Newlyweds Looking For Nice South Shore Town (Boston, Quincy: apartment, home)

[TallyHo!!]

We have been looking at towns such as Pembroke, Marshfield, Scituate, Hanover & Norwell. She's a guidance counselor and I am self employed. Some of these towns may be reaches but ultimately we are looking for a cute downtown, towns with a decent crowd of 30-somethings somewhere between still-enjoying-some-nights-out with not-yet-ready-for-kids, accessibility to the highways so we can get to the Cape or Boston rather easily.

Also, I'm from NJ so if there are any decent bagel shops or pizza joints in the aforementioned towns, please feel free to sing their praises.

Thanks for any and all help.

[bluewatergirl888]

What is your price range? Pembroke and Marshfield will be more affordable overall (unless you are looking on the water in Marshfield. I believe Norwell will be the the most expensive. All nice towns though. Brugger Bagel and Kiskadee coffee (serve bagels) are in Hanover. There is a pizza place called the upper crust in Hingham (close by).

[clevedark]

I'm from NJ. The most reliable bagels are at Dunkin' Donuts. And there is a great style of pizza on the South Shore called greek pizza--the crust is kind of molded (as in form) and it's super cheesy and greasy. They don't call it that on the menu, but that's what it is. You get it at the independent pizzerias, not the chains. You'll have a hard time finding a good sub, but maybe you don't care about that. Sometimes I have sub night at home and I do it up right!!!

I can't speak to the existence of a crowd of childless 30 somethings who still go out and have fun, because I'm 40 something with kids and our paths do not cross. But you've picked some nice towns. Norwell is kind of country, with not much of a downtown, but there is a nice bar/restaurant owned by Steven Tyler of Aerosmith that has live music.

I think Hanover has the busiest business district, with a large mall.

Be prepared to put major miles on your car..... The distances are huge.

Good luck with your move.

[northsouthnorthsouth]

Originally Posted by clevedark

I'm from NJ. The most reliable bagels are at Dunkin' Donuts. And there is a great style of pizza on the South Shore called greek pizza--the crust is kind of molded (as in form) and it's super cheesy and greasy. They don't call it that on the menu, but that's what it is. You get it at the independent pizzerias, not the chains. You'll have a hard time finding a good sub, but maybe you don't care about that. Sometimes I have sub night at home and I do it up right!!!

Well, I couldn't disagree more. I'm from Long Island and I think the Dunkin' Donuts bagels are horrible- definitely last resort. I usually don't like chain stores for these items, but Brueggers has the best bagels by far of anyone around here. They're actually boiled right in the store just like "real" bagels. We frequent the one in Hingham nearly every weekend. Also, I find "greek" pizza apalling. My favorite pizza places are, believe it or not, Papa Gino's (only for cheese and pepperoni pizza), Upper Crust (best when right out of the oven!!) and a local place by us that's actually pretty good, Bridge Street pizza.

As for exactly where you should look for housing, I'm not quite 30 and I already have kids (well, the second is on the way), so I can't help that much on that front, but it seems like most of the south shore towns that have decent/cute downtowns have at least a spot or two to go out for some fun. I'd just go check out a few places. Scituate may be your best bet for that, and it's also a nice little town with great access to beaches and to the commuter rail. We have some friends and family who live there.

Also, Hingham has some nice restaurants- and you don't have to live there to go of course! We like to go to Stars- has a "dining room" (more families in there) and a "lounge" (bar with TV's for sports, etc.) so it has something for everyone. Tosca is always a nice indulgence as well. We live nearby in North Weymouth, so we take advantage of all these great places!

I think a lot depends on your budge, but if I had to relocate to any of the towns you mentioned I would pick either Scituate or Norwell. Good luck!

[clevedark]

Originally Posted by northsouthnorthsouth

Well, I couldn't disagree more. I'm from Long Island and I think the Dunkin' Donuts bagels are horrible- definitely last resort. I usually don't like chain stores for these items, but Brueggers has the best bagels by far of anyone around here. They're actually boiled right in the store just like "real" bagels. We frequent the one in Hingham nearly every weekend. Also, I find "greek" pizza apalling. My favorite pizza places are, believe it or not, Papa Gino's (only for cheese and pepperoni pizza), Upper Crust (best when right out of the oven!!) and a local place by us that's actually pretty good, Bridge Street pizza.

Eh, Upper Crusts' crust is cracker-like and the pies are way expensive. And the cream cheese at Bruegger's is like glue. I don't know what kind of additive they put in it but it's bad. The bagels are ok if you happen to have one nearby, but def. not worth a trip. That's why Dunkies is so handy.

Sometimes I'll go to Finagle a Bagel. If the bagels were just baked they're good. But who needs bagels anyway, they're like a thousand calories.

[northsouthnorthsouth]

Well, I live off of bagels! I'll be making a trip to Rosenfeld's in Newton Centre tomorrow before work. Their sunflower seed bagels are heaven. And I usually don't stray from the old standby everything or sesame

[maggiekate]

Kingston or quincy, maybe, mansfield might work also, however, the area you want, does not
provide for the wish list! Mansfield is real nice, so iare Kingston, and Quincy!

[tmac9wr]

I was born and raised in Scituate. I graduated college in May and I'm currently living here until I can get an apartment in the city or across the ocean. Scituate is a little pricey compared to some of the other towns like Kingston, Marshfield, Hanover, or Pembroke but we're not as expensive as Cohasset, Hingham or Norwell. Due to our coastal location, we're a town that thrives in the summer. The harbor is nice, with all local stores (with the exception of a Dunkin Donuts) and bars. During the summer the bars will get pretty packed, especially on the weekend when the out-of-towners come to play on their boats.

We do have a commuter rail into the city which I use to get to work everyday. It takes about 55 minutes to get into the city by rail, about 35-45 minutes by car (considerably longer if there's traffic). We don't have a highway connection, which some may dislike, but I love. We do have a road that brings us right into the city (Route 3A), and there are highway connections in Marshfield and Norwell. It makes it so we're out of the way, but not out of touch. I can conveniently get where I want without having to deal with a giant highway plowing through our town.

As for finding other 30-somethings, I've seen plenty of them hanging out in the bars during the summer, but I just turned 24 so I don't hang out with them too often as I'm usually partying in the city haha. If you go up 3A, our neighboring towns are Cohasset and then Hingham. As was mentioned before, Starz is a pretty cool place to go in Hingham, and I go there pretty often. During the summer, Hull is a great place to go for some fun nights out, but probably isn't the best place to live (it's beautiful, but it's a little trashy--not to sound snobbish). Many bars in Hull will have live music.

If you continue up 3A, you'll run into Weymouth and Quincy, which both provide decent nightlife opportunities.

Finagle-a-Bagel (or as I call it, Financial Bagle) is definitely the best chain-restaurant for bagels.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by northsouthnorthsouth

Well, I couldn't disagree more. I'm from Long Island and I think the Dunkin' Donuts bagels are horrible- definitely last resort.

I can resolve this one. I love Boston to pieces but all the bagels are terrible. My girlfriend, who has spent her whole life within 25 miles of Boston, used to eat D/D, Finagle, Bruegger's, etc. After one trip to the local neighborhood bagel shop in NYC, she won't touch any of them any more and will only get bagels in New York And that bagel shop's not even that great by NYC standards. Since they are 1,000 calories or something horrific, it's almost a relief not to be able to tolerate them.

[clevedark]

Oh please how can you not choke down any bagel smeared with cream cheese no matter who makes them? It can be sublime, or merely sinfully delicious.