Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sooooo glad to hear this! My very favorite house (per my Zillow search) was in Sudbury, though it's a bit outside of my price range. But I wasn't sure if there would be enough amenities and shopping there, it seems like it's just outside of the reach of some of those things, but maybe worth the distance for the rural charm. What is the town-center/downtown like? and taxes? Do the larger home sites deter neighbors from interacting?
I certainly hope that favorite house is still on the market by the time we're at the house-hunting stage, I'd totally try to talk my husband into getting it. But the good thing is there are lots of nice housing options in Sudbury!
Any more info you could give about the people, the area, anything would be great! Thanks.
I just moved to Sudbury, near to where roadstrailstris lives.
Amenities: What are you looking for that you don't think Sudbury has? I can't think of anything a family needs that isn't offered in town, except for the things that most suburbanites need to travel into Boston for such as museums and sporting events. Most upscale suburbs in MA outside of 128 don't offer basic things that you find common in other places in the country such as movie theatres and malls. In each region of MA there is usually a "large town" with a major commercial area that serves all the surrounding smaller upscale communities. I found it strange when I first moved here that people actually pay more money to live in the middle of nowhere, but that's the way it is. And that's generally where the good schools are. I really liked Sudbury because it has good schools without the snobbishness that accompanies most of the top MA school districts. It's more family-oriented than most towns (I've heard it has the most kids per household in the state). The families here are very down to earth and like most towns you can meet other families at town events such as the summer concerts at Haskell Field or through sports/extracurriculars.
Downtown/town center: The town center is where town hall is, but there really isn't anything particularly interesting about that historic intersection. The real "downtown" is just a mile long stretch of Rt-20 that has all the restaurants and shops. For a not-so-accessible suburb, Sudbury actually has many good restaurants (see Zagat). You can also do all your shopping in town - Roche Brothers/Shaws for food, Cloud Nine toys for the kids, several clothing boutiques, Town Line Hardware for house stuff. You'll find that most stores in town are family-owned and operated. You'll have to drive to Framingham for the big box stores.
Taxes: Top 10 highest in the state. About 75% of the taxes goes to the schools and 25% goes to town government.
Large home sites do deter families from interacting to a certain extent, but it depends on where you live. There are many neighborhoods in town where the neighbors are always outside mingling. If this is important to you then you should avoid living on any of the main country roads (Goodman's Hill Rd, Peakham, Hudson, etc..) and small cul-de-sacs. Look for a residential street that connects to a few more side streets.
BTW, I have a feeling that house you like will be gone soon. Homes generally don't stay on the market for more than a month unless there is something wrong with them, and most of the good ones are gone within a couple days.
Sooooo glad to hear this! My very favorite house (per my Zillow search) was in Sudbury, though it's a bit outside of my price range. But I wasn't sure if there would be enough amenities and shopping there, it seems like it's just outside of the reach of some of those things, but maybe worth the distance for the rural charm. What is the town-center/downtown like?
The issue most people face when moving from other parts of the country to MA is that many of the suburbs of Boston that have large lot sizes don't have town centers and don't have much in the way or shops/restaurants. Of the larger lot 'burbs Sudbury actually has more shops/restaurants than many others. The big issue with Sudbury is getting in/out of town during rush hour. Driving to Dedham would not be terribly fun from there as Rt. 20 and Rt. 117 which are the major routes (one lane each way in many stretches) are often quite congested. When real estate hit the fan a few years ago, some of the larger lot suburbs which offered tough commutes like Sudbury & Wayland really got hit hard with decreases in value.
I think you mentioned Sharon at one point . . . Sharon is really even sleepier than Sudbury with far fewer restaurants/shops in town. Plus, if you ever want to drive into Boston from Sharon that means I93 north which is pretty congested any time and any day of the week. The good news is that Sharon is pretty close to Providence, RI which while it's not a city on the same level as Boston it certainly has a lot to offer.
As far as larger lots preventing you from getting to know your neighbors . . . my experience has been that many upscale larger lot towns attract people who value privacy. They're not unfriendly people but they don't want people to be up in their business either. This is a serious generalization though and will definitely not describe everyone in any particular town.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyHoney
and taxes?
Sharon has some of the highest real estate taxes in the state at $20.45/$1,000 of assessed value. Sudbury is not all that far behind at $17.99/$1,000 of assessed value. Generally speaking, most towns charge a higher rate of RE taxes for commercial property than residential. So, basically the commercial real estate taxes supplement the residential taxes. Larger lot towns like Sudbury and Sharon have little commercial property. So, to fund the budget the towns must charge a much higher RE tax rate than other towns.
You mentioned you like Newton . . . Newton is a city made up of 13 different villages each with their own feel. If you're looking for something more suburban feeling check out Newton Center, Newton Highlands, West Newton Hill, and Waban. The problem you might have with Newton is that lot sizes are not 1+ acres typically. Especially if you want a newer house. Newton would offer a decent commute to Dedham though. The schools are well thought of, but the school facilities are older and many feel over crowded.
