Boston's best suburbs: North Shore? Metro West? or South Shore? (Cambridge: sales, good schools)

[clevedark]

Yup, that's right, Holden. And maybe that's why North Shore and South Shore don't mix in Boston!

[SCGMetroWest]

I grew up on the South Shore and currently live in Metro West. I MUCH prefer Metro West to the S. Shore. Never lived on the N. Shore but I've visited many times. Since I'm not much of a beach person, I prefer living closer to work in Metro West and the ease to getting pretty much anywhere in the state or north/south of MA.

[cwaggy]

I have lived N, S, W and N is the BEST by fah.

[TheWereRabbit]

Where are the lines being drawn?

I don't really live in any of these areas.(Winchester?)
Or how about towns like Canton or Sharon?

[rranger]

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

Which suburban region of Boston do you prefer?

The historic cities and nautical charm of the North Shore?

The malls and employment base of Metro West?

The residential hamlets of the South Shore?

This is a very interesting question, and one I've thought about on occasion. Full disclosure: I don't live in any of the suburbs - I live in the city and have no intention of leaving it except to leave the Boston area entirely - so I have no horse in this race

But, in my experience, I feel best in the West. It's funny that so many votes are going to the North Shore, which I find to be a depressing place. It feels to me as though the heavy hand of Puritanism and early colonial America has never left the place - from Salem, to Marblehead, to Beverly, to Manchester, etc. That doesn't mean I hate it - I've been there thousands of times, have good friends who live in those towns, etc. I just find that region somewhat oppressive.

The Metro West, OTOH, feels much "lighter" to me. There's much more to those towns than the Natick Mall, FWIW. There are truly beautiful towns with lots of conservation land, such as Weston, Lincoln, Lexington, Concord, Carlisle ... I could go on. And, I think the west is more cosmopolitan in the sense that there are more non-natives living there than in other parts of the metro area.

The South Shore ... well, I won't go there (figuratively), but I think it's a non-starter in this contest.

This is all based purely on supposition. But, I wonder if there are others with the same impression as me.

[Beachcomber4]

To visit, I like all of them. Each area has something unique to offer and it depends on what I am looking to do as to what I prefer on any given day. I guess it's a good thing I was born after the invention of the car so I really don't have to choose.

To live, it has to be near the ocean for me. I do enjoy the North Shore but I prefer South Shore and Cape coastline the most. Duxbury and Cohasset remind me alot of North Shore towns with the gracious old homes and charming village areas. Same can be said of Cape Cod which a meandering daytime drive ( down 6A NOT 28) has it all for me.

[rranger]

Originally Posted by Beachcomber4

To visit, I like all of them. Each area has something unique to offer and it depends on what I am looking to do as to what I prefer on any given day. I guess it's a good thing I was born after the invention of the car so I really don't have to choose.

To live, it has to be near the ocean for me. I do enjoy the North Shore but I prefer South Shore and Cape coastline the most. Duxbury and Cohasset remind me alot of North Shore towns with the gracious old homes and charming village areas. Same can be said of Cape Cod which a meandering daytime drive ( down 6A NOT 28) has it all for me.

It's funny, but when I wrote my response I explicitly thought about Cohasset and Duxbury. And, they're absolutely beautiful. But then, they're a very small part of the South Shore.

[LINative]

Bah. We just cannot win. Long Island, Chicagoland and now Boston. Lol, why is it that wherever you go, the North Shore is rated over the South Shore?

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by LINative

Bah. We just cannot win. Long Island, Chicagoland and now Boston. Lol, why is it that wherever you go, the North Shore is rated over the South Shore?

in Mass the south shore is more residential and the north shore has more to do. They are both nice but the north just has a whole lot more variety. I would not say they are parallel comparisons to Chicagoland because the north shore there is just much more attractive than south of the city.

I would only think the south shore of Long Island would have more to do, better beaches, and probably rated better than the north shore of the island along the sound, No?

[shiraziman]

I'm new to Boston area. I like North Shore but it's too expensive for me. I've found Quincy, Braintree, andd Weymouth more affordable and very attractive especially Quincy.