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One place that wasn’t on our radar initially, but has caught our eye is Natick. Has the mall, town center, close to the highway, a couple of train stops, good schools, and housing seems affordable. Is there a catch? We don’t understand the house pricing given the other things it has going for it. Sounds like it’s not too far from downtown Framingham, which has some issues, and traffic is bad (how bad is bad? Just near the mall?). Anyway, any feedback on Natick is appreciated.
Both Sudbury and Medfield are great towns and you cant go wrong with either.
I live in Natick and the only advantage it has is the commuter rail but if you're going to office once a week, it shouldn't really matter. I do like the convenience of stores nearby (everything is under 5 miles) but then lot sizes are on the smaller side and there's little space for pools, RVs, barns etc. South Natick is better in that regard (different vibe, more rural, much larger lots etc.) but its not cheap.
There is no major catch when it comes to Natick. Proximity to Framingham is not an issue at all. Keep in mind that it is also surrounded by towns such as Weston, Wellesley, Dover, Sherborn and Wayland (first four are amongst the richest in the entire country). Natick is also more diverse than some of the other towns in your list.
I would suggest that you take a serious look at Sherborn as well (a hidden gem, if you ask me). Good luck!
There is no major catch when it comes to Natick. Proximity to Framingham is not an issue at all
Totally disagree, and that is the catch, but if you live far enough away, like on the other side of the lake, they are not a problem. Of course you will notice that prices are much higher.
I thought the major catch in Natick is the mall traffic at the holidays. From the ppl I know that live there, it sounds unavoidable unless you take some pretty circuitous back roads.
I thought the major catch in Natick is the mall traffic at the holidays. From the ppl I know that live there, it sounds unavoidable unless you take some pretty circuitous back roads.
Maybe in the 80s. Traffic being a problem I'm sure is correct but I doubt the Mall really contributes that much.
I’ve lived in four places in MA and each one was less dense than the last. I’m not friends with any random people who walked by in any of those places.
In a previous post, you confessed to being quite Type B, no?
I'm friends with a CONSIDERABLE contingency of families that live on my street/general part of town. My backyard is not fenced in, nor is the neighbors, or neighbors neighbors, or neighbors neighbors neighbors, or the neighbors behind me. We live on 8k sq ft lots. This environment doesn't allow you to only be friendly with people on your street, or people that walk by frequently. I talk to a dozen people in my front yard, every day. To the point that I get annoyed when I'm trying to do something as simple as bringing out the trash. BBQs on weekends, block parties, friday happy hours in the yard are standard practice. And not just with direct neighbors.
What you just said really validates the perspective or experience i'm arguing againts. Dense neighborhoods with high foot traffic make it easier/force you to meet more people, more often. That ain’t Westwood, for better or worse. And if you don't believe what I'm saying is true, or that this alternative environment exists... Well, that explains it.
To come full circle on the original point I made - If I'm from another large MSA, in a dense suburb... Westwood, or Sudbury, or Medfield COULD be a bit of a culture shock. These are not dense towns with high foot traffic. They're not super active social places, relatively speaking. Again, it doesn't make these places bad area to live. It's just simply different. I've never lived in Westwood, but I've lived through this experience when moving back to Massachusetts. And Westwood is lower density, and without a core, two traits that the suburb in MA we moved to had more of.
I don't think Manhattan is the friendliest place in America.
But it's a heck of a lot easier to meet people in Manhattan, than it is in Westwood. And... That's really the point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwj119
In a previous post, you confessed to being quite Type B, no?
I'm friends with a CONSIDERABLE contingency of families that live on my street/general part of town. My backyard is not fenced in, nor is the neighbors, or neighbors neighbors, or neighbors neighbors neighbors, or the neighbors behind me. We live on 8k sq ft lots. This environment doesn't allow you to only be friendly with people on your street, or people that walk by frequently. I talk to a dozen people in my front yard, every day. To the point that I get annoyed when I'm trying to do something as simple as bringing out the trash. BBQs on weekends, block parties, friday happy hours in the yard are standard practice. And not just with direct neighbors.
What you just said really validates the perspective or experience i'm arguing againts. Dense neighborhoods with high foot traffic make it easier/force you to meet more people, more often. That ain’t Westwood, for better or worse. And if you don't believe what I'm saying is true, or that this alternative environment exists... Well, that explains it.
To come full circle on the original point I made - If I'm from another large MSA, in a dense suburb... Westwood, or Sudbury, or Medfield COULD be a bit of a culture shock. These are not dense towns with high foot traffic. They're not super active social places, relatively speaking. Again, it doesn't make these places bad area to live. It's just simply different. I've never lived in Westwood, but I've lived through this experience when moving back to Massachusetts. And Westwood is lower density, and without a core, two traits that the suburb in MA we moved to had more of.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mwj119
I mean, they just visited and narrowed it down to Sudbury, Medfield and Westwood.
Kind of a head scratcher considering OPs original criteria included a desire for a nice town center (presumably that means a Main Street/proper core).
OP, were these three really narrowed down because of “feel”? Or is this a three horse race based on some ranking system, I.e School rankings? Without over stepping my boundaries, it’s hard to reconcile your original criteria with the three towns down selected.
Unless you want privacy, or a big lot, or a sub development, I’m not fully understanding the three towns in focus.
