Eastern MA Towns with Historic Homes, Large Lots, & Cute Town Center

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by MidwestToMA

My husband and I have sold our home in Melrose, MA and are looking for another town in Eastern Mass to set down roots. We are in our early 30s with no kids yet, but are interested in starting a family soon. We love old historical homes in areas that have cute, walkable town centers with restaurants, coffee shops, shopping, drug stores, grocery, gas stations, etc. all in the immediate area. Thus, we love Melrose but are looking for a different house and we are not sure we can find what we want here. Even if we can find what we want, the market is so competitive that actually getting the house will be challenging and we are not willing to over-pay for something just to stay in Melrose, as many people are doing lately.

Currently we have a 5 BR, 2 bath home (but only one full bath), 2,250 sq ft and no yard (just a small patio behind the house). We are looking for 4+ BR, 2.5+ bath, 2,800 sq ft, .5 acre lot, 2 car gar home. Lots in Melrose are typically very small! We want to be in a good school district mostly for resale value of the home; we are both OK with the idea of sending kids to private schools, so proximity of good private schools is a consideration as well. As I mentioned, I would love a walkable neighborhood with nice sidewalks (granite curbs!?) on both sides like we have now. My husband works downtown in the Financial district - the Orange Line is the most convenient to his office but it is reasonably convenient to both North and South Stations as well as the ferry from Hingham. (My job is not significant enough to be a consideration in our relocation.) Our budget is $950K but we would prefer to spend much less if possible. I honestly have no interest in living in metrowest Boston, but could possibly be convinced and my husband grew up out there and would love to go back. We are OK with renovations so long as the all-in budget would not exceed our max budget. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we are both politically conservative and would prefer not to live in an area that is vastly liberal. Hard to find anywhere in MA, but a town with a relatively higher number of Republicans would be a plus for us.

So far we have looked at houses in Melrose, Reading, Andover, Hamilton, Ipswich, Hingham, and Cohasset and I feel reasonably confident we could ultimately find what we want there in our budget. Manchester-by-the-Sea is on the interest list as well, but we haven't found anything we like in our budget. We have been through Needham and love parts of it, but thought that it might be way out of the budget. We love the town of Newburyport, but think it might be a little too far out and bigger lots are few and far between. I would love anyone's insight into these towns relative to what we are looking for. Also, are there any other towns that fit our criteria that we should be looking at? Thanks!!!

Eastern MA, conservative, walkable, "reasonable" commute to financial district: Doesn't exist. You'll have to adjust something. Sorry.

[a bag of it]

Originally Posted by MidwestToMA

So from all of the replies here I am getting really intrigued about all of these south shore towns. We have always lived north of the city (Malden, Melrose) so I really know nothing about it down there besides passing through en route to the Cape a couple times a summer. I have just heard that traffic can be brutal trying to get, well, anywhere around there. Is that a legitimate concern?

Traffic is definitely brutal during rush hour, especially past the split on 93. It's often faster to take 3A all the way in during these times. However as I mentioned in my last post, the commuter rail can get you into South Station in less than an hour reliably from North Scituate station. Less time from Cohasset and Hingham. You also have the ferry as an option.

[Beantown_mama]

So you know my thoughts on Melrose--it us a great town. But true most lots are small. I think 2 towns with cute centers are Manchester by the Sea and Natick. Both are super far away from downtown Boston though and the commute is not only longer but less flexible - there are commuter rail stops but they are not frequent (check the schedules). Marblehead is also a very cute downtown but not that convenient - no highways or public transportation goes there. But those would probably be my choices for cute towns with walkable streets and downtown centers.