Westwood vs Medfield for (Providence/Lynn) commute (Boston, Cambridge: transplants, daycare)

[jolie 35]

Providence/Lynn (study/working) couple with twins (1.5 years old). Our family is looking for a house with excellent school system (priority) and for the commute to be midway as much as possible between Providence and Lynn. My husband, engineer works in Lynn, I'm an interior designer currently stay at home mum, and hope in the near future, when my kids go to kindergarten or daycare, to pursue my masters in RISDE, and later most probably work in Boston. Currently, sometimes I take classes in Boston. So, we're looking for a house with great school system, also midway (good commute) between (Lynn, Boston and Providence), we have a good budget, and would like a good size house as much as possible. We are considering these areas: Westwood-Medfield-Sharon. Actually, I saw couple of houses in Sharon, but I felt its too country for me. I prefer the suburban feel of Westwood, and I don't know yet about Medfield.

I regret I was resistant in a Westwood house in Downey School District, its under contract now, I wish I took it, but its too late now :-( Currently I found online a good house in Medfield in the (Wheellock elementary (2nd-3rd) school district. I don't know how good is this school compared to Downey ? Also, in Medfield the (pre k-1st) school is ( Memorial School), I don't think it has high rank as the Downey School?

I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Thank you.

[CaseyB]

I'm afraid that if you thought Sharon was too "country" you would feel the same about Medfield.

[Dm84]

The commute to Lynn is going to be horrific. Westwood is probably the least horrible out of the 3 you mentioned. CaseyB is right. If you think Sharon is too country then you shouldn't even waste your time looking in Medfield.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

I'm afraid that if you thought Sharon was too "country" you would feel the same about Medfield.

Originally Posted by Dm84

The commute to Lynn is going to be horrific. Westwood is probably the least horrible out of the 3 you mentioned. CaseyB is right. If you think Sharon is too country then you shouldn't even waste your time looking in Medfield.

I'm surprised to read this. I've been working with a lot of people looking in Medfield lately and I find the town quite suburban. Personally, I find Sharon to be a bit more country/rural feeling. Plus, Medfield has a cute town center with a few good restaurants and a great market called Brothers which I think cuts down on the "country" feeling. I actually think (except for Medfield having a town center) that Medfield and Westwood have very similar feels. Westwood might feel a bit more upscale. Westwood is going to offer a better commute to Lynn although not worlds better. Commuting all the way to Lynn from south of the MA Pike is going to be a LONG ride.

Having one person commuting to RI and the other to Lynn is a no win situation. Someone is going to be really unhappy.

[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.

[life4orce]

Medfield schools are very good. Personally, I believe the difference in the quality of schools between Sharon-Westwood-Medfield will be insignificant in the long run. All three are consistently top rated school systems. That being said, of the 3, Medfield is the least accessible. It takes 15-20 minutes to get to 95 or 128. It's main way to get out is either 27 or 109 which can be a nightmare at times.

[jolie 35]

Thank you so much all of you for your advice, so we started to think lately about Lexington. Actually my husband will leave his company for some time and we dont know whats next for him.
But I feel lexington has much more urban/suburban feel than Westwood or Medfield, which i really like. Also its closer to boston and has stores and town center. Of course its more expensive so we have to down size...Any thoughts about raising kids ( mine are 18 month old) in Lexington, activities or mum groups? Also what is the main diference between Lexington and Westwood ? And how bad is the comute from Lexington to Rhode lsland ?

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by jolie 35

Thank you so much all of you for your advice, so we started to think lately about Lexington. Actually my husband will leave his company for some time and we dont know whats next for him.
But I feel lexington has much more urban/suburban feel than Westwood or Medfield, which i really like. Also its closer to boston and has stores and town center. Of course its more expensive so we have to down size...Any thoughts about raising kids ( mine are 18 month old) in Lexington, activities or mum groups? Also what is the main diference between Lexington and Westwood ? And how bad is the comute from Lexington to Rhode lsland ?

