Norwell, Cohasset, Scituate or Hanover? (Weymouth, Hingham: mortgage, how much, buying a house)

[kelsslevin]

My husband and I are planning to move out of the city in the coming months and are having a hard time picking a town to settle down in. I’d appreciate your insights on Norwell, Cohasset, Scituate and Hanover.

We don’t have kids yet, just a dog. But plan to in the near future. We are looking for a town that provides a great community for both us and our kids. A community with a lot going on for families. We want to end up in a neighborhood with a decent sized yard and other families. Looking for 2500 sq ft under $1.2.

I’d say our top priorities are schools, community feel and accessibility to activities/groceries etc.

Thank you!!

[Remy11]

My vote would be for Cohasset. It checks all of your boxes and is a such a pretty town. I hadn’t been to the south shore in quite some time, but we headed down a few summers ago to attend a relative’s wedding at the Red Lion Inn. I remember driving through Cohasset and thinking how beautiful it was. It definitely had that it factor in my opinion.

Any chance you’d consider Hingham? A college friend of mine moved there with her family a few years ago and absolutely loves it.

[msRB311]

Id say cohasset is also the prettiest of those towns. I know people who have kids there who love it it. All of the towns you mentioned have good schools and are good for families. I might add Duxbury to the list as well, great community with access to the beach. I’d say hingham also but finding 2500 sq ft under 1.5 mil won’t be easy.

[mdovell]

Norwell and Hanover have a ton of commercial activity which helps the tax base. I'd be away anywhere of actual coastal property. Personally I'm not sure if Hull will be around in 30 years or at least most access. Hanover has the new Market Basket opening up. I'd go for Norwell and Hanover. Drive around and see the development.

[msRB311]

Hanover has become quite busy due to all the new stores, restaurants and food shops. That might be a positive for some but not all.

[kelsslevin]

Thank you all! We do love Hingham also but aren't quite ready to make the jump for what the type of home we want there costs.
Appreciate all the feedback we have received and any additional anybody has.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by kelsslevin

Thank you all! We do love Hingham also but aren't quite ready to make the jump for what the type of home we want there costs.
Appreciate all the feedback we have received and any additional anybody has.

Would you really be able to get a 1.2 mortgage if rates continue to rise and standards tighten?

[gf2020]

Honestly, I have friends who were raised in Weymouth and Cohasset and they both settled in Scituate. I think that says something.

[NewfieMama]

When we were buying a house (in 2010, so many years ago), we were looking in Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate. We ended up buying in Norwell.

Cohasset is beautiful and our original plan was to buy there. Ultimately when we thought about our life with kids, we wanted to be closer to activities/amenities and the highway. But I have several friends in Cohasset who love it and the schools are great.

I love Scituate and we rented a house there for a year to see how much we'd like living there before committing to buying. We really enjoyed living there--we were two blocks from the beach, which was so nice (for us and our dog). But I ran into the same issue as Cohasset: being close to the beach meant being far from all the things I felt I needed when we had kids.

We ended up buying in Norwell because I liked still being close to the beach, having more space (houses are on 1+ acre lots), but also being really close to tons of restaurants and amenities. Target, the YMCA, Merchant's Row, Derby Street, multiple grocery stores and tons of restaurants are 5 - 10 minutes away. I'm looking forward to the new Hanover Crossing area opening because that's also very close. My husband and I both work full time and like most kids these days, my kids are in many activities, so I love that so much is so close since I'm always running around. But once we're home it feels serene since the residential areas are more sprawling and quiet. I've been really happy with the schools (kids are elementary-aged) and have a close network of wonderful, down-to-earth moms in town who I love.

I have close friends and family who live in Hanover and love it. They love the schools and have been very happy raising families there.

I realize this probably isn't super helpful, but I really feel like you can't go wrong in any town. I have friends who are in every single one of these towns who feel like it's the perfect town for them. For me, if I didn't want to be really close to "stuff", I'd go for Cohasset or Scituate, but for a mom-on-the-go, I feel like Norwell and Hanover have everything you need close by.

[Southshorebound]

Norwell is a very nice town, but has much higher taxes than a place like Hingham. Check out the mil rates, but I believe it goes lowest to highest: Hingham, Cohasset, Scituate …. Norwell