First time home buyer: looking at Norwood (Boston, Waltham: buying, school district)

[rjp2741]

Thoughts? My fiance and I are looking to buy our first home. We're currently looking in Norwood but I don't know much about it (grew up on the north shore). We really like the town center and the location near Boston. I've heard the schools are not great (but the only reasoning I can see is based on test scores), and that the area is on a bit of a decline? Are those things true? Just trying to get the whole picture on the town, since what we've seen we've really liked.

[CaseyB]

There's a nice area of Norwood near Westwood. I think it's up around the high school.

The not so nice area is South Norwood.

Have you looked anywhere in Walpole? You might like it better.

[rjp2741]

We looked in Walpole a bit, but found it a little too suburby (is that a word?) and far away from Boston. Good feedback anyway though, the houses we've looked at are not in South Norwood, so that's good.

[MikePRU]

If you can give us some additional detail about your home search perhaps we can provide some alternative choices that you hadn't considered. What kind of house are you looking for? How many beds/baths do you need? What size lot? What are your commuting needs? What's your housing budget?

[jayrandom]

I really like Norwood Center. Good restaurants, walkable, reasonable shopping, and easy access to Boston via the commuter rail. Depending on your budget it could be a good choice. Above a certain amount there might start to be better choices, though.

I'm surprised people here don't recommend Norwood more often, especially for people looking for something affordable with a good center and good public transit access to Boston. I think there are a few reasons people here are so down on Norwood. You've mentioned the first, that the schools aren't very well regarded. That's probably related to the second reason, which is that Norwood tends to be less affluent than surrounding towns. Parts of Norwood are a bit run down and the big box driveway/automile that is Route 1 through town is what most people see when they drive through. I don't think it's on the decline, though. As I have a higher opinion of Norwood than most here there could be something I'm missing.

While I do like Norwood, I should point out that it's not really that close to Boston. The commuter rail is convenient, but there isn't a great way to drive. It's also not really a city--Norwood center is more built up than Walpole center but not nearly as much as an actual city like Waltham.

[TAM88]

Look at Canton. Their schools are a little bit better and home prices slightly cheaper. Multiple stops on the Commuter rail and direct access to both 93 and 95.

Walpole is not too far from Boston, especially if you can find a home that's near the Coney Street exit.

[rjp2741]

Our budget is around 300-380k. Obviously the lower the better. We've been looking in towns like Natick, Norwood, Dedham, and Walpole. My fiance works in Back Bay and I commute out to Hopkinton. We only have one car, so having a commuter rail into Back Bayis important for us. We've found Natick and Norwood to be the best options for us in terms of public transportation, town feel, etc. Walpole felt too far out into farm land for us, and Dedham we couldn't ever quite tell if we were in a good part of town or a bad one. Natick we seemed to be getting priced out of at this point - everything is going very quickly and for over asking. We're not TOO concerned with the schools, as we don't currently have kids, but good schools are a bonus because it means we could stay there long term. Thus, Norwood has become a front runner.

We're definitely open to other options, but I was also hoping to just get a better sense of what Norwood is like, since we are a little in the dark there. Stopped in to a few places in downtown Norwood over the last week, and we really liked the feel of it. Is the area surrounding downtown (1 mile or so) on the Westwood side a nice area? That's where we are currently looking and it felt nice to us.

[kingeorge]

Schools are big driver of prices and desirability in MA RE. Although you do not have kids, whatever you save on Norwood right now, will come right back at you if you decide to sell and "upgrade" to better school district later on. You might find it financially impossible to jump the ship. Or it might work, but it gets lot more expensive to trade up 5-7 years later.
Just carefully consider future needs as well. Location and good schools will always beat nicer house in not so desirable town.

Canton might be better buy. Natick is better than both Norwood or Canton, and if you swing something there by all means go for it. It will insulate you much better from being stuck in your first house especially if home prices happen to go down with higher interest rates.

Good luck.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by rjp2741

Is the area surrounding downtown (1 mile or so) on the Westwood side a nice area? That's where we are currently looking and it felt nice to us.

I think so, that's the area I was referring to in my earlier post.

I don't think you'll lose any money buying in the town. It's not dangerous or anything like that.

I disagree that houses are cheaper in Canton. They are not.

[rjp2741]

Awesome, thanks Casey!