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Old 10-09-2007, 09:15 AM
 
2 posts, read 5,401 times
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Planning to buy a second home on the Cape. Please, can someone tell me about living in the following towns: Centerville, Osterville, Hyannis, Marston Mills, Sandwich.......I'm curious about city services, utilities, and how they vary from town to town. Love visiting the Cape every year in a friend's home she uses only for rently, but I actually will occupy mine for half the year.
Thanks a bunch for any info you can pass along!
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Old 10-09-2007, 09:20 AM
 
Location: Massachusetts-but someday soon hope to live part of year in Arizona, and part of the year in Mass
71 posts, read 250,657 times
Reputation: 17


I don't know specifically about any of the towns/cities you mentioned
but I have at least a few suggestions, where you might find info.:

Usacitylink: The USA, from San Francisco to New York!

^ click on Massachusetts then find the cape towns/cities you want info on there.

also try.:
search google for town hall for the cities and towns in Massachusetts that you want info on.
and also search for conventions and visitors bureaus for places you want info on.

good luck.
I hope my suggestions will be helpful, useful.

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Old 10-10-2007, 11:28 AM
 
130 posts, read 348,210 times
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Ms. Tex, What part of Texas are you from? I have visited there a few times in the DFW Metroplex area. Specifically, Keller, Southlake and Grapevine. Would love to relocate there at some point in time. Anyways, I am from this area and have lived in Centerville since 1993. The town of Barnstable is comprised of several smaller towns or "villages", Centerville, Hyannis, Osterville, Marstons Mills, etc. As far as city services are concerned, you can check out the Town of Barnstable web site. You should get some info there. Things are pretty straight forward here with the utilities, not like Texas with several electric companies to choose from. Overall this is a nice area to call home- and as you know the summers are awesome.
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Old 10-13-2007, 06:30 AM
 
951 posts, read 1,655,407 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ms. Tex View Post
Please, can someone tell me about living in the following towns: Centerville, Osterville, Hyannis, Marston Mills, Sandwich.......I'm curious about city services, utilities, and how they vary from town to town.
The first four you mention are actually villages in the town of Barnstable. They all fall under the town laws pertaining to Barnstable. The only thing that is different are the fire departments. There are five separate depts in the town, each with their own budgets. Silly arrangement grant you, but that's they way they do it. There has been talk of consolidation, but it has met opposition (mainly by firefighters!!). Centerville, Osterville and Marstons Mills (COMM) is one dept, along with the water dept. The COMM water dept is one of the best in the state. We always rank in the top 5% of water quality, with some years being the number one. I live in MM and I have never purchased water to drink. I drink it right out of the tap, and it is excellent. Living in MM is very quiet, rural, and basically a bedroom community. You do have some services on RT 28, but it's minimal (Food, hardware, pharmacy, etc.) If you want variety, you'll have to drive to Hyannis which is about 8 miles. Taxes in Barnstable are not too bad, Sandwich is the highest on the Cape by a mile. There is a residential exemption in the town, so your taxes may be higher as a part-time resident. Check the web site. There is lots of conservation land in MM and plenty of places to walk or mountain bike. There is a cool grass airport on RT 149 that has old planes and glider rides. It's also a stop over for blimps. It' always cool to see what's there. Plus you have the town owned golf course which is pretty good. I've lived in MM for 17 years and have enjoyed the peace and quiet. The closer you get to Hyannis, the busier it gets. Centerville is ok, but can get quite conjested on 28 in the summer. Hyannis is busy all the time. I would go nuts if I had a house there. The airport is very busy during the day, I work right under a flight path, I can even see them land. Has a tendancy to get on my nerves sometimes. Osterville is also nice and quiet with a quaint main street area. It is a bit stuffy for me do to all the mansions, I won't shop there; prices of stuff is outrageous. Gas at a local station is over 3/gal. Talk about taking advantage.

Sandwich is a nice middle-upper class town with very high taxes. The town center is cool because of the old buildings and homes. The historical societies in all Cape towns make sure of that. Nice place to visit, I just couldn't pay the taxes. They have great schools, but that is not why you are coming.

My vote is for MM. The reason why I moved there in the first place was to get away from the congestion, and it still remains that way today. Close enough to the things you need, but still far enough away to have a bit of the country life.

Hope some of this helps.
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Old 10-14-2007, 05:31 PM
 
Location: Cape Cod
1,038 posts, read 3,997,347 times
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All of the towns/villages you mention are lovely. Sandwich taxes and services are very pricey. I live in Pocasset (part of Bourne) and don't have to deal with the traffic, etc in Sandwich and Barnstable, but I'm convenient to any of them if I want to go there.
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