bostonbubble.com

[WestCoastXPlant]

Does anyone have an opinion on the Hingham market? We moved to Boston about 6 months ago and are watching the market here with interest. Our areas of interest are mostly on the North and South Shore and to my amazement (and unscientific watch) housing in Hingham seems to move well...Is it that I'm looking at the wrong band (<600K). Or is it that they don't have much of a volume issue?

thanks

[ConcernedCitizen2]

Hingham is basically Weston-on-Sea. Similar story for Cohasset and maybe Duxbury.

They're Immune Towns and will track the MetroWest ones.

I've heard the high school's not as good as the MetroWest Immune Towns and the commute into center city is worse unless you can do the ferry, but Hingham has a certain cache. Didn't Eleanor Roosevelt call the main street the loveliest street in America?

North Shore version would be Marblehead I suppose

On a similar note, I was watching Sudbury and it seems to be significantly cheaper than Weston and Wayland and I think the schools are great. Don't know about the transport though.

[jad]

I watch Hingham and actually don't think it has been near as immune as Needham, Winchester, Lexington, Newton or Wellesley. There are a lot of homes for sale in Hingham on the market for $100k-$200k less than a few years ago (for example MLS 70855262, 70834048, 70880672, 70860438). These are the kind of price drops I keep expecting to see in the "immune towns" North / Northwest of the city that I haven't yet seen.

My personal opinion is because the commute to several job centers (Back Bay and MetroWest) is horrible, even with the new commuter rail line. Ever tried to drive the SE Expressway at rush hour? Not fun.

[JCK]

Agreed on the commute. I headed out that way last Saturday, and it's a miserable drive, even outside of rush hour. I can't imagine having to deal with route 3A on a daily basis.

[john p]

It really depends on how much you like the ocean.

[Guest]

[john p]

The north shore gives you the option to get up quickly to ski country, the south shore gets you down to the Cape.

With the commuter rail, the Greenbush and the Plymouth/Kingston line give you a lot of options. As gadgets become more advanced train riders will be able to watch movies on their commute while drivers get road rage and have to pay tolls. I hope more people will be able to work from home as the internet affords that potential, however, it makes cities less necessary as you can have teams working out of lower cost of living areas. I understand that you won't see Manhattan like the Planet of the Apes, but it might burn off a little of its steam.

[WestCoastXPlant]

interesting. In our book, Hingham's competition is Swamscott/Marblehead. We live in MBHD now and I like the community a lot... I had given a slight lead to Hingham because the driving from the North Shore is a major PITA and Marblehead is not exactly on the train. My boss lives in Hingham and says with the ferry the commute is fast and easy...I had figured between train and boat the South Shore commute has to be better so you guys compaining about it is definitely news to me

PS: yes, I do like the water a whole lot

[john p]

Depending on the "District" of Boston you work, the north or south shore offer different advantages. The Route 128 and Route 2 corridor (Cambridge) get you into the tech jobs. Arlington, Belmont, Winchester, Lexington are one set of options and outside 128 is another family in MetroWest. I thought I remember you saying that your husband commutes to Cambridge. A 128/ Cambridge deal could be an intermodal deal, i.e. dumping your car off Route 2 at Alewife and taking the Red Line in or you find a local place in Cambridge where you rent a parking spot, or you find some bus line, etc. If he's got to get on a boat, he might be pulling his hair out everytime the Red Line stops in a tunnel for like 5 minutes... If you work in the Financial District or are a lawyer in Post Office Square the commuter boat pulls right up to Rowe's Wharf and it is just across the street, and the Greenbush line goes to South Station so that is convenient.

If you work by MIT you've got a whole other leg to your journey insofar as you get off at South Station and then get on the Red Line to say whatever that stop is just over the Charles River.... Oh, Kendall... That usually runs pretty quick, but there are waits and that can build up some anxiety. I don't really think there is much of a difference from the North Shore in that regard, but most people who take the commuter rail out of North Station from the West often get off at this one Red Line connection stop. I think it is Porter....

http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/subway/lines/stations/?stopId=13912&lat=42.388353&lng=-71.119159

I think for people that have careers like they are almost consultants that get gigs for a year or two usually find a place that is convenient to everything if they buy anything at all. I'm gathering on this blog that this is a trend.

Charlestown is kind of cool, over by the Navy Yard.

