. But it does exist. If you like to drive everywhere though, don't bother.

[hingham-x]

Originally Posted by semiurbanite

A nice house with privacy and a yard will cost over a million in Somerville and over 1.5 in Cambridge. But it does exist. If you like to drive everywhere though, don't bother.

I looked at the listings. Definitely too expensive. We're not quite ready for a condo yet. Thanks!