Westwood vs Medfield for (Providence/Lynn) commute

[jolie 35]

Thank you for your response, first, considering looking at different affordable locations which was far out from boston, with no real life around, made me rethink very highly of areas like lexington and winchester...Westwood is great, but still far out.
In addition of course to the school system advantage.
Secound, this modern slab home im considering in Lexington, is a mid century style built by a noted architect...this house is an expanded one because most of them were small in size. Its not just a slab house, it has great architectural value with beauty of interior space layout...it has alot of demand from byers, we see this from the bidding war, and it even makes us go to the top end of our budget. Its not a normal home, you feel that you are in a magazine featured like homes...it has a certain flair, also the big size almost level lot adds alot to its value...so all these things are really advantage...Also, i have read alot about expansions of mid century homes which gave more space and made it really comfortable...
But of course exapansion in the right architectural way means money...and for us this will not be soon...

[Steephill2]

Westwood is far out but you are considering Lexington? Scratching my head on that one, especially if commuting to Providence is in play.

[jolie 35]

I ment that driving from westwood to boston takes much longer than from lexington, also Westwood has no town center , u have to drive to the nearest town for shopping, but actually westwood is a very nice town, i just didnt have luck there, so tried to look for other options.

[Steephill2]

Originally Posted by jolie 35

I ment that driving from westwood to boston takes much longer than from lexington, also Westwood has no town center , u have to drive to the nearest town for shopping, but actually westwood is a very nice town, i just didnt have luck there, so tried to look for other options.

Just to clarify that if you want to drive to Boston from Lexington you have to pick either 95 to 93s, 95 to 90, or route 2. As bad as the southeast expressway is, I am not sure the other options are that much better, especially during rush hour. As a matter of fact, Lexington is about the same distance to the Pike as Westwood. Plus as mentioned earlier Lexington is all buses, while Westwood has a number of alternative transportation options.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by jolie 35

I ment that driving from westwood to boston takes much longer than from lexington, also Westwood has no town center , u have to drive to the nearest town for shopping, but actually westwood is a very nice town, i just didnt have luck there, so tried to look for other options.

If you were looking in the Downey district you definitely would not be far from shopping. University Station (Wegmans, Target, etc.) is right there (I live about a 10 minute walk) and Legacy Place, while technically in Dedham, is right on the town line.

It's true the town center is pretty uninteresting, but from the perspective of shopping it doesn't make that much practical difference.

[jolie 35]

I liked the downey school district, but no luck there in our home search, now the house im considering in Lexington is very close to I-95 rout 128. It takes 1 hr. Driving to RI. Its very close to burlingtom mall.
How is the middle school in Westwood ? Does it have good rating like Downey school ?

[ECPCVC]

Westwood to Lynn would be a horrible commute. I'd say 1.5-2 hrs?

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by jolie 35

we loved the house but were hesitant about it because it was right across from Downey school, the realtor told us that kids pass through the backyard of the house as a short cut to school, which was a deal breaker for us, also the playground of the school was very close to the backyard of the house....short time later it went under contract, after that we regret we didnt take it, but were still not comfortable with the kids crossing our small backyard and the school bieng so close....But again i seem not to forget the house layout which was perfect for us.

Fence would put an end to this.
(And, Fence + dog might really end it.)

As far as storage, is there room for a shed in the back yard? What is the attic situation like? Can you use that for storage?

We just looked at Lexington -- it was on our list of towns to investigate, but it ended up moved to the bottom of our list (although it was still on the list, primarily because my husband works in Lexington). Lexington has a real cult mentality about their schools. We were considering Arlington, too, and most people said the Arlington schools were great. The only people who said they were "not good" were Lexington real estate agents. It's really kind of a weird vibe they have with the schools there. I know they are very good - I don't doubt it at all. But I find it hard to believe they're really so much better than Newton, Needham, Concord, Bedford, and some others.

Lexington does have a really nice Town Center. That's one of the reasons it stayed on our list. But if you're not walkable to the town center, it seems like walkability is fairly low. Plus there is no train station, so the commute into Boston is not as good as it seems like it should be for the location.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by jolie 35

Thank you for your response, first, considering looking at different affordable locations which was far out from boston, with no real life around, made me rethink very highly of areas like lexington and winchester...Westwood is great, but still far out.
In addition of course to the school system advantage.
Secound, this modern slab home im considering in Lexington, is a mid century style built by a noted architect...this house is an expanded one because most of them were small in size. Its not just a slab house, it has great architectural value with beauty of interior space layout...it has alot of demand from byers, we see this from the bidding war, and it even makes us go to the top end of our budget. Its not a normal home, you feel that you are in a magazine featured like homes...it has a certain flair, also the big size almost level lot adds alot to its value...so all these things are really advantage...Also, i have read alot about expansions of mid century homes which gave more space and made it really comfortable...
But of course exapansion in the right architectural way means money...and for us this will not be soon...

The majority of slab houses are very blah, but it's nice to hear that you saw one with some character. This being said, I can assure you it still had many of the shortcomings that I outlined in my previous post. Everything is getting multiple offers right now. So, everything seems like everyone wants it. In a slower market, I'd wager you could hear the crickets at an open house at this place. Don't let a hot market convince you to buy a home you'll have a tough time selling down the road or one that might not appreciate as well as another house within your budget.

Originally Posted by jolie 35

I ment that driving from westwood to boston takes much longer than from lexington, also Westwood has no town center , u have to drive to the nearest town for shopping, but actually westwood is a very nice town, i just didnt have luck there, so tried to look for other options.

Have you considered Needham at all? Less expensive than Lexington, but Needham has the town center, public transportation options, and highway access that you mentioned you want. Plus, it has a very good school system and it's closer to Providence than Lexington.

[traffic_lover]

Originally Posted by gf2020

Well, the reality is that your husband works in Lynn now. You may go to school in RI in the future. I would look for a house closer to Lynn and see what happens with the grad school plans in the future.

This post is so true that the rest of thread should be closed. Amen