Medfield? (Boston, Walpole, Norfolk: crime, lawyers, house)

[bostongirl08]

My husband and I are moving to the suburbs and we have found a couple of homes that we like in Medfield.
Id love to hear what others think of this town - good? bad? areas to stay away from? How are the schools? How is the community? Are people generally nice in that area?
sorry for all the questions, but purchasing a home is a big deal for us in an area we are not 100% familiar with. We've had some comments from others that lead us to think its a great town!

Thanks in advance!!

[haberstroh]

We bought a house in neighboring Walpole. Have to say that I love Medfield. They have very good schools, it is very scenic and if we could have afforded a house in Medfield I would have maybe preferred it over Walpole. But having lived here since last summer I have to say I am pretty happy with Walpole as well. Medfield is a little further from Boston and if you have to make it to downtown every mile counts for your commuting time. But I believe Medfield has a train as well. I would say that if you can afford it you can't go wrong with Medfield. And I have to say that the people in general are very friendly in this area. Also due to the high prices you will have some lawyers, doctors, engineers, stay at home moms etc. as neighbors.
You will also get a very good used bookstore in the spring...unfortunately relocating from Walpole.

[CaseyB]

Medfield is a great choice - no bad areas. Upper middle class with good schools. You can catch the train to Boston in Walpole or Norfolk depending on which area of town you buy in. The only downside to Medfield is that you will have to drive a bit to get on a major highway.

[findingmesomeday]

There is no train in Medfield (unless you count the freight train that comes through a few times during the night). There are no bad areas of Medfield. There is virtually no crime in Medfield. The schools are excellent and there is virtually no bullying, no discipline issues and many of the teachers also live in Medfield. Medfield HS sports teams are doing great and the town supports them. The parents are VERY VERY involved in the schools and in fact, do so much volunteer work that you will find Medfield at the bottom of the list of $ spent/pupil while at the top of the list on education. Volunteers completely paid for the brand new turf athletic field, the new track and bleachers and several new playgrounds at the elementary schools.

The downside? Housing prices are still spendy, even with the softening market. There is an extremely cliquish element in town and you will find you are either accepted instantly into it, or not, based on the size of your house and your husband's paycheck. But don't worry--if you are not accepted into this clique or don't want to be part of it, there are plenty of down to earth people here too. It's just that whenever you want to volunteer for something or get something done in town, you run up against some faction of them.

Property taxes are very high since there is virtually no business here to support the schools.

Medfield is a great place to raise your kids. However, you will have to be prepared to show them how the real world really operates at some point or they'll come out of Medfield and go into shock!

And Medfield is anxiously awaiting the relocation of that most excellent bookstore from Walpole. It's been years since Medfield had a bookstore and the owner is very excited since he lives in Medfield anyway!