You could check out Needham as well. Again, the lot sizes are not going to be 1+ acres for new construction in your price range. The schools are well thought of and the town center is nice. A commute to Dedham from Needham would be no problem at all. I lived in Newton Center for 10 years and always felt Needham had a similar feel to Newton Center but the people were friendlier.
Most upscale suburbs in MA outside of 128 don't offer basic things that you find common in other places in the country such as movie theatres and malls. In each region of MA there is usually a "large town" with a major commercial area that serves all the surrounding smaller upscale communities.
Very helpful. This clarifies what the metro area layout is, like what's family-owned versus what's big box. Great!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parsec
I found it strange when I first moved here that people actually pay more money to live in the middle of nowhere, but that's the way it is.
Interesting... but I get it! I've lived in places like this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parsec
BTW, I have a feeling that house you like will be gone soon. Homes generally don't stay on the market for more than a month unless there is something wrong with them, and most of the good ones are gone within a couple days.
I imagine so, as the market seems to be getting stronger everywhere. That house has been listed for quite some time, I've even contacted the realtor with a blunt "what's wrong with it", but no reply yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU
The issue most people face when moving from other parts of the country to MA is that many of the suburbs of Boston that have large lot sizes don't have town centers and don't have much in the way or shops/restaurants.
Great info. Now I can approach it with more realistic expectations. Having lived so many different places has allowed us to be pretty adaptable and we're rather flexible by nature (kinda "when in Rome" type of people), and as long as we aren't looking for a particular "style" that doesn't exist, we can embrace what does. We're in similar area of Fairfield County, CT right now, and this was kinda rural to us at first; it took some getting used to just because it was different than our other towns. But now we love it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU
I think you mentioned Sharon at one point . . . Sharon is really even sleepier than Sudbury with far fewer restaurants/shops in town. Plus, if you ever want to drive into Boston from Sharon that means I93 north which is pretty congested any time and any day of the week.
Wow, ok...
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU
As far as larger lots preventing you from getting to know your neighbors . . . my experience has been that many upscale larger lot towns attract people who value privacy. They're not unfriendly people but they don't want people to be up in their business either.
Yes, I've often found this to be the case in many places we've lived. That's actually the ideal situation: friendly but mindful of privacy..as long as we wouldn't be snubbed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU
Newton is a city made up of 13 different villages each with their own feel. If you're looking for something more suburban feeling check out Newton Center, Newton Highlands, West Newton Hill, and Waban.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePRU
I lived in Newton Center for 10 years and always felt Needham had a similar feel to Newton Center but the people were friendlier.
Your kind, gentle, sunny place would be West Concord. It has the most charming walkable downtown with its own organic food store, hobby and crafts, crepe and real Italian gelato and cappuccino place, 5 & Dime, Nashoba Bakery with artisan bread, Nia studio and other unique indie stores. Honestly, an occasional commute to Dedham from there would not be too bad. I have done it in 45 min to 1 hr from Acton.
What's the scoop on Braintree, Walpole, and Canton?
Found some beautiful homes in these areas, but how do these towns fit the bill with regards to the kindness-factor? I know I'm asking you all to generalize, but hopefully, no one will take it the wrong way...I'm just trying to learn the terrain.
I imagine so, as the market seems to be getting stronger everywhere. That house has been listed for quite some time, I've even contacted the realtor with a blunt "what's wrong with it", but no reply yet.
Send me a message with the address if you'd like. I know Sudbury well and could probably tell you why it's been sitting so long.
The market around here has been INSANE this spring/summer. I just put a condo on the market in Brookline and we received 5 offers after it had been on the market for one day. Only one of the five offers was below asking price. I had 50+ families come through my open house on Sunday. A year ago, I would have been ecstatic to get 15 families.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyHoney
What's the scoop on Braintree, Walpole, and Canton?
Found some beautiful homes in these areas, but how do these towns fit the bill with regards to the kindness-factor? I know I'm asking you all to generalize, but hopefully, no one will take it the wrong way...I'm just trying to learn the terrain.
My brother lives in Canton and I have a lot of friends that live in both Canton and Walpole. They're both nice towns with a lot to offer. I would say you're likely to find a wider spectrum of incomes in these towns than you would in some of the other towns mentioned like Sharon, Sudbury, etc. I deal with a lot of people who relocate to MA from around the country and very few of them ever mention they're interested in the towns of Canton & Walpole if they have a budget similar to yours. My guess is that it's partly because if you look at school rankings from places like Boston Magazine and US News & World Report a lot of the towns which are considered more upscale have school systems which are ranked higher. We debate on this site ad nauseum if this is a "chicken or egg" situation. Do wealthy towns really have better schools or do they just have easier to teach students? Another thing we've debated ad nauseum, is the maximum security prison in Walpole. I've had several clients initially mention Walpole and then when they find out about the prison they change their minds. Ease of access to Boston is also considered a big plus in these parts not only for commuting purposes but also for a night out or a weekend excursion to a museum. While both these towns have commuter rail stations which helps a lot, neither is a great drive into Boston (I93 North as I mentioned earlier).
