More Massachusetts towns; South east questions.

[DawnCt1]

Can anyone roughly describe the towns of Canton, Hollbrook, Norwell, Randolf, Hingham or any other town in that area?

 

[momrek06]

Can anyone roughly describe the towns of Canton, Hollbrook, Norwell, Randolf, Hingham or any other town in that area?

Sorry to laugh at you, Dawn, but it is spelled RANDOLPH!!! There are allot of MA cities with interesting spellings...my friends live in Foxboro BUT they like to spell it FOXBOROUGH (which I think is the proper spelling).


Anyway, wanted to add that Canton is lovely lovely...not aware of the other towns you listed.

Good Luck as you continue your journey to find the right town for you and DH in the great state of MASS confusion!!!!!!

 

[patsfan101]

Well, Hingham is gorgeous and is the only town on your list that is oceanfront. Beautiful, pricey.
Norwell is also lovely, close to Boston. Next town inland from Hingham.
If you like the idea of town beaches, Marshfield is very nice, just a little bit further down the expressway from Boston, and much less pricey.
Canton is very convenient location - intersection of 95&93
All of the above have the reputation of very good schools. Now I have forgotten other towns on your list, so I guess I'm done commenting.

Happy Hunting

 

[phorsenuf]

If you are looking at towns on the ocean, Scituate is a beautiful area. Of course I'm partial since I spent 10 years there. LOL

 

[cepmom]

hi Dawn
I'm in Weymouth, which is next to Hingham, Braintree, Quincy areas. Canton is very nice, close to 128/95. Smallish town feel, but maybe bigger than the other towns you were looking at (Wrentham etc)

Hingham, Norwell, Cohasset also very nice historic areas with Hingham and Cohasset being on the water. Scituate was mentioned, another very nice town on the water, but they do not have great access to the highways. The commute to Cambridge from any of these towns will be long and full of traffic. There is the Greenbush commuter rail that would get your DH into South Station or the commuter boat out of Hingham that would get him to Rowes Wharf though if that's an option for him.

I would not recommend Holbrook or Randolph. Not great towns in my opinion.

Weymouth is okay...I've lived here most of my life but I feel it's grown a little too much and isn't the small town it used to be.

eta :Hanover is another nice town, next to Norwell, but again it's on Rt 3 so commuting to Cambridge probably not the best

 

[crjack]

Hingham and Norwell are both beautiful towns south of Boston but Rt.3 can be tough with traffic. Canton is a nice town and probably offers the best commuting options to Cambridge. Personally I wouldn't go to Holbrook or Randolph.

What part of Cambridge will you be going to for work? That can make a difference.

 

[DawnCt1]

Hingham and Norwell are both beautiful towns south of Boston but Rt.3 can be tough with traffic. Canton is a nice town and probably offers the best commuting options to Cambridge. Personally I wouldn't go to Holbrook or Randolph.

What part of Cambridge will you be going to for work? That can make a difference.

Mass Ave, near MIT.

 

[DawnCt1]

I thought this would be fun. I am not having fun yet!

 

[MerMom60_94]

I grew up in Norwell and my MIL still lives there. For that matter, my DH works for the town. Pretty, upscale, rather expensive. As others have said, Rte 3 runs right through town but backs up during the commute. If I were looking in that area I would look at Marshfield or Scituate and commute via the Greenbush commuter rail. If you look at mbta.com you can look at the schedule to see how long that takes. Hanover is also nice but you would have the same problem as Norwell. From either of those towns, he could drive to Braintree or Quincy Adams and take the Red Line straight to Cambridge or drive to Weymouth and catch the Commuter Rail to South Station. I agree with the other opinions on Randolph and Holbrook. I dont think either of those towns would suit you well.

 

[Jillpie]

I grew up in Canton, it's a great family town, a wonderful town to raise a family. Very close to the commuter rail, about a 30 minute train ride into the city. Welcome to our part of the world, you'll love it here! Oh but be sure to bring your mittens, hat and warm coat, you'll need it soon!

 

[3boymthr]

Just a couple quick comments. If you thought Franklin was commercial you won't like Mansfield, Norwell, Randolph, or Weymouth.

As pps have noted the commute up Rt 3 is brutal probably 1-2 hrs of drive time to Cambridge, but if you can catch the commuter rail it's not as bad.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Can anyone roughly describe the towns of Canton, Hollbrook, Norwell, Randolf, Hingham or any other town in that area?

Canton, Norwell, Hingham - upscale, small town feel. Beautiful. Hingham has a waterfront, World's End; Norwell has peeks at the North River. Hingham has a beautiful downtown, great walking area. Norwell's kind of rural. (I don't know Canton very well.)

