Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Huh? Weren't we all immigrants at one point? The current set will start migrating to the burbs as well, once they get established. In fact, many already have...
There is some truth to what you are saying, but I don't think it serves much purpose to people like the OP working in the Seaport who have kids to put in school. People have to live somewhere.
Right but not really. If you look at the leadership of towns and boards and committees you'll find that frankly it's mostly White. You don't really see diversity in the suburbs. Yes of course one can make the option their metco which is an excellent program but the fact of the matter remains is that you do have many communities that frankly are unattractive to immigrants and minorities for that matter. If you're the only person that is deemed to be different it is hard to shake that. Yes we can try to make the argument that Massachusetts is a progressive state but at the same point the nimbyism has underlined tones which we know for certain reasons.
IMO you take away the ocean and Hingham is just like any other town. I find the downtown charming but no more charming than many other downtowns. Derby Street or the Shipyard could be any strip mall anywhere.
Personally, living near the ocean is not something I assign much value to. In my mind, living near the ocean in New England is like having a pool. It's really only good to have a short period of the year and it's debatable whether it's worth the trade offs involved to get it. I just don't see much benefit to having the ocean especially in Hingham (aside from maybe it's aesthetic value and you can't see it from 99% of the houses in town anyway). The public beach in town is not great so unless you want to spend tons and tons of money every year owning a boat there's not really any benefit.
Again just my opinion . . . you can't beat the versatility of Metrowest. In an hour I can be in all kinds of environments. I'm not just limited to the beach. Western MA, NH, VT, Maine, the Cape, and of course easy access to Boston are all things I enjoy being able to get to easily from here. Plus, in 15 minutes I can be at the train station in Westwood where I can hop on a train to NYC and I don't have to fight the traffic on I93 north or lug a suitcase on a ferry and then take an Uber when I want to get to the airport easily.
Again just my personal opinion . . . I would feel trapped and isolated living in Hingham. Not everyone would but I would.
Also, once you get past Brookline/Cambridge/Somerville/Arlington/Waltham walkability drops way off. Most Boston suburbs are not terribly walkable. Westwood is no exception. As I've often said about Westwood . . . you can walk around all day you're just not going to have a destination.
I agree with the prior poster, its about lifestyle, and while walkability and near the ocean does not score as high to you as the versatility of the Metrowest, the OP may assign a higher value to the those traits. We looked all over Metrowest, including Needham, Natick and Westwood, and decided instead on Hingham. Others obviously choose differently. I love that we can walk to downtown and to the train (ferry is not the only option). We have also ubered to the airport in less than 30 minutes, but timing is off course, a factor, as in anywhere in Boston.
If we had determined that having a central location was the higher priority, we likely would have compromised on having a downtown and landed in Westwood for the schools and slightly nicer home for our budget. But, more and more buyers are looking for walkable areas, so I think it's a mistake to discount that point for resale and for the OPs enjoyment of their home.
If we had OPs budget, I expect we would have compromised on home size and lot, and gone with Wellesley for a nice combination of downtown, train, location and strong (enough) schools. Wincester did not make sense for us, but we have been through it and liked it a lot.
We found Needham overpriced, even for all that it offers. Would have liked to buy there 10 years ago, but OP has the budget that allows for more there. Definitely worth a look. No doubt, they will find the right combination.
I agree with the prior poster, its about lifestyle, and while walkability and near the ocean does not score as high to you as the versatility of the Metrowest, the OP may assign a higher value to the those traits.
Yes. Only the OP can weigh in on that. I have no idea what their preferences are as they have not stated them. I'm merely trying to highlight some aspects they may not have considered or been aware of.
I'm certainly not discounting walkability. People love to have places to walk to. My point was merely that the suburbs of Boston in general are not very walkable places once you get past the very inner ring of suburbs. The drop off from the walkability of a place like Needham or Wellesley or Hingham is not that steep when you move down to a Westwood. IMO, it's a bigger jump from a Brookline or Cambridge to a Needham/Wellesley/Hingham.
Quote:
Originally Posted by camj70
We looked all over Metrowest, including Needham, Natick and Westwood, and decided instead on Hingham. Others obviously choose differently. I love that we can walk to downtown and to the train (ferry is not the only option). We have also ubered to the airport in less than 30 minutes, but timing is off course, a factor, as in anywhere in Boston.
Yes. I'm sure you can Uber to Logan in 30 minutes from Hingham. That would have to be at some rare hour where there is absolutely zero traffic and you probably live at the end of Hingham that's closer to the highway.
Yes. I'm sure you live someplace near the town center. However, there's only one town center and if you're not lucky enough to live near there then the walkability drops off drastically to the point where it doesn't matter if you're in Hingham or Westwood.
Quote:
Originally Posted by camj70
If we had determined that having a central location was the higher priority, we likely would have compromised on having a downtown and landed in Westwood for the schools and slightly nicer home for our budget. But, more and more buyers are looking for walkable areas, so I think it's a mistake to discount that point for resale and for the OPs enjoyment of their home.
Again, I'm not discounting walkability. Only stating there's not a massive drop off between most suburbs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by camj70
If we had OPs budget, I expect we would have compromised on home size and lot, and gone with Wellesley for a nice combination of downtown, train, location and strong (enough) schools. Wincester did not make sense for us, but we have been through it and liked it a lot.
