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We are considering to buy a house in Southborough and I've been doing my homework on it but there is limited information I could find online.
Here are what I gathered:
1. It's a small town with almost no town center
2. mostly SFH with big lots, many conservation land areas. Septic systems and oil/propane tanks are common
3. Have two great private schools (we'll unlikely send kids to private school so not sure how this helps the town residents who go to public schools)
4. Public schools are good and seem to be rising in rankings at , reference from 1, 2, 3
5. Essentially not much commercial buildings excepts on route 9 but it's close to Westborough, Framingham/Natick and Marlborough where there are more stores and activities
6. Property tax is at $16.2 per $1000, higher than places like Shrewsbury
7. Easy access to major highways, Rt 9, 495, 90. There is a commuter rail station.
I saw some folks mentioned that it's a tier above nearby Westborough/Northborough/Shrewsbury and why is that? It seems to be a quiet bedroom town that is family oriented. We don't mind living in a bedroom town if it's a great neighborhood. I'd appreciate more comments on what parts of Southborough are better (seems to be north of Rt 9?), diversity of the demographics, safety/areas to stay away from, activities for kids/adults, things (good and bad) to be aware of, and real estate growth potential, etc.
We are not first time homebuyer but we have never lived on septic and oil/propane tank before.. is it something we should be concerned about?
I mean that the commute is probably a big reason why it's more popular than the other towns mentioned.
I think it's literally the only reason.
I doubt there is any tangible difference among those towns except the commuting distance to inner metro Boston.
Southborough and Milford are the only 2 towns in Worcester county that are part of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Long distance commuters to Boston tend to be more on the middle/upper side (income) and Southborough is "kind of" at the edge. (I know there are people commuting from further away, I did it too, but it starts getting unpleasant even if you can do it at weird hours).
I mean that the commute is probably a big reason why it's more popular than the other towns mentioned.
Some of it might be legacy. For local buyers, they might be old enough to remember when Southborough was thoroughly 'country club' while it's neighbors were still thoroughly working class. You don't have to be that old ... maybe 35-40?
All of the towns mentioned had wealthy white collar neighborhoods for much of their history dating Worcester's industry, but the white collar population didn't really expand until the mid-'90s when places like EMC, UMass Med, Bos Sci, as well as all the pharma/biotech along 495 started drawing in more skilled labor.
Southborough is still different from those other towns. It's leafier, more exclusive, minimal commerce or industry, almost all large lot single family homes. While I wouldn't call any of those places "economically diverse" these days, they still have more in the way of modest/middle-class neighborhoods (even some multi-family), that doesn't really exist in Southborough.
Southborough is still different from those other towns. It's leafier, more exclusive, minimal commerce or industry, almost all large lot single family homes. While I wouldn't call any of those places "economically diverse" these days, they still have more in the way of modest/middle-class neighborhoods (even some multi-family), that doesn't really exist in Southborough.
I don't think this is enough to qualify Southborough as a better tier than the other ones. Unless someone is bother at the idea of having middle class people living in the same town as themselves.
This aside. I think Westborough is really not very different while definitely Shrewsbury and Northborough are much larger, they have considerable shopping areas etc.
I think it's literally the only reason.
I doubt there is any tangible difference among those towns except the commuting distance to inner metro Boston.
Southborough and Milford are the only 2 towns in Worcester county that are part of the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization.
Southborough is just more uniformly upscale than the other borough's and Shrewsbury. Just take a drive through town on Route 30, or head up Sears Rd. To be clear, North/Westborough and Shrewsbury have always been "nice", but each had some element of socioeconomic diversity and a more "middle class" element, even if diminished. I grew up in Northborough and attended HS with Southborough in the late 90's, fwiw. I'd also say, regardless of affiliation with a Boston regional planning org, ALL of the 'boroughs have a better commute to Boston than Milford (and I'm assuming a much larger % of commuters), although Southborough has the best of that group.
To the OP, your initial hunches are pretty good. To your question on whether it has a "good" side, the north side is considered more prime, for sure (note that the commuter rail station though is on the far south side). At least it was when I was growing up. Again, there's nothing wrong with the south side of Southborough, but righty or wrongly that perception exists (or at least used to).
EDIT: also adding that the Southborough schools have ALWAYS been considered very good. Not close enough anymore to where they sit in the rankings, but they were still considered excellent back in the 90's.
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