Sudbury, Acton, Wayland - other options? - HELP! (Boston, Newton: house prices, neighborhoods)
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We moved from Sudbury a little bit further south on 495 for job reasons. We lived in Sudbury for 4 years and I love it and still miss it. It is a great town, has everything a stay at home Mom could ask for (I know!) There are 2 grocery stores, some great little high end shops, a couple of decent restaurants and then you have Target, Lowes, Natick Collection, etc, about 20 minutes away. They have a 2 different newcomers clubs and lots of recreational activities. I would vote for Sudbury out of the towns you are looking at if your husband is working in Waltham. Beware though, if he needs to take Route 20 from Sudbury to get to Waltham, it's a slow moving road at rush hour. I think he could probably find back roads though.
To answer your questions about Sherborn: It's a terrific small town with excellent schools, lots of outdoor activities (swimming, sailing, hiking) plus all the local sports stuff. It isn't really a walkable downtown though. There is tons of shopping nearby in Natick. There is a newcomer's club with lots of moms. I don't know of a pool in town but there is a lovely little pond and I know there's at least one club nearby in Natick with an outdoor pool.
Southboro is also a very nice town, easy highway & train access, good school system, etc. Again, not much downtown. There isn't a lot of shopping in town but there is in Westboro & Framingham. There isn't a grocery store in either of these towns. It doesn't really bother me but it might bug some people to have to drive to the next town for groceries. You can check out crime rates at the sites I mentioned.
There aren't any bad areas of Sudbury. If you look on a map, the streets over near the US Army Training area are less desirable than the rest of town but really, it's hard to go wrong with Sudbury. Yes, home prices are high & taxes are high in Sudbury (as well as Southboro & Sherborn). All terrific towns.
The North Side of Sudbury or Bowker neighborhood is what many people feel is the desireable location. Lots of families in the neighborhoods and the houses have good bones. I have a friend who lives in the Bowker neighborhood and they have tons of kids parties, parades, dinners/wine tastings for adults too. I think some people prefer to NOT look at houses south of route 20 going towards the Framingham line but there are some cute houses down there too and it might be more in line with your price range. For $600-700K you can probably get a 4 bedroom that is older and needs some work. You might not get in Bowker but there are alot of nice areas near the Concord line (which might be more convenient for Waltham).
Great information. Thanks so much. I had been wondering about the US training base, and was surprised it didn't seem to have a stronger affect on home prices.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service will soon take control of the Fort Devens Sudbury Training Annex, a former U.S. Army military installation that covers approximately four square miles and includes portions of the towns of Maynard, Stow, Hudson, and Sudbury, Massachusetts. The Annex property is joining the Great Meadow National Wildlife Refuge, located about 20 miles outside Boston. Established in 1942, the Annex served as an ammunition depot, an ordnance test station, a troop training and research area, and a laboratory disposal area. Because portions of the site were found to be contaminated with pesticides and other chemicals, EPA added the site to its list of hazardous waste sites needing cleanup in 1990. To restore the site and protect natural habitat, the U.S. Army worked with EPA to remove contaminated soil, cover an on-site landfill with a cap, remove underground storage tanks, and monitor ground water. New vegetative growth is already occurring at the site, substantially increasing habitat for regional wildlife.
Travel using Rt2 to Waltham is fastest... It bottlenecks around Concord Rotary. But if you head east after the rotary... it is not a problem.
Using Rt117 is an option since almost no traffic light. Mostly without traffic during rush hour until you're about half a mile from Rt95. Then, it backs up since there are so many cars going onto Rt95.
Thanks Smarty - the information about the training base makes a lot of sense. It's just so funny when you look at it on google maps, and see this huge training base, and wonder what goes on there.
R
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