Finding the right place to raise my family…Plymouth, Hanover, Norwell, Bridgewater…looking for advice (Boston: fit in, for sale)

[Maria2006]

Hi everyone,
We are a young family with 2 children in elementary school. I am a stay at home mom for now and my husband works in boston. We've relocated from boston to Plymouth to offer our kids the suburbs. We didn't intend to move quite this far, but had a difficult time finding a good home anywhere else and had to move at that time. We've been in Plymouth for over 2 years and while it is absolutely beautiful, we are still not settled. The commute is probably the worst part but we also haven't met too many families that share the same values, although we have met many wonderful people.
So, we are still looking and are considering Hanover, Bridgewater, and Norwell (which might be too $ unless we found a fixer upper)
Ideally, we would like to be in a community with good schools, hard working families where we feel like we can relate, and a decent commute. Right now my husbands commute is over an hour and its taking its toll.

How is Bridgewater? Are there good family communities? Major differences in Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, etc?

Hanover seems like maybe the best fit for commute but again I'm not sure how community feel and schools.

and Norwell is beautiful and I know schools are great but I also know that its expensive and I'm wondering if we would not fit in since it seems like a more affluent town.

We feel like we made a mistake moving so far so definitely trying to make the right decision this time around.

Open to any advice/thoughts/etc. Also if there are any other town recommendations I would be interested in learning about those.

Our home budget is probably no more than $550K.

Thank you!!!

[Dm84]

The commute is still going to be long depending on how your husband commutes and where his office is.

If you felt Plymouth was the only place you could afford, I don't see how you can afford to move to any of the towns you listed.

[NewfieMama]

I think Hanover would be a good fit based on what you're looking for: good schools, commutable to Boston, and I think you could get a 3 bed/2bath ~2000SF home for $550K or so, even if it needs a little updating. But I do think the commute each way would still be over an hour. Your husband would probably drive to Weymouth (via Rt. 53) and take the commuter rail from there. Bridgewater might be a good option commute-wise given that it has a commuter rail stop, but I don't know much about Bridgewater schools, so hopefully others can chime in there.

I don't think Norwell is out of the question. $550K would get you something on the smaller side that would need updating, but it's definitely doable. The supply is there--lots of smaller capes near Rte. 53 on smaller lots come up for sale in the 500K range.

[edsox15]

My two cents:

Live in Norwell and have gotten to know Hanover pretty well (it borders Norwell). Not familiar with Bridgewater but from what little I know it probably is very similar to Hanover.

Norwell is the most affluent of the three but I haven't found it openly flaunted in a way that seems uncomfortable. Most of the people we have met are really nice and easy to get along with.

$550k will get you a nicer/bigger house in either Hanover or Bridgewater but it will get you better than a fixer-upper in Norwell. It depends on what kind of sq. ft. you're looking for.

The commute to Boston from either Norwell or Hanover will still be the better part of an hour. Route 3 is awful. Norwell does border Hingham and Scituate which means commuter rail and the boat could be options.

My son has been in Norwell schools for two years and we are very pleased so far.

[MrLinderman]

Bridgewater only works if the Commuter rail goes to where your husband works, at times that work for the most part. If not, that commute would break even the strongest battle forged commuters. There is no easy way into Boston from Bridgewater.

Hanover you could definitely do. Overall it may be the best mix of affordability, commute, and decent area. That being said, commute would still suck. Norwell you might be able to squeeze, but you won't be able to be picky. Why not somewhere like Braintree?

[Nobodybody]

Maybe consider the commuter rail as an option for your husband's commute. This would open up many options in all directions from Boston.

[CaseyB]

Be careful with the Bridgewaters. I know one of the towns is supposed to have a decent school system but I'm not 100% sure which one it is. Probably West Bridgewater, but you'd have to check.

[MrLinderman]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Be careful with the Bridgewaters. I know one of the towns is supposed to have a decent school system but I'm not 100% sure which one it is. Probably West Bridgewater, but you'd have to check.

I think EB got a brand new school in the last few years. Not sure if it was high school or middle school, so maybe EB is the good district.

When you first mentioned West Bridgewater, I thought that a little dig at the guy on the forum who always touts Brockton as the bee's knees. Then I remembered WB was actually a real place

[Broknrekord3]

I'll second Braintree. Nice town with easy access to the city, good schools, nice public spaces, and if you're near the Landing, public transit options as well! If you don't need the best schools, Weymouth is about 15% cheaper, and not bad either. It has a little bit of a 'white trash' vibe, but as young professionals get outpriced from Quincy and Boston, the city is changing quickly.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Maria2006

Hi everyone,
We are a young family with 2 children in elementary school. I am a stay at home mom for now and my husband works in boston. We've relocated from boston to Plymouth to offer our kids the suburbs. We didn't intend to move quite this far, but had a difficult time finding a good home anywhere else and had to move at that time. We've been in Plymouth for over 2 years and while it is absolutely beautiful, we are still not settled. The commute is probably the worst part but we also haven't met too many families that share the same values, although we have met many wonderful people.
So, we are still looking and are considering Hanover, Bridgewater, and Norwell (which might be too $ unless we found a fixer upper)
Ideally, we would like to be in a community with good schools, hard working families where we feel like we can relate, and a decent commute. Right now my husbands commute is over an hour and its taking its toll.

How is Bridgewater? Are there good family communities? Major differences in Bridgewater, West Bridgewater, etc?

Hanover seems like maybe the best fit for commute but again I'm not sure how community feel and schools.

and Norwell is beautiful and I know schools are great but I also know that its expensive and I'm wondering if we would not fit in since it seems like a more affluent town.

We feel like we made a mistake moving so far so definitely trying to make the right decision this time around.

Open to any advice/thoughts/etc. Also if there are any other town recommendations I would be interested in learning about those.

Our home budget is probably no more than $550K.

Thank you!!!

Describe what it is about the Plymouth community you don't like, and what kind of place you think you would "fit in".

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Be careful with the Bridgewaters. I know one of the towns is supposed to have a decent school system but I'm not 100% sure which one it is. Probably West Bridgewater, but you'd have to check.

I've heard West Bridgewater is a good school system.

B-R is mixed. Some insist that it's good but it has long had funding issues, large class sizes, etc.

Don't know about EB. Know a few people from there and they turned out OK I guess, although it's been years now.