Can anybody tell me about the Plymouth, Mass area?

[NewJeffCT]

Cross-posted in the Lounge...

My wife has a company that seems to be aggressively interested in her that is located in Plymouth, Mass.

However, it would involve relocation from the Hartford, CT area, meaning that I would have to find a job as well.

Mapquest has it as a little over 40 miles from Bahstin, I think. However, I know traffic can be nastier than Tom DeLay around the big city. Is Plymouth a reasonable commute to Boston?

What areas around Plymouth are good for a young family with a daughter that will be hitting preschool age soon? (My wife wants a town with very good public schools...)

Any other info?

Thanks

[ET Awful]

1. I hear there's a big rock around there somewhere

:)

[Kathy in Cambridge]

2. Plymouth is beautiful, traffic on Rte. 3 is horrific in the summer

and it's well over an hour from Boston. There are some nice communities surrounding Plymouth too.

[NewJeffCT]

3. nice communities like...?

Anything a little to the North so it will cut my commute time down & not be too much more for my wife?

Thanks

[Kathy in Cambridge]

5. Norwell, Duxbury, Scituate, Marshfield, Cohasset, Hingham

All are closer to Boston...

[NewJeffCT]

6. thanks for your help!

Who said New Englanders weren't friendly & helpful?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

7. You're welcome.

BTW I think that link is from 2002 or 2003. the home prices have increased significantly since then. :-(

[NewJeffCT]

8. they've gone up most places

CT, too. We closed on our new home last June, and a couple of similar houses in our neighborhood in the past few months sold for almost 20% more than what we paid for our house...

[Kathy in Cambridge]

4. Here's a link of school system ratings from Boston Magazine

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/pdf/Oct_Schools_Gatefold.pdf

not sure if plymouth is in there...

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/bestof.php

[merbex]

9. Once the Greenbush train line is up and running which will go through

Scituate, Cohasset, Hingham, & Weymouth to Boston- look at all those communities plus Hull, Norwell, Marshfield, Pembroke and Duxbury to have real estate prices jump

Right now, April 29 there are 123 homes for sale in Hingham because there is a senior living development coming on line. A lot of older Hingham residents have their homes on the market and their names on the list for the senior development

Every one of those communities have good schools ( some better than others)

[merbex]

10. Forgot to add something to the last post

There are two ways to reach Plymouth from any one of those communities

Rt 3(which is the main highway to the Cape from Boston)

or Rt 3a which is the less traveled scenic route

[NewJeffCT]

11. ouch

I put in like 4 or 5 towns with a price range of up to $550,000 and came up with very few choices. I'm sure if my wife & I both got raises with relocation (I'd have to find a job...), we'd be able to afford more than that. But, I'd rather not spend $700,000+ on a home.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

12. Unfortunately, the home prices in Mass. are outrageous

I think communities like Rockland, Pembroke, and Bridgewater may be less expensive, but I'm not sure how their schools are.

[NewJeffCT]

13. from realtor.com

they have a school quality report & Plymouth North seems pretty good, but not like Duxbury or Hingham

[Kathy in Cambridge]

14. Duxbury and Hingham are nice towns.

very wealthy towns, and they have that NEw England charm.

[NewJeffCT]

15. more research from homefair.com

I feel like I'm my wife's headhunter doing all this research!

But, from homefair.com, if we made $100,000 in my home town, we'd need to make $118,000 to live in Plymouth & $140,000 to live in Duxbury. Surprisingly, Hingham came in at 115,000.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. I don't know how accurate homefair is

if you live in Fairfield Couny, I'd say living in the Boston area is comparable. Plymouth has a lot of new home construction; Hingham has older colonials.

Good luck-let us Boston DUers know where you land. Now you can come to our gatherings! :-)

[NewJeffCT]

17. I'm in the Hartford area

Very close to SarahBelle... though I've never met her, she claims to have seen me a few times grocery shopping. (Actually, I've never met any DUer in person)

Fairfield Cty in CT is definitely more expensive than up here in Hartford.

My wife got off the phone a bit ago with the company in Plymouth... and i'm not sure she's sold on the place now... so, all this research could be for naught. (I can't get confirmation, as she's now talking to one of her good friends about us going to Boston on Sunday, and they'll likely be chatting for at least another hour)

[Kathy in Cambridge]

18. If you like the beach, Plymouth is great

you have proximity to some great beaches, and the Cape. But the Hartford area is much less expensive.

Mass. is a great state to live in.

[NewJeffCT]

19. I think they did a bit of the bait & switch with my wife

The headhunter told her they had several positions suitable for her, but the position they discussed on the phone with my wife is two levels below what she is doing now - she has people like that working for her now. So, even though it would be a good 10% raise for this new job, plus relocation, they'll have to come up with a better position & more money for us to consider the move.

[NewJeffCT]

21. as a follow-up

When does the train line start running?

On the negative side, neither my wife nor myself are very handy... so, we'd probably prefer a newer home as they have lower maintenance costs.

[merbex]

22. The Greenbush train line MIGHT be running 2006

or definitely by 2007

Hingham's downtown area is experiencing a little Big Dig because Hingham forced the MBTA to build a tunnel through Hingham Square

I'm not a realtor- but cost of new construction in Hingham would be in the 800,000's and up if you wanted to build, I'm pretty sure

There are nice homes for sale here from 500,000 to 800,000. As I said earlier many homes are now on the market because of senior living development going up. These homes aren't moving as quickly as I've seen in other years. (Probably priced too high to begin with,and there is a glut in the market. Buyer's market in Hingham for sure).

On the plus side, Town Meeting recognizes that growth is occurring and many people "in the know" in town gov't agree that Hingham will be building a new elementary school in the near future. I voted to establish a school facility study committee last Tuesday night.

Good Luck

[skippysmom]

20. I work in Plymouth

at its most famous landmark. :) It's a nice town, and growing. They say its population could double in the next decades.

Housing prices are going up, but it's not as bad there as it is in some of those coastal towns like Deluxbury. It would be less expensive if you go inland to places like Whitman, Hanson, Halifax, etc. But the schools may not be as good, so there's the trade off.

Plymouth schools are good, though South is considered better than North.

As for the commute, the worst part is up around Braintree where it backs up, but it can be done in a hour. We do have the commuter rail from both Plymouth and Kingston which also is about an hour to South Station.

We actually live on the Cape, but in a couple of years we plan to move back to my home state of CT. Too rich here for our blood.