Towns on the Cape (Boston, Plymouth: oceanfront, rentals, condos)

[Jellybean50]

I'm coming up later in the month to look at a few houses, to eventually be moving from NJ to either there or Maine.

I'm checking online about the towns also, as i havent been to Cape Cod for about 8 years. And i'm mostly looking at affordable houses near water right now - not so much the town itself. I'd still like to hear a bit about them from people who know them by living there, or visiting there more often. So what do you know about these places?

(I'm retired, 52, like laid-back vs. busy, dont go out a lot except for beach, have a dog.)

I would appreciate the good and the bad! Thank You.

Bourne
Pocasset
Plymouth
Buzzard's Bay
Monument Beach
Wareham
East Falmouth

[Beachcomber4]

Originally Posted by Jellybean50

I'm coming up later in the month to look at a few houses, to eventually be moving from NJ to either there or Maine.

I'm checking online about the towns also, as i havent been to Cape Cod for about 8 years. And i'm mostly looking at affordable houses near water right now - not so much the town itself. I'd still like to hear a bit about them from people who know them by living there, or visiting there more often. So what do you know about these places?

(I'm retired, 52, like laid-back vs. busy, dont go out a lot except for beach, have a dog.)

I would appreciate the good and the bad! Thank You.

Bourne
Pocasset
Plymouth
Buzzard's Bay
Monument Beach
Wareham
East Falmouth

All will offer affordable homes and are more economically diverse than many other towns. In BBay, Wareham, E Falmouth and Plymouth you will also find more ethnic diversity.

The areas I think are worth consideration:

Mo Beach and Pocasset are villages of Bourne (as is BBay). The former 2 are nice with post offices and small markets that are a hub of everyday life. They have a very old fashioned feel to them and I like that. Lots of natural beauty with woods and inlets to explore. Homes ranging from cute cottages to oceanfront mansions. I really like how laid back these 2 areas are. The negative is there is no large supermarket in town (Market Basket is coming to Sagamore but you may as well cross the bridge to shop rather than take that *&&^&** canal road in summer) and police presence is minimal and there is alot of geographic area for them to cover. Along with that, a big news story was the cutting of lifeguards at public swimming areas this summer. Fortunately there were no fatalities but it was a move that upset tax payers as it was a last minute cut.

Plymouth is huge. Worth exploring. Lots of water both ocean and ponds/lakes. Some areas are better than others.

East Falmouth, BBay and Wareham have their problems. There are parts of all of them that are nice but as a whole, they aren't considered desirable. That having been said, my point of view is as a parent but perhaps for a retiree, those issues don't come into play.

Whatever area you find a home in, check police reports etc before purchasing. I also suggest a drive by at different hours to see what type of activity is going on. We looked at a gorgeous home in Mo Beach close to the beach. The seller was "motivated". When we saw what pulled up across the street and the activity that was going on in this small, idyllic neighborhood we realized why he was so motivated. It was disturbing.

Good luck.

PS the areas mentioned that are truly on Cape are: East Falmouth, Bourne- the 2 villages you mentioned Mo Beach and Pocasset. The rest are on the mainland. Some refer to BBay and Wareham as the Cape but they aren't. It's kind of like people on the south shore say they are from Boston. Maybe they just dont' like to say they are from Massachusetts? You might want to do a post under "south coast" it might garner more input on Wareham and BBay.

[Jellybean50]

Thanks very much!

Not going to look at the house in Wareham - I found out it has no heat and is considered 'seasonal' .

Not looking at the one in East Falmouth either - as it has no room for a washer and dryer. (yes, i'm looking at them small lol)

I appreciate your info, and will look further into the things you suggested.

[capecodcathy]

I live on the border between Pocasset and Mo Beach. I like both. Another village in Bourne you may want to consider is Cataumet, between Pocasset and North Falmouth.
The nice thing about these villages is they don't have the tourist traffic you see in other areas. Primarily year-round residents with summer residents and their visitors/families. A few summer rentals. The only hotel is at the Bourne Bridge. The beaches require a resident sticker. They are not as pretty as say, Old Silver or others further down Cape, but they are just fine.
We have a few taverns and restaurants but can easily get to Falmouth, Plymouth, and down Cape for more active places.
While I'd like a closer supermarket, I find I manage just fine going to Wal-Mart and S&S in Wareham. As Beachcomber said, I will NOT be one of those traveling to Market Basket. Same town (Sagamore is also part of Bourne), but I can kill two birds by going to Wareham once or twice a month, depending on who's camping in my house, and avoid the Sandwich Rd traffic.
Bourne, in general, is the best kept secret on Cape Cod.
Good luck in your search and let me know if I can help!

[Beachcomber4]

I LOVE Cataumet. Great suggestion.

[Jellybean50]

Thank You.

I will check it out while i am there.

And yes, i'm also going to look at some places in the infamous Hideaway Village - despite some of the bad things i've heard... lol...I'm going to try to ride thru the whole place and see how it is in summer, but i realize i also need to check it out in winter.

[capecodcathy]

I think you and I have discussed Hideaway before, Jellybean, on another thread. Definitely worth a looksee.

[Jellybean50]

Spoke to the realtor tonite - and i'll be looking at houses in Hideaway Village and Seawatch Village so far. The other houses didnt pan out.

I will let you know how the trip goes and what i find.

[capecodcathy]

Seawatch is pretty quiet, well maintained, as a rule. Check out their rental ratio, though. They used to have a lot of rentals in there.

[Jellybean50]

As my title says - I love Hideaway Village! What a cute, unusual place.

Sooo many different types of cottages and houses and mini-cottages!!

I looked at two, liked them both, but one is not year-round - would need the pipes and hot-water heater insulated (etc.), and some electric baseboard heating. It did have a gas fireplace.

The other one was year-round and needed updating inside, but i really liked it. It had a distant waterview from the front deck and some of the windows. Was roomy inside and had TONS of windows.

Verdict: Cute village and cool beaches!

Wasnt crazy about the condos, becuz they all had upstairs and i have very bad knees. The Seawatch ones were very nice inside, and the complex did look well-maintained.

Rode all around Monument Beach and that also looks like a cool place. We stayed in Centerville, and went to the Craigville Beach. Ate at the Hyannis harbor area (Spanky's I think it was called). Was a really good trip, but this one was two short to do more riding around. (I have been up there a few other times, but it was a few years back.)

More trips to come in the near future