Unless you are in the $1.5m+ price bracket Westwood is suburban. There are some parts of town where you would see more woods than neighbors from your house, but not too many (unlike nearby Dover). I live in the Downey school district and that whole area is suburban. Lexington ranges from dense suburban near the Arlington line to more classically suburban. You will be able to walk to more shops in Lexington and it has a real town center. Westwood is lacks that as it is a relatively new town (formed in 1897 from Dedham)

Lexington has better schools and is more expensive, there's basically no way around that. How much better the schools are is difficult to quantify; how much more expensive is relatively easy to quantify. My daughter is almost two so I can't comment on the quality of the Westwood schools, but it is something everyone who has kids has said they liked about the town, often spontaneously (there must be meetings where they tell people to say this stuff). We have good friends in Lexington and the vibes are quite different. Lexington has more distant transplants; Westwood seems to have a lot of locals from nearby and most of my neighbors are from Massachusetts or at least other parts of New England (my wife and I are not and this hasn't been a problem at all).

On the commuting side Westwood is easier for commuting into Boston, especially if you take public transportation. Lexington is better for Cambridge. Lexington might be better to Boston if you drive. Westwood would be easier to RISD (you could even take the train).

[jolie 35]

Thank you Jayrandom for your very thoughtfull response, i actually loved the downey school district in Westwood, and i lost almost my dream house in terms of layout and size in the downey school district last summer, 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.

After sometime having no luck in Westwood, we came across a modern house in Lexington which we really like, and in our budget, the cons, is its generally smaller which usually modern houses of this era (50-60)ies are, no basement, and small size bedrooms. The pros, of course is the location, has a big lot, so there is room for addition in the future, its architecture and design is much more of our taste. Also, personally, i felt very connected to it.

Any thoughts about owning a slab foundation home without basement, also on the cost of addition later on. I personally love the home, but my husband is worried about not having a basement for storage, or having an office space..ect...until future additions when we have more resources...I feel the house as of now, is very much our taste but tight in size regrading bedrooms and no basement, but has a good living space though. On the otherside it has great potential when expaned with additions... We need to act fast as there is alot of competition and we dont want to loose again a house which we like alot.

The only thing i can do about the storage problem, is that this modern house has a 2 car garage, i can use it as storage, and buy a steel 3 sided carport for our 2 cars and place it beside the garage. But i cannot do anything about the tight size bedrooms, lack of office space and lack of in- law room with bath ! Untill future expansion, which wont be soon...

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by jolie 35

Any thoughts about owning a slab foundation home without basement, also on the cost of addition later on. I personally love the home, but my husband is worried about not having a basement for storage, or having an office space..ect...until future additions when we have more resources...I feel the house as of now, is very much our taste but tight in size regrading bedrooms and no basement, but has a good living space though. On the otherside it has great potential when expaned with additions... We need to act fast as there is alit of competition and we dont want to loose again a house which we like alot.

Buying a slab house in the Boston area is a buy low/sell low scenario. You'll pay less for the house because of the negative feature but you'll also sell for less down the line as well compared to a similar house with a basement. In a down market, a slab house is typically harder to sell than a comparable house with a basement as well. As your spouse mentions, it also greatly increases the cost of creating additional living space - finishing a basement is far less expensive than adding on to a house. It's simply because creating a foundation is very expensive. Slab homes can also have some unique issues. Watch out for houses that have heated slabs. Those pipes can often break and are costly to repair because they're encased in cement. Another thing is because there is no basement all the utilities are on the main floor or in the attic. If your hot water heater lets go, it will cause a lot more damage than if it were in an unfinished basement. Also, if your heating system is in a closet next to your family room it's going to be a lot noisier than if it were in the basement. Slabs also have very limited storage space. Most people don't realize how much less and how impactful it is on them until they actually live in the house.


This being said . . . if you're dying to live in Lexington and buying a slab house makes it affordable for you then go for it. If your budget goes higher or you're willing to consider other locations, then I would give it a pass.