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I'm thinking about moving to the Hanover area and know nothing about it. Can anyone tell me some information about this town? How are the schools? I know they have a new high school, but I'm not ready for that, only elementary school. Is it close to a train or T, etc? I do know there is a mall there, but I don't know anything else . Any and all information would be great, thanks!
I'm curious why you would choose Hanover if you know nothing about it. Do you have a job offer there? Will you be working in Boston?
The mall, I think, is in better shape than it was several years ago and there's a lot more shopping near by as well. Other than that stretch on Washington St, it's mostly residential.
It's about 15 minutes to get to the Braintree T station (assuming you're close to Rte. 3), which is the last stop on the Red Line.
I believe Hanover schools have a good reputation, but I'll let someone more knowledgeable comment on that.
I am also curious about why you have targeted Hanover. If you are working in Boston, there are more convenient suburbs with good schools to choose from. I say that because there are no trains in Hanover. To commute into Boston, you'd need to drive to Abington a few towns over and get the commuter rail there. The nearest T stop is in Braintree about half an hour up Rt 3, depending on traffic (more during rush hour, less on a Saturday afternoon).
That said, the school system has a good reputation.
It has a mall which has been around for quite some time. It declined for a bit but I'd say it's making a bit of a comeback. There is a fair amount of activity in the area as the Target is still pretty new and the plaza across it has some new stores here and there. Traffic might be an issue but if you factor in the highway access that would occur anywhere.
I choose Hanover as it has more affordable housing options than any other areas which we looked in closer to the Boston area, such as Dedham, Needham, and Milton. We couldn't afford what we wanted in a decent single family home in those areas and someone suggested we look in Hanover. The homes here offer lots of ground also which is nice. I also heard their elementary schools were pretty good too. My husband will commute to Boston and drive to work in the Quincy area. I guess he will have to take the train in Abington or Braintree??
I'm sorry, I should have said I'm looking for information on the town of Hanover, Mass.
No, the way you said it first was fine.
Welcome to the Massachusetts forum (where many don't realize how there is a world outside of 128 nor can they grasp that not everybody is looking to live near/work in Boston).
Hanover is as good as any town around there, unless you want to spend even more $$$ on Hingham or Cohasset.
As far as commuting to Boston on the train, I would recommend going to Braintree or Quincy Adams for the Red Line. Abington is the Commuter Rail, which is generally more expensive (~ $14 round trip vs $5) and on a less frequent schedule.
Traffic on Route 3 North will start to get heavy after Hanover heading toward Quincy, but it's only a few exits and won't be as bad as driving all the way into Boston.
Hanover's often given a bad rap because of people's association with the Mall there. Housing stock in Hanover is very good, and comparatively very cheap to the rest of it's neighbors, while still affording it's residents a very good school system with a reasonable tax rate (thanks to extensive revenues from the commercial real estate in town).
Hanover is also convenient to Rt 3, which is great, if you aren't planning on using it to commute to Boston. Rt 3/93 to Boston is a trainwreck pretty much at all times of the day, 7 day's a week. There are no 'good' alternative back-roads to Boston from Hanover that are viable. 53 does go to Boston, but you'd cut your wrist if you had to do that everyday. I have friends that use the Abington line, but they live on the west side of town so it's really very convenient. If you are not on that side of town, it wouldn't be as viable.
One thing to keep in mind about Hanover is the flirtation of deeming the old Fireworks industrial site on the south side of town a 'Superfund' site. For the uninitiated, this would open up the availability for federal dollars to clean up the pollution in this watershed area. The town is divided on this, as the declaration will undoubtedly put property values into a tail spin; on the flip side... if the pollution there is affecting the water supply... it obviouslly needs to be cleaned up and this would be impossible to do without the federal funds.
Personally, if you're considering Hanover, I'd also look to perhaps find a fixer-upper in near by Norwell. It's slightly more convenient to Boston than Hanover and affords you the ability to cross over to Scituate to take that commuter rail line to Boston. The schools there are marginally better than Hanover (some would consider them to be significantly better) and the security of home values remaining strong is nearly a guarantee. Even during the great recession, Norwell remained essentially flat as far as median home prices.
Thanks Chaxey, you had some really good info for me. We like the town of Hanover, and it fits into our housing budget ....were not into fixer uppers just move in conditions! My husbands not at all handy! I like that there is lots of ground between the houses . Coming from new jersey, i know all about 'superfund' sites! No children yet but the elementary schools look good so we're seriously considering. Thanks for your help.
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(where many don't realize how there is a world outside of 128 nor can they grasp that not everybody is looking to live near/work in Boston).
