Job in Braintree - Family move to Plymouth or ...? (Boston: low crime, townhome)

[Boleyna73]

Hello everyone,

My husband has been offered a job in Braintree but before we accept the offer we need to know about choices for our family to live. We have only ever been to Hansom and Lexington for 2 days - I love Lexington but it's unfortunately too expensive for us

We are looking for a family-friendly neighborhood with parks and great schools with not more of a 45 min commute to Braintree.

Currently we are in Germany (I am German) so we enjoy a small town life with walkable (bike-friendly) neighborhoods, easy public transports and stores within easy reach as well as lots of green (forest and fields). The kids are used to play outside a lot, so I know they would not enjoy a neighborhood that's too busy with traffic. A good Children's Hospital within reach is important, too.

Our neighbor is from Plymouth, which would be a good commuting distance to Braintree, and of course he recommends it highly! We would love living close to the ocean but I have been reading about a rising drug issue in Plymouth. Is this a big concern or just certain areas?
What other suburbs/ towns could be recommended? We are looking into spending not more than $500,000 for a 3+, 1.5 bath house/townhome.

As a reference to compare places to: We have lived in NJ (my hubby's family is from the NYC area), England, Colorado Springs and Germany. We do not care for hectic and rude NJ/NYC environment.

Any help would be greatly apprecriated - thank you!!!

[10Evergreen22]

Welcome! We are actually looking to relocate in the Plymouth area too (from NY) and found a community called "Redbrook" that we are checking out this weekend. I have not heard about a drug problem but will check into it.

We were going to move to Worcester but have not been able to find a house we like so far so decided to look in Plymouth. It has a low crime rate and a lovely setting along the coast and seems like a nice town.

The people on this forum are very knowledgeable and I am sure you will get many helpful replies. Best wishes in your relocation.

[life4orce]

One thing to ask in depth about is your commute between Plymouth and Braintree. Route 3 traffic is terrible at certain times, especially in the summer when people are trying to get to the cape. There are times of the year where I have to drive to Plymouth from the Metro West area 2-3 times a week. It's usually 45-50 minutes without traffic. It's taken me 2 hours once and 1 1/2 hours many times on a weekday around 5-6pm.

Other than that Plymouth is a nice suburban area. Downtown gets crowded with tourists in the summer. Miles Standish park is great for camping if you like to do that.

[Boleyna73]

Life4orce - wow! Thank you for that input! According to google maps it's only a 30 min drive on Rt 3 but it seems that reality looks a lot different.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

Originally Posted by Boleyna73

Life4orce - wow! Thank you for that input! According to google maps it's only a 30 min drive on Rt 3 but it seems that reality looks a lot different.

The morning commute on Rte 3 going toward Boston (which your husband would be doing since Braintree is one of the exits along the way) can be horrendous at times. It gets quite heavy the closer you get to "The Split where Rte 3 merges into I-93 going north as you follow 93 (which becomes the Southeast Expressway) into Boston. For that reason alone a lot of people living down in the Plymouth area will either take the commuter rail, the bus, or drive to the Braintree T station and take the Red Line into Boston.

[Boleyna73]

Thank you, kizzy. I had no idea the traffic would be so terrible!

[gf2020]

Traffic on Route 3 is indeed terrible, but tens of thousands of people seem to deal with it every day.

$500K is a pretty decent budget for what you want. You don't need to go as far as Plymouth. I would look at the towns in the Silver Lake Regional School District: Kingston, Plympton, Halifax. Maybe add Pembroke and Marshfield too.

My brother-in-law and his family (wife and 3 daughters) moved to Kingston from north of Boston in 2010. He has managed with the commute over the years and his wife and daughters have been very happy with Kingston. It's pretty far from Boston, from my point of view, but they have everything you could need from Weymouth down to Plymouth (hospital, shopping, recreation, etc.).

[Boleyna73]

Thank you for the recommendation in regards to Silver Lake District. We would prefer to spend less on a house, but the area seems really pricey. I originally had Lexington on top of my wishlist, but that is just not do-able for us. : (

I really like a "village" feel, with a walkable downtown area.

My husband wouldn't mind with the RT3 commute so much if we'd only find that neighborhood we are looking for.

[Boleyna73]

Hi 10Evergreen22 - I replied to your post earlier, but it did not seem to have posted. I'm still learning.
Thank you so much for your input - I will look into the Redbrook area.
Good luck with the house hunting this weekend and please let me know how it went!
*

[jan0105]

What about Braintree itself? There are very quaint neighborhoods, some really good restaurants, you're close to the city but there's green space, the schools are very good ... $500,000 won't buy a huge house there but you could get something nice. For instance, look up 96 Standish Ave, 6 Blanchard Boulevard, or 1318 Liberty St on Redfin.