Medfield info please (Boston, Braintree, Milton: living in, price, beach)

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by leeleerambles

Thanks for the replies, and yes I have as I indicated, posted two other times in this forum. We are looking through different towns and trying to make the best decision.

Where I currently live in Long Island, I am twenty minutes from both north shore (LI Sound) beaches and south shore (ocean) beaches. I obviously saw on a map there is no beach in the exact town, but I was wondering where the nearest one is and where locals from that town tend to go.

And yes, of course I understand I am not moving to a land of endless summers and beach nights. The weather there is fairly similar to what I am used to with a relatively short lived beach season, but I definitely love living near the coast, and was hoping to find out info from people in the area.

You will not be near the ocean in Medfield. Period.

[massnative71]

Exactly, if that is important then you would be better off looking towards the South Shore.

[chicagoliz]

I'm not sure what to tell you. Long Island is long and narrow and no matter where you are on it, you're not going to be too far from some sort of beach. In MA, which is not an island, it's going to be tougher.

For commuting to Westwood, most of your initial thoughts made sense. But, if the beach really is a significant thing for you, maybe you should look closer to the shore. Hingham is nice and has good schools, although it is a tad far from Westwood, and I don't think it will be really easy to find something at your price point (although probably not impossible).

You could look at places like Quincy, Braintree, or Weymouth, although I don't know how good the schools in those towns are, compared to some of the other towns you mentioned. I think this will come down to a decision on beach proximity versus commute.

[CaseyB]

I don't think there's any "one" beach that people go to. Lots of people have pools or they belong to pool clubs or country clubs.
The nearest lake with a beach would be in Sherborn which is one town north of Medfield and they let people from other towns use it.

As far as the ocean, take your pick. We have beaches along both North and South Shores plus the South Coast area and the Cape.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

I don't think there's any "one" beach that people go to. Lots of people have pools or they belong to pool clubs or country clubs.
The nearest lake with a beach would be in Sherborn which is one town north of Medfield and they let people from other towns use it.

As far as the ocean, take your pick. We have beaches along both North and South Shores plus the South Coast area and the Cape.

Natural freshwater swimming--in lakes and ponds--is common and widely available in Mass unlike Long Island. Not "the beach" but can be very nice.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

The nearest lake with a beach would be in Sherborn which is one town north of Medfield and they let people from other towns use it.

There is also Hale Reservation in Westwood, if you want to pay the membership.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by massnative71

There is also Hale Reservation in Westwood, if you want to pay the membership.

Oh, you have to pay to use the one in Sherborn, too.

[mwj119]

Yeah, now I'm confused.

OP, why are you looking at Medfield if you enjoy being coastal? There are a lot of towns that provide beautiful beaches, good schools, nice town centers, close proximity to Boston, etc. South would be a Hingham, or a Cohasset, etc. North would be a Marblehead, or a Manchester, etc. I understand that there is a requirement to be close(ish) to Westwood, so focus on Hingham/Cohasset/Norwell.

Medfield is certainly nice, but not a town you hear a lot about on these threads, especially when it's someone from out of state with your criteria.

[MikePRU]

Suggestion . . . rather than starting multiple discussions about multiple towns . . . why not start a new thread telling everyone about your move (i.e. what kind of house you're looking for, commuting needs, lifestyle needs, housing budget, etc., etc., etc.) and allow people familiar with the state to make suggestions about towns you should consider?

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Yeah, now I'm confused.

OP, why are you looking at Medfield if you enjoy being coastal? There are a lot of towns that provide beautiful beaches, good schools, nice town centers, close proximity to Boston, etc. South would be a Hingham, or a Cohasset, etc. North would be a Marblehead, or a Manchester, etc. I understand that there is a requirement to be close(ish) to Westwood, so focus on Hingham/Cohasset/Norwell.

Medfield is certainly nice, but not a town you hear a lot about on these threads, especially when it's someone from out of state with your criteria.

It's a pain to commute from those places with the traffic in the morning and evening.