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I always got a nosebleed when I went west of Worcester. Something in the air out there. To many cows and Republicans in area code 413........LOL
There are no cows and Republicans in South Carolina?
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoffD
The world apparently ends at I-495.
I wouldn't say the world ends after 495, but I ventured out to Worcester a couple weekends ago for a show and dined at one of their fine restaurants. Not impressed. Everyone was getting up and leaving while the cast came out to take their bow. There were even quite a few people who showed up in sweat pants. This past weekend I went back to the usual - a show and dinner in Boston's theatre district. No comparison! There are country manners and there are city manners. We're all different and most people feel uncomfortable mixing with people who are different, that's all. It goes both ways.
For my Boston commute it's not good. We'll just start with that. For Providence, New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, and even Newport or Brockton it wouldn't be bad. So it's not wonderfully located from a commuter standpoint.
That's probably what makes it great. What I love about Dartmouth is that it's huge. It's probably 5 different towns in one (literally- 5 different villages). It extends as far north as Freetown and as far south as Buzzard's Bay/ the ocean. Most people who have been to Dartmouth have been to North Dartmouth. Specifically the Faunce Corner, Route 6, Dartmouth Mall area. It's unremarkable. It's standard box retail. It's also a brilliant mask for the rest of the community.
North of that, Dartmouth is woodsy and sparsely populated. You have the Hixville section which is historic, old, and abuts state forest property. It's not far off from many of the smaller towns in Central and Western Mass.
South Dartmouth is gorgeous. Padanaram Village gets most of the spotlight and deservedly so. It's very pretty and active. However, the rolling farmland along Slocums River, the quaint village of Russell's Mills, and the quiet oceanfront charm of Nonquitt are what sets the town apart. Natural spots like Parson's Reserve Daffodil Fields, Destruction Brook, Little River Reserve, Lloyd State Park, Allen's Pond, Round Hill, Slocums Reserve, etc. are extraordinary. It's a really beautiful and neat place. I'm glad it's off the radar of most.
Are those of us outside the 495 beltway not part of this discussion? Slightly beyond greater Boston here, as are those further west than me, or down in SE Mass.
Back on topic . . . I really love living in Needham. I've lived in a couple of other area towns like Newton (too big and impersonal for my taste) and Framingham (too much of a mess) but Needham is exactly what I'm looking for a in a hometown.
First, Needham feels like a small town. I walk around and I see familiar faces all the time. I bump into friends and neighbors all the time. There's a real feeling of community in this town and there are tons of volunteer organizations with healthy memberships like Rotary Club, Exchange Club, and Parent Talk. Plus lots of community celebrations like the big 4th of July parade/fireworks and the 100's of block parties that go on in this town.
Second, I love the quaint town center. It lacks the charm of some other town centers but during the center definitely acts as a meeting place and a hub of activity in the town. Plus, we have just enough shops/restaurants to make it serviceable. I love that I don't need to go out of town for groceries or even for a trip to the hardware store if I don't want to.
Needham has tremendous access to Boston. It's quick to get into the city by car or using one of the four commuter rail stations in town. It's also pretty easy to drive across the town line into Newton and hop on the green line as well.
Speaking of surrounding towns . . . it's great to have easy access to Newton Center, Wellesley, Legacy Place, University Station, and the Golden Triangle area of Framingham/Natick. 10-15 minutes in my car and I can basically be at any store or restaurant that I can imagine.
When it comes down to it, for me it's the people of town. I've just encountered so many friendly and civic minded people here. Everyone has always been so welcoming and everyone seems to really be proud of living in this town.
What I love about my town (Norwell) is that we are close enough to Boston to be commutable, but it's private--the lots are large (zoned for an acre) and it's very wooded, so I don't have to see my neighbors. We have a nice blend of rural--some horse farms and a large dairy farm (Hornstra Farms)--but we're also only 5 - 10 minutes from Target, Stop & Shop, tons of restaurants and shopping. I also like being close to the ocean, though I certainly wouldn't mind being closer. And the school system is good, which is important to us.
The older I get, the more I think I'd be happier moving farther from Boston. Especially since I left my job in the city for something close-by (husband is still in the city). But a couple of times a month we end up in the city for date night + we often go into the city with the kids (children's museum, science museum, etc.), so I still feel torn about moving farther away vs. staying put.
For my Boston commute it's not good. We'll just start with that. For Providence, New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, and even Newport or Brockton it wouldn't be bad. So it's not wonderfully located from a commuter standpoint.
That's probably what makes it great. What I love about Dartmouth is that it's huge. It's probably 5 different towns in one (literally- 5 different villages). It extends as far north as Freetown and as far south as Buzzard's Bay/ the ocean. Most people who have been to Dartmouth have been to North Dartmouth. Specifically the Faunce Corner, Route 6, Dartmouth Mall area. It's unremarkable. It's standard box retail. It's also a brilliant mask for the rest of the community.
North of that, Dartmouth is woodsy and sparsely populated. You have the Hixville section which is historic, old, and abuts state forest property. It's not far off from many of the smaller towns in Central and Western Mass.
South Dartmouth is gorgeous. Padanaram Village gets most of the spotlight and deservedly so. It's very pretty and active. However, the rolling farmland along Slocums River, the quaint village of Russell's Mills, and the quiet oceanfront charm of Nonquitt are what sets the town apart. Natural spots like Parson's Reserve Daffodil Fields, Destruction Brook, Little River Reserve, Lloyd State Park, Allen's Pond, Round Hill, Slocums Reserve, etc. are extraordinary. It's a really beautiful and neat place. I'm glad it's off the radar of most.
