Neighborhoods in Needham, Ma (Newton, Natick: schools, shops, move to)

[siennahudson]

My family and I are relocating to the Needham, Ma area. Does anyone have a list of the neighborhoods and a brief description of them (ex. Bird's Hill, Needham Heights?) Thanks!

[joebo]

Sienna, I just moved to Needham with my wife and toddler in November and we love it. Needham is small enough that the neighborhoods aren't tremendously different from one another. That being said, you'll always find pockets of greater affluence than others. From a high level, there are areas close to downtown that are typically older and have smaller lots, areas that are more rural, towards the Wellesley/Natick/Dover lines, and areas close to the highway, near the Dedham/Newton line. It all depends what you want: walkability to downtown, to schools, commuter rails, access to highway, bigger yards, etc. We settled on walkability to a grade school, commuter rail, and highways, at the expense of a larger yard. Needham has it all and I don't think you can base your decision on the neighborhood. I hope that helps.

[beth98]

I agree that there aren't really huge variations in neighborhoods like you would find in other towns. Certain streets have block parties (there is something like 60-70 a year), but I think the streets depend more on the neighbors and age of kids then anything else. I don't think certain types of people move to certain areas, unless we are talking about a brand new development (which I don't think there are to many of in Needham anymore). I know people from all areas of Needham that liked the community (and to be fair, some that didn't). I'd focus more on being close (or far) from things like schools, shops, parks, etc.