Wellesley's nice but the whole "keeping up with the Jones's" atmosphere there is not my thing and I would tend to doubt that the OP will get the large house on a large lot that they're looking for. My guess is they probably want something on the newer or completely renovated end of things as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by camj70
We found Needham overpriced, even for all that it offers. Would have liked to buy there 10 years ago, but OP has the budget that allows for more there. Definitely worth a look. No doubt, they will find the right combination.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions and preferences. At the end of the day, the public votes with their wallet. So, places with higher real estate values tend to have broader appeal. When advising my clients who are greatly concerned about resale, I usually suggest places with more broad appeal.
The discussion seems to focus on commuting to Boston but little attention is being given to the parent who has to deal with the day to day issues. To me, traffic from metro west and traffic from Cohasset or Hingham is a wash. Both consume more time than they should. However, those who take the ferry from Hingham ( 1/2 hr to Boston) sing its praises regardless of the weather. The train is another option. For those who spend most of their time at home, both towns offer a great deal of recreational opportunities. The Cohasset Beach is gorgeous and carefully maintained. The Arts Festival in June is a great event. Hingham has a terrific July 4th parade and super crafts fair in November at the HS. Wompatuck state park is in both towns. Sailing, rowing, golf, tennis are readily available. Both towns have a number of restaurants, farmers' markets, walkable town centers, good schools, historic heritage and a strong sense of community.
For the poster looking for a 5 bedroom house with a pool or room for one for under $2 mil, the pickings are slim in Cohasset. Prices for such a property tend to be higher. Hingham offers more possibilities. It's a much larger town for starters.
I urge the OP to take another look at the South Shore. You'll be hard pressed find a prettier harbor than Cohasset or a finer street of antique homes than Hingham's Main.
I've lived metro west as well as the south shore. The south shore offers a simpler, less harried way of life.
Yes. I'm sure you can Uber to Logan in 30 minutes from Hingham. That would have to be at some rare hour where there is absolutely zero traffic and you probably live at the end of Hingham that's closer to the highway.
.[/quote]
No, even if you leave right now from central Hingham to Logan, it should be less than hour. My spouse travels a lot. Mornings are very tough, as you're going in with traffic. The same would be true from Metrowest. As a prior poster said, it's likely a wash on trafffic. Late morning through the rest of the day is very reasonable as you're heading in against traffic, so I am not referencing some rare occurrence.
OP has a nice budget and any of the towns they are considering should provide a good quality of life - we just happened to determine that certain factors weighed more heavily for us than the agreed upon central location of the Metrowest. If they want to be able to get to Cambridge down the road for work, than the South Shore doesn't make sense; otherwise, both Hingham and Cohasset offer a decent amount of what they are looking for.
No, even if you leave right now from central Hingham to Logan, it should be less than hour. My spouse travels a lot. Mornings are very tough, as you're going in with traffic. The same would be true from Metrowest. As a prior poster said, it's likely a wash on trafffic. Late morning through the rest of the day is very reasonable as you're heading in against traffic, so I am not referencing some rare occurrence.
We're definitely going to have to agree to disagree on this. There is just no way that driving into Boston consistently takes the same amount of time from Hingham and Needham. Every traffic study out there rates I93N as the 2nd most congested stretch of roadway in the state (RT2 is #1). Hingham is also 5 miles further away.
If you play around with Google Maps departure times from both towns you'll find that hours of congestion take up more of the day on the road from Hingham. So, there are fewer hours during the day when an "easy" ride is possible. When the traffic is bad from either town it's bad. Coming from Hingham the traffic is just more consistently bad according to Google. If you factor in driving through Cape traffic on a Friday/Saturday/Sunday during the summer times will separate further.
Quote:
Originally Posted by camj70
OP has a nice budget and any of the towns they are considering should provide a good quality of life - we just happened to determine that certain factors weighed more heavily for us than the agreed upon central location of the Metrowest. If they want to be able to get to Cambridge down the road for work, than the South Shore doesn't make sense; otherwise, both Hingham and Cohasset offer a decent amount of what they are looking for.
Yes. We're just both sharing some facts and opinions. As we both said earlier, it's up to the OP to determine which factors are more important to them. There's a reason I didn't choose to live in Hingham and there are reasons why folks who live there did choose it. Any way you shake it, these are all great places to live.
We're definitely going to have to agree to disagree on this. There is just no way that driving into Boston consistently takes the same amount of time from Hingham and Needham. Every traffic study out there rates I93N as the 2nd most congested stretch of roadway in the state.
It seems being deluded about the commute into Boston and using only the proper little white lights during the holidays are pre-requisites for living in Hingham.
Hingham and cohasset are super expensive housing wise. I’m not even sure your budget will get you what you want these days. Duxbury might be a better option.
Lots of pretentious folks living in these places as well. Lack of diversity. Lots of entitled people especially the ones who are the offspring of parents who live there as well. Stepford wifeish. Hope you like trump because your neighbors will too. But the schools are good so who cares right?
Not a fan of either place. Cohasset is beautiful but I couldn’t live there.
It seems being deluded about the commute into Boston and using only the proper little white lights during the holidays are pre-requisites for living in Hingham.
As I said in an earlier post, consumers vote with their wallets. So, there must be something that the majority of people find appealing about Metrowest that makes the home prices in many of the towns higher than Hingham.
Not everyone has the same preferences and certainly not everyone lives the same life. So, some towns are going to work better for some people and their preferences may run contrary to the majority.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
