Relocating South of Boston (New Bedford, Fall River: homes, school districts, to live)

[wattersn]

Young family with two young kids, I'm a stay home Mom. Never been to MA, can you recommend good community that offers good schools, friendly people, and rec center / sports facilities. We don't need to live close to Boston City for work.

Please help, thanks.

[shaund44]

The South Shore of massachusetts to me is the best part of the state. Traffic is tough but the towns of the south shore are nice. If you can, Norwell is a nice town, along with scituate, hanover,hingham,cohassett and there is always the other towns that are nice as well. Stay away from quincy, I grew up there and think its best days are behind them. If I were to move back there I would search south of weymouth all the way to sagamore. Good Luck

[wattersn]

thanks for your reply shaund44 any ideas on even futher south? my husbands new territory is fairly large. providence, ri to the cape. and as far north as dedham. we are relocating from ohio, so its a big change for us. we've actually never been to ma. taking a big jump, so any input would be helpful. thanks

[CaseyB]

Based on your husband's territory, it sounds like southwest of the city would be your best bet. Could you give us an idea of your housing budget?

[lrfox]

The Budget is key here. I can think of a large number of communities that fit the bill of what you're looking for, but if you could at least provide a LITTLE bit of an idea of what you are willing to spend, we can help.

Also, do you want to be near the ocean, a lake or pond, forest, cities, shopping centers, etc?

I've already got a few ideas in mind, but I'll wait until you respond to weed some out.

[wattersn]

hey everyone - thanks so much for your help our budget is maxium 350,000. we would love to be near any water, forest. close to shopping and town would also be nice. we are pretty open as long as it has a good family community & decent public schools. after researching briefly online, we realize this may be a hard find with our budget, but we are hoping for the best. i really appreciate any info. thank you so much.

[lrfox]

I spent a good portion of my Childhood in the Assonet section, called "Assonet Village" of the town of Freetown (Assonet is essentially the Western half of the town). My parents still live there right on a body of water called the "Assonet Bay." It's a tidal bay that's part of the Assonet River which is a tributary of the Taunton River which runs into Mount Hope Bay. It's beautiful and one of the more affordable navigable coastal waterways in Massachusetts. In the middle of Freetown, they have a large chunk of state forest called the Freetown-Fall River State Forest ( Freetown-Fall River State Forest ). It's close to 6,000 acres and has 50 miles of trails and unpaved roads that are popular among hikers, bikers and even dog sleds all year round (they do have summer dog sleds). On the other side of town (East Freetown), there is a large lake (called, "long pond") which is popular among fisherman, boaters, and swimmers. Despite the name, Long Pond is actually a lake at 4 miles long by 1 mile wide. No matter where you settle in Freetown, you're within 5-15 minutes of Taunton and Dartmouth which offer your typical shopping malls (strip malls and indoor) as well as big box retail. New Bedford, Taunton, and Fall River are close by and that's where you'll find your hospitals and many of your urban amenties. Providence RI is only a 25 minute drive from Assonet (30-35 from East Freetown) and Boston is under an hour.

Assonet (and all of Freetown) shares a school district with neighboring Lakeville (Freetown-Lakeville Public Schools). Each town has their own elementary school and they share a middle, intermediate and high school. The School district, while not as elite as some of the others in Massachusetts (particularly those close to Boston, is really quite good.

Lakeville is also an excellent choice for a town. As the name would imply, it's settled around two large lakes; the Northern end of Long Pond (which is partially in Freetown too) and Assawampsett Pond. There are also several other smaller ponds and protected wildlife areas in town. While a bit pricier than neighboring (not by much though), offers commuter rail service directly to Boston's South Station (Assonet will have a station in service by 2016). Lakeville is also home to Ocean Spray's World Headquarters and you can see many cranberry bogs in the area.

Both Freetown (again, particularly the Assonet section, but East Freetown isn't bad either) and Lakeville are semi-rural. That is, while they do have a significant amount of open land (i.e. State Forest, Cranberry Bogs and some small farms), most development is suburban in nature. The core of both towns has an EXCELLENT historic housing stock, particularly the Assonet Village which has many homes and buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, but newer homes are very easy to find as well. The towns have very easy access to major highways.

