Is there a Utopia for us? (Boston, Brockton: houses, neighborhood, homebuyer)

[09Relo]

We are considering moving to the Boston metro area soon. Would like the following for our "Utopia". Also, will be commuting to Easton for employment. Housing limit will be approx 600K. We are in our upper 30s with young children.

We would like to find.....

Good Schools
Family friendly activities and area
Would love to be relatively close to water for sailing, etc.(would like to keep a boat at a mooring/slip, and actually use it often)
Potential for taking public transportation into Boston
Great walkable downtown area with shopping, dining, etc.

Thoughts? By the way...we value more house than large property. Seems we see significant numbers of homes on large lots. We would like a very walkable neighborhood.

[brightdoglover]

Plymouth?
Not sure about the drive to Easton, but I think it's in the same ballpark. Plymouth certainly has the water! (and that poor rock enclosed in a fence with a historic plaque) and a nice downtown, historic houses. Your budget should allow a lot of options.
People might mention Duxbury also. Again, not sure where the drive to Easton comes in, but should be OK.
Best wishes on your relocation.

[redsoxwalking]

Both of those places have a long commute to Easton. Consider Westwood, or... Easton! You can commute to the boat! If you must be on water, Hingham.

[09Relo]

We have considered Easton, but so far we like the downtown of Hingham much better than others we have seen. My wife is very interested in being able to walk from home to stores/shops, and I have always wanted to live close to the water. Is this (Hingham downtown) a fairly unique area, or would we be able to find at least the charm of the downtown in other areas closer to Easton? We do not want to live on .5 acre or more....we would rather be close to neighbors/shops/activities.

[lrfox]

I was thinking Hingham too. The downtown area is pretty nice and full of walkable shops and places to see. You have both the ferry and commuter rail to Boston which is great. There is an excellent historic housing stock too. It's not a brisk commute to Easton, but not terrible either.

Dedham has a nice town center too. It's a bit closer to Easton and would make for an easy commute. The disadvantage of Dedham is that it's not on the water. you'd have to keep your boat in Quincy or Weymouth and drive to it.

Plymouth is perfect except for the fact that it's a long commute to Easton.

[holden125]

Hingham is good place to look, but much of the town outside the center is not that walkable. In the center, you might find a smaller yard but also a smaller house, and it's pretty expensive. Also, once you've driven through the streets to Route 3 and dealt with that and 93, I'm really not sure the rush hour commute will be any better than coming from Plymouth or Duxbury on Route 44. I'd say it's a minimum of 40-45 minutes, with no traffic, from Hingham center to Easton.

[CaseyB]

It's probably about an hour from Hingham, and that's in good weather. Depending upon the location in Easton, he might be better off driving from Plymouth

[1979]

I would strongly consider living in Easton, if you're going to be working there. It is a very nice town, has a lot of large homes. However, I don't know if a true "Utopia" really exists. I suppose if I could live on Maui, but then again, even that would probably have its drawbacks.

Drawbacks to the Boston metro area, mostly due to the weather and cost of living.

[Beachcomber4]

I thought about Hingham when I first read your post. The 2 drawbacks are your budget and the commute. Your choice of making your way over to 24 or going route 123 is not much of a choice as it is a matter of finding the lesser of 2 evils. It's a crap shoot on any given day. Gridlock on the highway or countless street lights, the joy of driving through Brockton and the misery of getting behind a school bus if your commute runs at that time.

In regard to budget, 600k does not buy a whole lot of house in Hingham. You will get a nice Cape, split or garrison for that price. Your money will go further in Plymouth as mentioned but their schools do not compare to those in Hingham.

Just a thought: The more I read the questions posed on here the more I realize why Hingham homes maintain their value the town pretty much covers everything that homebuyers on the southshore have on their wish lists.

Good luck.

[09Relo]

Thanks for the opinions. 600K would be the very very top, and that would be only if the stars were aligned just right (current home sale, etc). So maybe Hingham is out.