Initial information for a possible relocation, specific Boston suburbs (Quincy: fit in, how much)

[leeleerambles]

Hello everyone! My husband is potentially going to need to relocate for work. We are looking into specific towns, within a 20 mile radius of Westwood. We have 3 kids, so we narrowed it down by school district, looking for A and A+ rated school districts only, and within the distance I mentioned. Our criteria is 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and about 2000 sf with a decent property size. We would like something with a little bit of a town center, and parks. Hubby also likes to mountain bike, so if there is something close by that would be great.

The towns I have isolated are:
Needham, Milton, Westwood, Dover/Sherborn, Sharon, Medfield, Natick, North Easton, Medway, Foxborough,
Braintree, Norwood, Franklin, Quincy, Canton, Holliston.

The budget we have is between $650 and $750 k for a new home.

Can anyone give me any input on any of these areas that are better than others, or more value for our money, or more desirable based on all my criteria?

Thanks so much!

[jayrandom]

The closer you are to Boston, the more you'll pay for access to Boston. If your husband is just going to Westwood, you will find better value the further out you go. I'm not sure if you're looking for a new home in the sense of a new home for you or new construction, but be advised there isn't a lot of new construction and it tends to be pricey.

Needham is a great town, for instance, but it's even closer to Boston, so probably not a great choice in your price range. I'm not sure you can realistically find a SFH in Needham in your budget.

Westwood is a bit more suburban and lacks a real town center. The Islington neighborhood has a small (and growing) little center, but it doesn't have nearly as much as places like Needham or Norwood. Schools are good, but you will probably compromise on house size in Westwood.

Canton has a more built-up center and will be less expensive than Westwood. Schools aren't as good as Needham or Westwood, but even the middle-tier schools are going to be better than a lot of the rest of the country. Depending on where in Westwood he's working, it's possible Canton could be closer than a large portion of Westwood.

Sharon has excellent schools but generally high taxes. I think it's a bit more expensive than Canton, but less expensive than Westwood and considerably less expensive than Needham. It tends to lower density. I'm pretty sure there is a mountain bike trail in town. The town center is pretty small, but would probably be my top suggestion to you (especially if schools are your first priority).

Dover/Sherborn are great. Probably the best schools in the area (possibly just as a function of also being the wealthiest towns in the area). Good biking, lots of nature. Horse farms, parks, trees. Your budget is right at the very bottom of those towns, though. If you're ok with something small and really low density, the schools might make this a good choice.

Braintree is nice but is frankly the wrong way from Westwood. I wouldn't recommend looking there. Same with Milton, although it's a bit closer. Quincy is even further in the wrong direction.

Natick might be a good choice, but it's also sort of in the wrong direction, in that it's further from Westwood but not really that much further from Boston. I don't think it would be a good value for you (assuming your husband is going to Westwood).

I don't think Norwood schools would be described as A/A+. It has a nice town center and is a nice community though, and a less expensive than everything else so far.

Franklin/Holliston/Medway will be more affordable and are further away but in the right direction (i.e. away from Boston).

[CaseyB]

Medfield might be a good choice. Great schools, pretty nice town center, Rocky Woods Reservation.

Rocky Woods, Medfield | NEMBA

[ECPCVC]

Medfield, Holliston, Walpole. Like others said, you need to be looking farther out since the commute is only to Westwood.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

The closer you are to Boston, the more you'll pay for access to Boston. If your husband is just going to Westwood, you will find better value the further out you go. I'm not sure if you're looking for a new home in the sense of a new home for you or new construction, but be advised there isn't a lot of new construction and it tends to be pricey.

Needham is a great town, for instance, but it's even closer to Boston, so probably not a great choice in your price range. I'm not sure you can realistically find a SFH in Needham in your budget.

Westwood is a bit more suburban and lacks a real town center. The Islington neighborhood has a small (and growing) little center, but it doesn't have nearly as much as places like Needham or Norwood. Schools are good, but you will probably compromise on house size in Westwood.

Canton has a more built-up center and will be less expensive than Westwood. Schools aren't as good as Needham or Westwood, but even the middle-tier schools are going to be better than a lot of the rest of the country. Depending on where in Westwood he's working, it's possible Canton could be closer than a large portion of Westwood.

Sharon has excellent schools but generally high taxes. I think it's a bit more expensive than Canton, but less expensive than Westwood and considerably less expensive than Needham. It tends to lower density. I'm pretty sure there is a mountain bike trail in town. The town center is pretty small, but would probably be my top suggestion to you (especially if schools are your first priority).

Dover/Sherborn are great. Probably the best schools in the area (possibly just as a function of also being the wealthiest towns in the area). Good biking, lots of nature. Horse farms, parks, trees. Your budget is right at the very bottom of those towns, though. If you're ok with something small and really low density, the schools might make this a good choice.

Braintree is nice but is frankly the wrong way from Westwood. I wouldn't recommend looking there. Same with Milton, although it's a bit closer. Quincy is even further in the wrong direction.

Natick might be a good choice, but it's also sort of in the wrong direction, in that it's further from Westwood but not really that much further from Boston. I don't think it would be a good value for you (assuming your husband is going to Westwood).