In my opinion, they are two of the better kept secrets in Southeastern Massachusetts and as such, a budget of 350,000 will get you a bit further than it will in many other communities. Freetown and Lakeville are certainly worth looking into.

Westport MA is a great option as well. It's got a very diverse landscape for a small town. Like Freetown, it shares a border with Fall River (pop 92,000) which means that the area along that border (on the Northern part of town) is somewhat suburban. There's also a large pond on the Northern part of town (divided by a causway in the middle) half of which is open to recreational use and the other half is a Reservoir for the city of Fall River. It's called "Watuppa Pond" (North Watuppa being the Reservoir and South Watuppa being open to recreational use) and it's popular in the summer.

Westport has a large river (the Westport River) running through the center of town all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in the Southern Part of town. Westport has some of the nicest beaches in the Northeast, and a beautiful, historic fishing village called, "Westport Harbor" (aka "The Point"). In between the ocean to the South and the pond to the North there is a lot of historic farmland. and small residential developments. While the areas right on the beach are pricey (though if you look hard enough, you may find something within your range), the central and Northern parts of town should be easily within your reach. You'd also be between 5 and 10 minutes from the ocean (town residents have their own, "residents only," beautiful ocean front beach to avoid tourists further down at the state beach) and just a couple minutes from the previously mentioned Freetown State Forest. Westport is also right on I-195 which runs through Fall River, New Bedford, Providence and Dartmouth where you'll find every amenity you need within a 25 minute drive in either direction.

The school system in Westport is probably the biggest downside. It's not terrible, but it's not as good as many of the surrounding school districts. There are private schools and (free) charter schools in the area if you felt Westport's schools were subpar, but I would investigate the school system to see if it meets your standards. Westport is an absolute gem, if you can figure out a way to do school here, I think you'd fall in love with this town.

Dartmouth and Fairhaven are two other communities in the area to look as well.

Hopefully this gives you some info to start with. My mother is a member of the regional school committee for Freetown-Lakeville schools and she's also a Freetown Selectman (sort of Freetowns 3-person mayoral board). If you find that after further research, Freetown, Lakeville, or any town in the area interests you and want some more detailed, first hand information, feel free to send me a direct message and I will put you in contact with her. She loves to help out with these situations. She offers fully unbiased information (she won't push any community on you) and has a pretty good knowledge of the way the communities on the South Coast of Massachusetts work as well as the quality of school systems. Again, good luck! Let me know if I can help in any other way.

[wattersn]

WOW Irfox your info is awesome!!! thank you so much - that gives me great direction. considering i have never been to ma. i really appreciate your time and details. i'll start researching and get back to you. in the mean time if you think of anything else let me know. thanks so much again.

[bluewatergirl888]

If you want to be close to the water I would suggest Plymouth, Kingston, or Bourne. If that is not as much of a priority, I would look at Carver. You could get more for your money there. Although I do not know how the schools stack up. You may want to research that info. Good luck.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by wattersn

WOW Irfox your info is awesome!!! thank you so much - that gives me great direction. considering i have never been to ma. i really appreciate your time and details. i'll start researching and get back to you. in the mean time if you think of anything else let me know. thanks so much again.

No problem! I can't think of anything else, but I would also back up the suggestions of Kingston, Plymouth, Bourne, and Carver... there may be some good value in each of those towns. Carver has a large state forest with lots of ponds and trails so, while landlocked, you wouldn't be devoid of activity. Kingston and Bourne have pretty good schools, again, not the BEST in Massachusetts, but certainly not bad at all. I don't know enough about Carver and Plymouth schools to add anything productive.

The biggest downside I see in those towns is Route 3. Route 3 is the primary means for traveling along that portion of the coast from Plymouth, Kingston and Bourne to Boston and Cape Cod. It's one of the most heavily congested routes in Massachusetts. It sees heavy Cape Cod traffic in the summer, and the northern portion if often congested with Boston traffic during weekdays. Other than that, those are excellent suggestions.