Neighborhoods in Winchester/Lexington/Belmont (Boston, Marlborough: rental, condos, house)

[TheWereRabbit]

Originally Posted by DG001

Hi, We are interested in Winchester as well (not so much Lexington, because the homes there in our price range are MUCH too old ), but anyway, thought this link would help - it gives a lot of info about current demographics and "challenges"

Untitled Document

This is a cool document. Nice to see some familiar names on the planning board and I think a lot of what they're saying express how many residents feel.

[elisemarie]

This is for TheWereRabbit or anyone else who knows Winchester...

What is Wedge Pond like? Are the houses/neighborhoods around the pond nice?

btw - this thread has been so amazingly helpful to us. Thank you all for the great information!

[4panthers]

Thanks Were Rabbit. I think McCall is beautiful too. Thank you for your comments. I know that the education in Winchester is fabulous, as my neighbors have been super happy. The only complaints I have heard are about the facilities at the high school and the overcrowding at Lincoln. Do you have a personal favorite for an elementary school? Everyone says Ambrose is so great, but maybe it is regarding the new buildings. It is wonderful.

[4panthers]

Does anyone have any insight into the elementary schools in Lexington? There are so many it feels overwhelming. I know they are all fantastic, but are there different aspects pertaining to each that would make it easier to decide? Could I just buy a house, should I decide on Lexington, and feel happy with whichever elementary school? You guys are great!

[elisemarie]

I keep hearing that Fiske is "the best"...not sure how true that is but that's what I keep hearing.

Also - any info on what the Wedge Pond area in winchester is like? Are the neighborhoods around the pond nice? Is it swimmable?

[4panthers]

Borggaard Beach, the swim pond, is on Wedge Pond. There are a few houses for sale on that pond, which are beautiful, but I'm not sure if they have access for swimming. I think you could have a boat though!

I had heard that Fiske is great too. Which area do you prefer, from driving around, Merriam or Munroe?

[elisemarie]

I love both areas! Munroe has a neighborhhod tennis court and some wonderful homes. Meriam lots look a little smaller but the homes are very pretty too. I have to say that the Flats just feels way more child friendly (you see more bikes, strollers, etc) and it is slightly less expensive.

What do you think?

[4panthers]

We love that area too. We're looking to buy in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully something will come on the market that we love. The small-town feel of Winchester is absolutely fabulous. When looking at Lexington and Wellesley, which have so many great aspects, we can't help but to come back to Winchester for the "little town" feel. I love that kids can walk to the center of town with friends, hang out at the Starbucks or at the common (near the library on the pond with the ducks). Lexington and Arlington is close, so all of the amenities can be shared. I love the fact that 93 is so close making a trip to Boston under 15 minutes. Where will you be commuting to? That makes a difference.

We just learned that Wellesley is going to rebuild the high school, beginning next year.

[elisemarie]

Originally Posted by 4panthers

We love that area too. We're looking to buy in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully something will come on the market that we love. The small-town feel of Winchester is absolutely fabulous. When looking at Lexington and Wellesley, which have so many great aspects, we can't help but to come back to Winchester for the "little town" feel. I love that kids can walk to the center of town with friends, hang out at the Starbucks or at the common (near the library on the pond with the ducks). Lexington and Arlington is close, so all of the amenities can be shared. I love the fact that 93 is so close making a trip to Boston under 15 minutes. Where will you be commuting to? That makes a difference.

We just learned that Wellesley is going to rebuild the high school, beginning next year.

I am a SAHM but my husband needs to be in Hopkinton much of the time (also home based office). So Winchester worries me from a commute perspective! We finished looking at homes in Winchester last week and went to head home (to Franklin) and just about died from the commute (Franklin is about 20 minutes further away from Winchester than Hopkinton and my husband would be doing the reverse commute but still...it was brutal!)

For the short term we've taken winchester off our list based on the fact that it's just that much further away from where my husband commutes to but you never know...it seems like a good fit for us in so many other ways. We are actively looking in Lexington and Belmont and we've added Lincoln and Concord to the list.

Do you know anything about Bowman in Lexington? It seems like most of Monroe Hill goes to Bowman now whereas a few years ago they went to Fiske. I just don't know anything about Bowman???

[smarty]

Wow... I did not realized that Winchester is only 20 minutes more than Franklin to Hopkinton... interesting... 50 miles vs 15 miles but only 20 minutes more... I was thinking that Winchester to Hopkinton is 55 minutes each way on a good day.

I wonder how long will Dover Sherborn to Hopkinton. Probably still 25 minutes on local roads.