Prison, heh? Okay, that adds a whole new parameter to the Walpole consideration. I'm sure it's not a threat esp. if it's max security, but I know my hubby won't like that. No history of escapes, right? My take on towns with prisons is that they may be safer than neighboring towns because if someone did ever escape, they wouldn't stay within a 10 mile radius. But that's an assumption, since I've never known of a prison escape.
You're very diplomatic in your description of Canton and Walpole. But I get what you're saying. Would you say that economic diversity results in any negative issues (higher crime, lower pride of ownership, political rifts, or neglect on behalf of elected officials, etc)? Is there any notable dissonance between the various economic classes, or is it just simply not homogeneously affluent?
And yes, the old school-rating debate. I have some very nontraditional views with regard to many aspects of public education, so I'm not even going to weigh in on that discussion. Generally, though, I'm not really one to put too much priority toward school scores. My kids' current public school is ranked moderate to low, and I see little to no difference in teacher-commitment, output, or ability compared to other schools in which they've been enrolled that were ranked very high. The only real difference I do see is more a matter of parental resources and availability for involvement, and well...that just is what it is. But would you say the schools in those areas are considered "safe" (though that's a relative concept)
Is Braintree more like Canton/Walpole with regard to the aforementioned, or more like Sudbury?
I'll PM you the address to the Sudbury home right now.
Last edited by SunnyHoney; 07-30-2013 at 08:52 PM..
Reason: typos
Prison, heh? Okay, that adds a whole new parameter to the Walpole consideration. I'm sure it's not a threat esp. if it's max security, but I know my hubby won't like that. No history of escapes, right? My take on towns with prisons is that they may be safer than neighboring towns because if someone did ever escape, they wouldn't stay within a 10 mile radius. But that's an assumption, since I've never known of a prison escape.
No escapes that I know of. I imagine anyone escaping from there would want to get far away as you state. The question is . . . what level of problems would they cause on their way out of town? Personally, I don't subscribe to your theory that towns with prisons are safer but that's more of a personal opinion than anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyHoney
You're very diplomatic in your description of Canton and Walpole. But I get what you're saying. Would you say that economic diversity results in any negative issues (higher crime, lower pride of ownership, political rifts, or neglect on behalf of elected officials, etc)? Is there any notable dissonance between the various economic classes, or is it just simply not homogeneously affluent?
I honestly think they're nice towns. I know a number of people that are very happy living there. There are certainly people who are affluent who live in these towns, but there are also people who are on the other end of the spectrum as well. There are very nice parts of these towns and there are less nice parts although I wouldn't call any parts of either unsafe. Some neighborhoods are just better cared for than others. I know people who live in million dollar homes in Canton and they lost quite a bit of value during the real estate downturn. While the pluses and minuses of living in a town more homogeneously wealthy can be debated, there's no debating that home values in these towns were more solid compared to less homogeneous towns. I grew up in a town with tons of diversity on many levels and it was a wonderful experience. I have no desire currently to live in that town for personal reasons, but even if I did I would never dream of buying a 4k sq ft house there because I would be too afraid of taking a bath when selling. There's definitely something to be said for the "name value" some of these towns bring.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyHoney
And yes, the old school-rating debate. I have some very nontraditional views with regard to many aspects of public education, so I'm not even going to weigh in on that discussion. Generally, though, I'm not really one to put too much priority toward school scores. My kids' current public school is ranked moderate to low, and I see little to no difference in teacher-commitment, output, or ability compared to other schools in which they've been enrolled that were ranked very high. The only real difference I do see is more a matter of parental resources and availability for involvement, and well...that just is what it is. But would you say the schools in those areas are considered "safe" (though that's a relative concept)
In my profession I've walked around many of Boston's suburbs and I've never felt unsafe in almost any of them. Crime will happen anywhere. I think it was about 5 or 6 years ago that a student was stabbed to death at Lincoln-Sudbury High School. A couple of years ago, a teenager killed his girlfriend in Wayland (next to Sudbury) as well. The good news is that crimes like these don't happen everyday in these parts. There's one radio station in Boston who's morning show reads the crime blotter from the Wellesley newspaper and makes fun of it. I like to read the police blotter in the Needham paper and 9 out of 10 police reports are "iPhone stolen from unlocked car." Many of my neighbors have admitted to me that they don't even lock the front door of their house during the day.
I find many people like to claim they have "the best." There seems to be a lot of value in being able to say your child goes to "the best" school system. As much as we debate the merits of these various ranking systems, plenty of people feel they carry a lot of weight so they can't be ignored.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyHoney
Is Braintree more like Canton/Walpole with regard to the aforementioned, or more like Sudbury?
I would say Braintree is more similar to Canton/Walpole than it is Sudbury. Braintree also has a large shopping area with a big mall.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunnyHoney
I'll PM you the address to the Sudbury home right now.
PM sent back to you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