I'm from Dartmouth and own a house there but I'm not a resident. I'm a telecommuter and around a lot in the summer. If I had to commute like I did most of my adult life, Dartmouth would be out of the question. With the completely failed local economy, I lived elsewhere where there was more economic opportunity and wandered back to my home town on summer weekends.
Unremarkable for the Route 6 shopping area is being polite. "Mall Hell" is awful. It's a smaller/less affluent version of the Framingham/Natick debacle. It's convenient to have it but it's a blight.
You missed a few things. UMass-Dartmouth is a 9,000 student college that gives the town a bit of an intellectual pulse by adding 350 college profs to the local population. The oceanfront gated summer communities are completely invisible to outsiders. Mishaum Point. Salter's Point. Nonquitt. The Colonel Green mansion that is now the Round Hill condos. A lot of less affluent locals resent the hell out of the summer people but their dollars support the local economy and their property taxes with no children in the school system combine with Mall Hell keep the tax rate at 1%.
Personally, I like the socioeconomic mix of the place. I've lived in a lot of upscale suburban towns most of my adult life where everybody is pretty much the same. Dartmouth isn't like that at all. At the high end, you have the professional bedroom town sections and the waterfront and gated communities. Most of the town is very middle class. There are sections of town that are very much working class. Everybody shares a common school system. Everybody shops the same places and frequents the same bars & restaurants.
The other thing I like is the huge Portuguese/Azores influence and the huge fishing port influence on food. I grew up with kale soup, linguica/chourico, cacoila, sweet bread, malasadas... I also grew up with extremely fresh scallops and haddock/cod/sole. I miss it when I'm away.
The main reason why I always come back in summers is the ocean and sailing. Virtually every day in the summer, you have 20 knots of breeze out of the southwest all afternoon. It's the only place on the east coast like that. You can get to Quick's Hole, Robinson's Hole, and Cuttyhunk in a couple of hours or less. Wood's Hole is about 4 hours. Martha's Vineyard is about 6 hours. It's an ideal home base for sailing.
I'm from Dartmouth and own a house there but I'm not a resident. I'm a telecommuter and around a lot in the summer. If I had to commute like I did most of my adult life, Dartmouth would be out of the question. With the completely failed local economy, I lived elsewhere where there was more economic opportunity and wandered back to my home town on summer weekends.
Unremarkable for the Route 6 shopping area is being polite. "Mall Hell" is awful. It's a smaller/less affluent version of the Framingham/Natick debacle. It's convenient to have it but it's a blight.
You missed a few things. UMass-Dartmouth is a 9,000 student college that gives the town a bit of an intellectual pulse by adding 350 college profs to the local population. The oceanfront gated summer communities are completely invisible to outsiders. Mishaum Point. Salter's Point. Nonquitt. The Colonel Green mansion that is now the Round Hill condos. A lot of less affluent locals resent the hell out of the summer people but their dollars support the local economy and their property taxes with no children in the school system combine with Mall Hell keep the tax rate at 1%.
Personally, I like the socioeconomic mix of the place. I've lived in a lot of upscale suburban towns most of my adult life where everybody is pretty much the same. Dartmouth isn't like that at all. At the high end, you have the professional bedroom town sections and the waterfront and gated communities. Most of the town is very middle class. There are sections of town that are very much working class. Everybody shares a common school system. Everybody shops the same places and frequents the same bars & restaurants.
The other thing I like is the huge Portuguese/Azores influence and the huge fishing port influence on food. I grew up with kale soup, linguica/chourico, cacoila, sweet bread, malasadas... I also grew up with extremely fresh scallops and haddock/cod/sole. I miss it when I'm away.
The main reason why I always come back in summers is the ocean and sailing. Virtually every day in the summer, you have 20 knots of breeze out of the southwest all afternoon. It's the only place on the east coast like that. You can get to Quick's Hole, Robinson's Hole, and Cuttyhunk in a couple of hours or less. Wood's Hole is about 4 hours. Martha's Vineyard is about 6 hours. It's an ideal home base for sailing.
You hit the nail on the head. I'm not a sailor, but I do know exactly what you're talking about. You can set your clock to the SW wind. Once I had an idea of how the winds worked, I learned that the best beach days were the days that Thunderstorms were forecast for Fall River and New Bedford. People stayed home and you could sit at the quiet beach in the gorgeous sun and look North and see the clouds and thunderstorms that were dumping on Fall River, N. Westport, N. Dartmouth, etc. The wind out of the Southwest was just enough to push the weather inland a few miles.
I also have a 13 foot whaler I putt around the Westport and Slocum Rivers in. If I'm up early enough, occasionally I'll take it out into Buzzard's Bay and head back by 10 a.m. as the winds shift and it gets a bit choppier (too choppy for the skiff). I know people who have taken their 13 foot whalers from the New Bedford Yacht Club to Cuttyhunk. Crazy, IMHO, but doable if you're comfortable enough with the waters.
I like New Bedford close by too. I know it's not a great place to live, but it has a pretty neat downtown, a lot of history and a good mix of restaurants and bars. It really is a cool place.
Darn. After all that I miss the party by one town, my steaming pile of pleasant dereliction borders Worcester County (via Athol and Royalston) but they're drawing those CSA lines by county although I'd say Orange is definitely affected as much or more by the central/eastern Mass orbit as it is by the west.
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