[WestCoastXPlant]

John, I think you're confusing me with melonrightcoast -- which is funny because

1. You're not the first one
2. Her situation is so similar to mine that sometimes I've had to take a second look to make sure I didn't post her post

The north/south shore decision is the only one we're facing -- like melonrightcoast we moved here for the public schools so Boston metro is out of the run, and west is nice but I really like the water

[john p]

Ok, I grew up on the North Shore and now live in the Cranberry Coast Region, southern South Shore.

The cool towns on the north shore kind of swing out north east so it is a battle to get in with a drive. Many dump their cars off at Wonderland and take the Blue Line in, or find a commuter rail stop. I love Newburyport, Topsfield, Boxford. I have a buddy in Marblehead who loves it, but there isn't enough privacy and space for me there. I like to take a pee outside in my backyard.

On the south shore, you kind of get the same thing in that just from Route 3 you've got to drive inland to get to say Scituate or Cohasset. Norwell and Hingham are nice and close to Route 3 and close enough to the ocean where you can get over to it on the weekends in short order. Duxbury is further south and you need to drive like 15 minutes to get to a commuter rail station. It is worth it if you don't have that second leg once you get to South Station. Plymouth is actually a little up and coming. The high school isn't that great, but people are discovering it and it is really fun. Hingham is spread out enough so you can find a place with a private back yard, but the shopping and roads do get trampled during rush hour and the Whole Foods is kind of crowded on weekends with yuppies.

A sleeper town to check out is Plympton. It is very close to the Halifax commuter rail stop and is a short ride to the ocean. The school system isn't in the top tier right now, but that will change as the new commuter rail has changed the demographics. Hanover is quite nice. I'd do some drives on weekends to see what you like. Before you start make sure you have a map with the lakes, streams, and rivers because if you understand the water, you'll understand the spaghetti of the roads.

All in all, I'd find a place you're not going to grow out of. I mean if you still wear t-shirts over long sleeve shirts and wear the knitted hats to the B-Side Lounge for breakfast, Cambridge might be the place for you, but once you start seeing versions of yourself that are 8 years younger you kind of want to move on to the typical suburb Chinese Restaurant Kareoke. I think this is the last stop in my progression; it is bliss. I'm just kidding. I did get asked to sing the Ballad of Curtis Loew at a bar in Plymouth but like an idiot, I didn't know the words so I chickened out. I'll be ready next time and you don't want to miss it. Oh, my sister is moving out of her house in New Jersey to go to Maryland. She got up on stage at a local bar and sang a Pat Benatar song. She told me that she had a little less fear because she was moving. I said horsefeathers to that because you don't want to live like a stuffed shirt wherever you go, you have to feel comfortable to actually enjoy the place you are going to be and engage. Whenever people size me up they often say "Yuppie" so I'm not that much of an ass, and you'll find cool people wherever you go, but I'd drive around and see what the feel of the areas are like. I'd seriously look at Norwell, Duxbury and Plympton.

[balor123]

[john p]

You know when I was younger I used to go over to these open houses for these artist lofts in Somerville. They were great. I wonder why someone doesn't try to get a few people together and develop a place like that for these tech condos? My friend owns a gym near Central Square and he renovated an old place. I'd imagine some tech guys could come up with something pretty cool.

[Hard Rain]

"Hingham is basically Weston-on-Sea. Similar story for Cohasset and maybe Duxbury.

They're Immune Towns and will track the MetroWest ones"

Please stop with the "immune" crap. It's been pointed out innumerable times, here and elsewhere, there is no such animal....



Average price per square foot for Hingham MA was $258, a decrease of 23.2% compared to the same period last year. The median sales price for homes in Hingham MA for Nov 08 to Jan 09 was $419,950 based on 42 home sales. Compared to the same period one year ago, the median home sales price decreased 29.9%, or $179,050, and the number of home sales decreased 10.6%.

[ConcernedCitizen2]

Hi,
I actually don't care at all about Immune Towns or whatever we can't to call them. It is not my dream to live in a big, expensive to heat house in a suburb where I need a car betting on a school system paying me back for the expensive house. I am completely into a different lifestyle which is why I've actually switched off of this blog, because most of the chatter is about how to find a suburb at xyz price that fits one's needs. It's gotten boring for me. So believe me, I am no fan of Immune Towns. I think they're actually extremely boring places. But since I'm way in the minority on this blog, this will probably be my last post. I think the future is going to make big McMansions in suburbs obsolete. And like I posted before, I also think they're constructed from sub standard products with lots of chemicals. Let's come back in 30 years and see how they look.