Dedham or elsewhere? (Quincy, Weymouth, Woburn: rent, house prices, buying)

[djruby]

Hi all, my wife and I are looking into buying our first house. I'd like to spend along the lines of $300-350 and would ideally like a single family house. I work in Marlborough, she works in Rockland, and we live right now in Quincy.

Been thinking Dedham as a nice area, OK commutes for both of us, and decent house prices. Can anyone tell me how Dedham is overall, where's decent and where's not, and maybe alternative towns that are accessible to both our jobs?

Thanks!

[bostontopueblo]

Dedham is nice but most of the residents here dont think its going to stay that way for long. The traffic is going to get horrible after the supermall Legacy Place opens up at the end of the summer. The town is also installing traffic lights on every corner and our bulgary rates have spiked in the last year. The schools are good but the town is expanding and rapidly which is already overwhelming them.

Stay away from East Dedham and any area around Rustcraft Rd. I have talked to some people there and there are not happy about all the development along this strecth of road. I wouldn't recommend Dedham right now as I would have ten years ago. The town has changed too much and their always doing construction in one place or another.

Westwood is a much much nicer town if you can afford it.

[maggiekate]

have you looked into roslindale near the west roxbury parkway, or norwood.

[pjscdn]

Dedham has its good points and bad points. The location is good, with easy access to highways and public transit. For the price you'd pay for a house compared to other towns nearby, it is a good deal. Other surrounding towns are much more expensive. The schools are pretty good, but not outstanding. About 80-85% of the current high school graduating class went on to college, but about 15% of the town's students go to private school. They recently built a new middle school, and a new elementary school is in the design stages.

On the negative side, there is very little open space anywhere in town. The town is very aggressive in pursuing taxes on commercial property, and it definitely shows. There is a considerable amount of commercial property in comparison to other nearby towns, and the main strip, the old Route 1, is lined on both sides with shopping malls and restaurants. The rule is unless you have a reason to shop on Route 1, one avoids it. Two very large projects, the Hebrew Life Center and the Legacy Place shopping areas, are under construction. Both are very close to Route 95 exits, but there's no question both will increase traffic and congestion.

I'd suggest spending a day looking and walking around before making a decision.

[maggiekate]

Yes please think b4 you you do buy! also check west roxbury, the parkway, and Roslindale, near the
parkway. You are investing money, so as Pj did say, look, and ask! The advice is good, and, Rte 1 is Traffic! as 128! Spent 2 months b4 you do decide!
A day, and a day, does not help with buying, so just, look, and if to be it will be! Also maybe rent to buy?

[Concepts]

djruby....I think your choice of Dedham is a good one as far as distance from work for both you and your wife - about 1/2 way between both while still being relatively affordable. Theres not a ton on the market under $350,000 but it can be done.

Westwood is really out of your price range - only 5 total properties under $350k.

There's Norwood too - sllightly further from Marlboro but just about the same in price range.

[happywifey]

Dedham was in our search when we were looking to buy. We had it narrowed down to Dedham, Woburn, & Weymouth. We ended up in Weymouth.

I personally thought Dedham was nice. I hate Route 1 - but really liked the Riverside area. That was where our focus was when we were looking.

Best of luck to you!

[DarinsMom]

I born and raised in Dedham and left back in 1996 and have never looked back. Dedham has just gone downhill and you couldn't pay me to move back there.

If given the choice, I'd stay in Quincy. I love Quincy!