Norwood or Mansfield? (Boston, Cambridge, Attleboro: middle-class, renting, condo)

[rsato1]

Hi,

I'm getting to know Norwood, and am also considering Mansfield as an option to move permanently. We'll be commuting to Cambridge, and the T-schedule seems to be about the same, time-wise.

Our 7 year old son will be in elementary school, and we'll be renting for a year or two before buying a modest house or condo.

Any thoughts on comparing the two towns would be appreciated!

[wivenhoe]

Norwood is closer to Cambridge than Mansfield, though both are not so convenient to Cambridge as the more affluent communities on the Cambridge-Fitchburg line. Norwood is also much closer to Boston and Routes 1, 128/95/9, and MA Pike etc.

Norwood has a pleasant downtown area with some shopping and restaurants along the common, though the vast majority of retail is along Rte 1. Auto mile is located in Norwood.

Norwood is slightly more diverse than Mansfield, though both are getting gentrified or were during the housing bubble.

Mansfield is more of a small town. Mansfield is convenient for Routes 95/1/495. It is whiter, as I mentioned, though my parents lived in Mansfield next to a lovely Asian Indian couple in the 90s. So Mansfield is in the process of changing.

I'm guessing that the rents and housing, in general, are cheaper in Mansfield because it's farther away from Boston and Cambridge. If you find something near the train station and near the downtown area, I would perhaps consider it.

Mansfield has more families than Norwood (44% vs. 27%) if you look at the census data on Wikipedia for them. The schools may be slightly better in Mansfield than Norwood as well. The downtown (Main Street) area is like small town America - with an ice cream place as well as pizza, Chinese, and seafood joints. The main shopping area for Mansfield is located off Rte 106/140 and off Rte 1 in Plainville/Wrentham, North Attleboro, Foxboro, not far away.

Mansfield has a lot of programs for kids, including some youth soccer programs, though the town is or wasn't obsessed with sports like my neighboring hometown of North Attleboro. See Fields - Mansfield Youth Soccer

Mansfield is located midway between Boston and Providence so you've got the best of both worlds. It's about 1/2 hour to Providence from Mansfield. So you'd be closer to Newport and RI beaches and the Cape.

Both Mansfield and Norwood are more middle-class, though there are pockets of wealth.

[rsato1]

Hi,

Thanks so much for your reply! This is just what I needed to know.