Duxbury or Norwell (Hingham, Scituate: housing, budget, kitchen)

[NewfieMama]

I live in Norwell and would move to Duxbury if my husband didn't work in Back Bay.

I am really happy in Norwell, but feel like Duxbury is out of what I call the "commuter belt", so it's a little less congested, but has great schools, great beaches, and a cute downtown. From Duxbury, the commute would be 1.5+ hours each way for my husband. We lived in Duxbury for about 6 months when we first moved to Boston (and both worked in the Back Bay) and there is no way we could do that commute again, especially now that we have kids.

Commute from Norwell isn't bad. I work in Hingham now, so super short commute for me. But my husband in back bay does train from East Weymouth to South Station, then either walks or takes the train from SS to BB. It's a little over an hour door-to-door.

[Bridge781]

A commute from Norwell to hingham sounds great!

I think scituate is on the list, it sounds like that’s a closer commute than duxbury? It seems that duxbury schools are better than scituate though.

Hingham would be my first choice but 750k doesn’t go far there either.

[NewfieMama]

Scituate is definitely a shorter commute than Duxbury. We rented in Scituate for a year and loved it. Also made an offer on a house in Scituate that fell through before we decided on Norwell. The only issue for us with Scituate is that the closer you are the to the water, the farther you are from the highway and a variety of amenities. I was torn because I love the water, but we are a young, active family, so I need to be close to grocery stores, Target, the Y, kids stuff (gymnastics, dance, music lessons, ice skating...whatever the heck lessons we are in at the time), plus restaurants. Obviously Scituate has grocery stores and kids stuff, but it's just a little more secluded, which is a positive for many people!

[Bridge781]

It also seems like scituate gets hit pretty hard when the weather is bad. I’ve heard horror stories there in terms of flooding etc.

[NewfieMama]

Scituate gets hit pretty hard, but only if you are right on the water. We lived 2 blocks from the water and never had flooding issues, but I LOVE a nor'easter, so I liked being so close to all the drama. The waves, the wind...it was a lot of fun.

[porterhouse]

Check the FEMA maps and make sure you don't buy in a flood zone. That can give you reasonable confidence that your house and neighborhood is safe. As newfiemama points out, seeing nature's power can be fun. Factor a generator into your budget and host parties for your displaced friends.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

If you're looking solely at commute, both Norwell and Scituate (the latter because of the commuter rail) would be easier than Duxbury. You're still looking at least an hour each way during rush periods, though. Rte 3 is a mess in the morning. I know this because I have a reverse commute to work so I see it.

IMO closer to the water = prettier town. Not that Norwell doesn't have its beauty (it does), but it's physically closer to everything because of Rte 3. It also has amenities neither Scituate nor Duxbury have.

The drawback is distance. Scituate is off the main highway grid so there's that to consider. Much of Duxbury is too, but you can at least access part of it via Rte 3 near the Kingston line.

I suppose it all depends on what you want and what your're willing to sacrifice for the amount you wish to spend. 750K doesn't go far in many places around here nowadays, though, unless you're willing to move much further out or somehow stumble on a once in a lifetime deal.

[Bridge781]

Yep. Pretty sad that 750k can’t get much even as far out as duxbury.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Yep. Pretty sad that 750k can’t get much even as far out as duxbury.

Have you considered going a bit further south like Kingston or Plymouth? Or even a bit inland like Pembroke or Hanson/Halifax?

[Bridge781]

If I had no kids I might not mind going further out but schools in hingham, duxbury, Norwell are better than those ones you mentioned above. Quite a bit better.