For someone who tried to explain to me, someone who lives in Westwood, what life is in Westwood is like, it does not surprise me that you had trouble understanding why someone who isn't exactly you would make different choices. The OP is coming from Houston (where I lived, briefly). There will be plenty of culture shock. Unless they are coming from a few specific neighborhoods, places like Westwood will be less of a culture shock than places like Somerville.
I am an introvert and you seem by all accounts to be an extrovert. That's fine. It makes sense that you live in a dense area. Lower density areas are not cold and they are not lonely. I don't actually know, maybe Sudbury is. Westwood isn't. Medfield doesn't seem to be. I think the key difference is this: you seem to classify how warm or friendly somewhere is relative to the total number of possible human interactions you can have. Somewhere where you will meet a thousand people in a day with 10% of them being warm is 10 times better than somewhere where you will meet 10 people and all 10 will be friendly. I would say that the latter is 10 times better. I know the Waverly section of Belmont isn't quite Somerville, but it's the densest place I've lived in Massachusetts. It was a lot denser than Westwood and I saw a lot more people, but even in absolute terms I had friendly interactions with far fewer, so in absolute and relative terms.
I will say, in thinking only on the scale of a place like Somerville, you are missing a key difference between Sudbury and Westwood. To you, the difference between neighborhoods with 1 acre density and 1/4 acre density is basically meaningless, but it is significant. You probably won't be walking to the store frequently on the 1/4 acre residential community, but your kids will be biking to their friends house and you will be walking to the block parties. At 1 acre you will likely be driving your kids to their friends.
I'm not attempting to disagree with any of the above, just providing my perspective. Sudbury, Westwood and Medfield aren't all that different in the end. The big differences are tied to the actually nearby amenities and what you perceive to be of value. If you got dropped into a random neighborhood in any of them I doubt most people would be able to figure out where they are. The cost of getting into any of these towns is close enough, draws a similar enough type of person, have families and good schools where you will easily find other like minded people. Their voting records are close enough that it is just noise. If you want to live in the suburbs, they all provide enough of a variety for pretty much anyone who wants to move to greater Boston. Where you work/where you might work would be my biggest concern.
You'll be driving to the grocery store, costco, etc. and have a good variety of restaurants within a 15min radius. I did the same thing when I lived in Somerville, the densest city in MA. Being "walkable" doesn't matter when you need to get across town to meet friends at the bar and the next bus (a ride that takes nearly 20min) doesn't come for another 45min. All the people taking uber would agree. And to throw some more personal experiences into the hat, I may have encountered more people when living there but none were meaningful. I moved into a "2 acre town" (absurd) in the middle of the pandemic and can't really keep up with all of the people wanting to meet up and let the kids play now that it is getting nice out. Just last night I took a $7 45min round trip commuter rail ride to Moody St. to meet someone for dinner. I'm having reverse culture shock.
I'm not attempting to disagree with any of the above, just providing my perspective. Sudbury, Westwood and Medfield aren't all that different in the end. The big differences are tied to the actually nearby amenities and what you perceive to be of value. If you got dropped into a random neighborhood in any of them I doubt most people would be able to figure out where they are. The cost of getting into any of these towns is close enough, draws a similar enough type of person, have families and good schools where you will easily find other like minded people. Their voting records are close enough that it is just noise. If you want to live in the suburbs, they all provide enough of a variety for pretty much anyone who wants to move to greater Boston. Where you work/where you might work would be my biggest concern.
You'll be driving to the grocery store, costco, etc. and have a good variety of restaurants within a 15min radius. I did the same thing when I lived in Somerville, the densest city in MA. Being "walkable" doesn't matter when you need to get across town to meet friends at the bar and the next bus (a ride that takes nearly 20min) doesn't come for another 45min. All the people taking uber would agree. And to throw some more personal experiences into the hat, I may have encountered more people when living there but none were meaningful. I moved into a "2 acre town" (absurd) in the middle of the pandemic and can't really keep up with all of the people wanting to meet up and let the kids play now that it is getting nice out. Just last night I took a $7 45min round trip commuter rail ride to Moody St. to meet someone for dinner. I'm having reverse culture shock.
I agree with you on your last point. Random Westwood/Medfield/Sudbury neighborhoods are probably going to be indistinguishable to an outsider. There are specific neighborhoods that can be found in Medfield (i.e. the town center) and Westwood (i.e. Islington) that can't really be found in Sudbury.
My main point is still that neighborhood, especially for people from elsewhere, matters a lot more than town and that the OP would be wise to look around before narrowing a specific town. I will say that once we lived in a town for 5+ years we were more married to the specific town.
I'm not attempting to disagree with any of the above, just providing my perspective. Sudbury, Westwood and Medfield aren't all that different in the end. The big differences are tied to the actually nearby amenities and what you perceive to be of value. If you got dropped into a random neighborhood in any of them I doubt most people would be able to figure out where they are. The cost of getting into any of these towns is close enough, draws a similar enough type of person, have families and good schools where you will easily find other like minded people. Their voting records are close enough that it is just noise. If you want to live in the suburbs, they all provide enough of a variety for pretty much anyone who wants to move to greater Boston. Where you work/where you might work would be my biggest concern.
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