Anyone tell me about Easton MA? (Boston, Brockton: school, recreation, commute)

[Polly Esther]

Hi All,

We are an active family of 5 with 3 young school age children and are looking to relocate to an area close to Boston. Neither of us need to commute on a daily basis, so something around 495 would be okay.

I came across some information on Easton and it looked good, but can someone tell me if it has a "downtown" area? Also, it is very important to us to have a town with a strong commitment to recreational activities. I noticed that Easton has 2 public golf courses (18 & 9 hole), but what other thing are there to do? Is there a rec center with a pool & tennis & fitness? Classes for the kids? How is the library?

Any info anyone has would be appreciated!

Cheers!

FYI we have looked in Hingham & Scituate and like walkable downtown feel. I think it may be too expensive, so we are searching for alternative towns. Thanks!

[goyguy]

Easton's commercial areas, such as they are, are mainly strung along the main roads in town. There's some "mall sprawl" immediately to the east, around the Route 24 interchange on the west side of Brockton, and just up the road on the Randolph/Stoughton line. North Easton has a bit more of a "rural" feel to it, but this holds true for most of the community.

You might also be interested in Franklin, Bellingham, Norton, Mansfield, Foxborough, and Norfolk, which are all similar and in the same region. Except for the towns beginning with "Nor," each is an old settlement with a town center around which suburban-type developments grew. A common trait among each of them is that there really isn't all that much in terms of "rec centers," since that's a "city" kind of thing. You could visit the YMCA's Web site to find out where they have locations in southern/southeastern Mass.