Randolph, Holbrook - small towns that have had an upsurge in crime in recent years. Drove through parts of Randolph recently that I hadn't been in for a while, surprised at how rundown it was.

You might like some of the beach communities along the South Shore (or Cape?) - there's a sense of being on vacation at home which is why people enjoy living there. Have you ever considered a "beach house" near the water instead of a colonial? Prices may be comparable, they've come down over the past couple of years.

Three major commuter rails have been built over past decade or so, making commuting into Boston a little better from the south.

Honestly, commutes from almost anywhere into Boston/Cambridge all have their drawbacks.

 

[snykymom]

If you're looking at Canton & Randolph, you might also take a look at Sharon. It's totally non-commercial, has a 26 acre lake in the middle that's used for boating & swimming, and is just a beautiful town. You could get a good deal of house/land for your money in Sharon. It has a train station and is very convenient to 495, 95 and 93.

 

[lemondog]

All of my inlaws are in Norwood, which I believe is right next to Canton. The commuter rail is there. I honestly don't know how it compares to other towns in the area, but I can direct you from there to South Shore Plaza, Chestnut Hill Mall and Wrentham outlets with ease, lol!

 

[MerMom60_94]

Just a couple quick comments. If you thought Franklin was commercial you won't like Mansfield, Norwell, Randolph, or Weymouth.

As pps have noted the commute up Rt 3 is brutal probably 1-2 hrs of drive time to Cambridge, but if you can catch the commuter rail it's not as bad.

I agree with Randolph and Weymouth being commercial, but not Norwell. Not sure about Mansfield. Norwell is business zoned and all business is on the West end of town. Route 53 is congested because it is basically where all the businesses are. There is also an industrial park on the very edge of town. Once you get away from Rte 53 it is absolutely rural. If you blinked going through Norwell Center you would miss it. If you want a feel for Norwell, your best route to drive would be Rte 123 east. That leads through Norwell Center and into Scituate. Actually, if you bought a house toward the Scituate end of Norwell, you would have an easy commute to the Greenbush commuter rail and that would be the best bet for a commute into Boston. You may find more information about the town on www.townofnorwell.net.

 

[PatsGirl]

I have friends who live in Marshfield which has several beautiful neighborhoods They take the commuter boat from Hingham and find the commute quite easy. Of course, your DH would then have to hop the subway into Cambridge from there but it's worth a look.

 

[patsfan101]

I didn't know you were going to be commuting to Cambridge - I would stay away from rt 3 towns (Norwell, HIngham, etc)

How about looking more metro-west? Rt 2 goes right into Cambridge. I grew up in Bedford and my dad worked in Cambridge for years. Any of the towns around there - Bedford, Lexington, Concord, Acton, would be nice choices. It's a very pretty part of the state with really great schools.

 

[metalis4ever]

My DW and I moved to Holbrook almost 2 years ago to be closer to work and let me just say I am glad that I have an apartment and not a house. Unless you enjoy Hood Rats and human trash stay away from Holbrook. Having said that there are a few decent restaurants but nothing that makes it worth living here. From my understanding Holbrook used to have a solid school system and be a nice town to raise a family in but all that has changed over the last decade. As a previous poster has mentioned crime has gone up and just in the nearly two years that we have lived in Holbrook I have noticed that in my apartment complex business professionals have moved out one after the other and replaced with less than desirable individuals. This isn't just in my apartment complex while running errands around town I have noticed an overall increase in human trash. Let me be clear as I sound like a snob but to me if one does and sells drugs one does not deserve my respect.

 

[DawnCt1]

I have friends who live in Marshfield which has several beautiful neighborhoods They take the commuter boat from Hingham and find the commute quite easy. Of course, your DH would then have to hop the subway into Cambridge from there but it's worth a look.

Commuter boat? Worth looking in to. I didn't know there was one!

I didn't know you were going to be commuting to Cambridge - I would stay away from rt 3 towns (Norwell, HIngham, etc)

How about looking more metro-west? Rt 2 goes right into Cambridge. I grew up in Bedford and my dad worked in Cambridge for years. Any of the towns around there - Bedford, Lexington, Concord, Acton, would be nice choices. It's a very pretty part of the state with really great schools.

I didn't consider Bedford. Lexington and Concord are pricy. Acton may be a possibility.

 

[cepmom]

we love Marshfield...DH's parent's have a beach house there near Fieldston Beach, so we spend a lot of time ther in the summer. I would not live there if I had to commute to Boston/Cambridge area though. There is basically one way in, one way out via Rt 139 to Rt 3. If you're in the Rt 3A area of town, and want to take the commuter boat from Hingham, it's about a 20 - 30 minute drive to the shipyard.