I don't think Norwood schools would be described as A/A+. It has a nice town center and is a nice community though, and a less expensive than everything else so far.

Franklin/Holliston/Medway will be more affordable and are further away but in the right direction (i.e. away from Boston).

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Medfield might be a good choice. Great schools, pretty nice town center, Rocky Woods Reservation.

Rocky Woods, Medfield | NEMBA

I think you've got some great advice here from Jay and Casey. Some of the towns you've mentioned are pricey and you're going to have a hard (or even impossible) time finding a house you'd like to buy in them. Some of the towns you've listed are not great commutes to Westwood or do not have the A/A+ school systems you've said you want.

Westwood is a maybe. It depends on how much you're willing to compromise on the house. Sharon sounds slightly more promising based on what you've said. Canton, Medfied, Holliston, Franklin, and Medway sound like possibilities but out of those Medfield is the only one I would definitely say has a highly regarded school system.

Originally Posted by ECPCVC

Medfield, Holliston, Walpole. Like others said, you need to be looking farther out since the commute is only to Westwood.

I don't know that anyone would necessarily call Walpole's school system an A/A+ system. Plus, even though it's completely harmless a lot of people don't like living in a town that has a maximum security prison.

[ECPCVC]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I don't know that anyone would necessarily call Walpole's school system an A/A+ system. Plus, even though it's completely harmless a lot of people don't like living in a town that has a maximum security prison.

I guess it’s not A+ but the rankings are always in the top 15-20%. I used to live in the area and it has a cute little downtown. It’s also right next to Westwood. The OP was mentioning places like Norwood so I thought she might consider Walpole, who’s schools are obvs better.. A/A+ schools to someone not from this area is a tricky thing. To me, any school in say the top 1/3 of MA is going to be better than almost any A/A+ schools in almost any other state. The prison should be a non issue as many other towns have prisons and it’s never mentioned.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by ECPCVC

I guess it’s not A+ but the rankings are always in the top 15-20%. I used to live in the area and it has a cute little downtown. It’s also right next to Westwood. The OP was mentioning places like Norwood so I thought she might consider Walpole, who’s schools are obvs better.. A/A+ schools to someone not from this area is a tricky thing. To me, any school in say the top 1/3 of MA is going to be better than almost any A/A+ schools in almost any other state. The prison should be a non issue as many other towns have prisons and it’s never mentioned.

+1 on Walpole. It’s a cute town and pretty convenient to Westwood. It is hard to tell when people are looking for schools that are in the top 10% in the local area as opposed to say nationally. Only 10% of local schools will fit in the former, whereas greater than 10% for the latter.

There are only two maximum security prisons in Massachusetts, so it is something of note. It always comes up when Walpole is mentioned, but is less frequently associated with Norfolk, even though it sits on the border.

[495neighbor]

Franklin has much more new construction than most of those towns OP has mentioned. Needham would be OPs dream town but they don't have the budget for it. Scratch Dover on the new construction and budget criteria also.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by ECPCVC

I guess it’s not A+ but the rankings are always in the top 15-20%. I used to live in the area and it has a cute little downtown. It’s also right next to Westwood. The OP was mentioning places like Norwood so I thought she might consider Walpole, who’s schools are obvs better.. A/A+ schools to someone not from this area is a tricky thing. To me, any school in say the top 1/3 of MA is going to be better than almost any A/A+ schools in almost any other state. The prison should be a non issue as many other towns have prisons and it’s never mentioned.

Don't get me wrong, the kids who go into the Walpole schools don't come out dumber on the other end. The Walpole school system is far superior to the vast majority of school systems across the country. However, if someone is going to be obsessive about school rankings then likely Walpole is not going to be in the conversation especially with so many other highly regarded school systems like Westwood, Dover-Sherborn, Sharon, and Medfield so close by just to name a few.

Originally Posted by jayrandom

+1 on Walpole. It’s a cute town and pretty convenient to Westwood. It is hard to tell when people are looking for schools that are in the top 10% in the local area as opposed to say nationally. Only 10% of local schools will fit in the former, whereas greater than 10% for the latter.

Agreed. Always hard to tell what people are thinking because they often don't give enough information. They may be ecstatic with the Walpole schools or they may not. We couldn't really say with 100% certainty. A lot of people who come on here also haven't done enough research to know how much better MA public school systems are compared to the rest of the country.

Originally Posted by jayrandom

There are only two maximum security prisons in Massachusetts, so it is something of note. It always comes up when Walpole is mentioned, but is less frequently associated with Norfolk, even though it sits on the border.

I agree. It comes up because it's one of two maximum security prisons in the state. The other is out in Shirley which is why we never mention that one (not a lot of talk about that area on here). People associate the prison with Walpole even though an escaped prisoner would be just as likely to head to Norfolk as they would Walpole. It's a NIMBY issue. Doesn't matter where it is in the town. It's still in the town. We've got other threads on C-D with long drawn out discussions about this already though. No need to rehash the discussion here.

[SunnyinBoston]

New home as in brand new home? Good luck