Relocating: medfield versus Westwood (Boston, Natick: day care, how much, house)
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My husband and I are relocating to Massachusetts. We have one child who is not in school yet, but will be in public school so the town schools are important to us. We are looking in the 600k-700k price range, would go up to 750k if needed. Honed in on medfield and Westwood. What are the big differences in the towns? Westwood is better for commuting it seems. Medfield has more of a town center which we like. We are looking for a town with a small town, friends with your neighbors feel. What are the big differences in these communities? We can afford a nicer house in medfield, but commute from Westwood is 10-15 minutes shorter. Also, how much is daycare in this area?
Daycare on average will run you $1,500-$2,000/month per child for full day 5 days a week. You might be able to find a slightly cheaper daycare if you look really hard and you can certainly find a more expensive one without looking too hard.
I am not sure about the schools in Medfield, but I currently teach at Westwood High School and the school system is fantastic. They also have a pre-school attached to the High School for Westwood Residents, which I have heard good things about. Hope this helps!
Westwood has a small downtown area on route 109, but they also have another small downtown area in "Islington" and they have recently made another commercial development, which has been a good source of revenue for the town, which is why they are renovating/expanding the police and fire departments.
Medfield has excellent schools, the disadvantage it has over Westwood is being slightly less convenient from a commuter standpoint. Both towns are very nice. Westwood has a little more commerce, Medfield more open space. Not sure about day care in either, but they are right next door and whatever is available in one is available in the other.
I don't think there would be much difference in terms of daycare costs. The schools in Medfield are top-notch - they get very top rankings in the state, which is the main reason some very good friends of ours' live there.
I could be wrong, but I didn't think Medfield had much of a town center. It sounded to me like the big hangout place for our friends' teenager was the Natick Mall.
Neither of my friends commute downtown, so the location is good for them in terms of their jobs. But when their kids go to college, they plan to move to Boston. It strikes me as a perfectly pleasant, typical suburban town. (Although my friends wish more of the people were more to the left.)
I could be wrong, but I didn't think Medfield had much of a town center. It sounded to me like the big hangout place for our friends' teenager was the Natick Mall.
Medfield has a bigger town center than Westwood. Westwood does have a new shopping center next to the Amtrak station that includes Wegman's, a few restaurants and a number of stores.
Westwood has more retail than Medfield, thanks to University Ave. As mentioned, there's a Wegman's there, plus several other retail stores; a Target, a TJ Max, GNC, Nordstrom Rack, PetSmart, Michael's, Famous Footwear, Dressbarn, Men's Wearhouse, Gamestop, Panera Bread, Chipotle, Smash Burger, Which Wich, Starbucks, Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza, Not Your Average Joe's, Orange Leaf, Bonefish Grill and a Del Frisco's Grille is also coming next year. There's also a Roche Brothers in Westwood too.
Westwood is also more accessible to Boston as there's multiple commuter rail stops on two different rail lines. Plus 95 runs right through the town.
Westwood is a bit easier to get to things. It is close to Route 1 in Norwood and Dedham which has all kinds of shopping and dining options. Legacy Place in Dedham is quite a nice shopping area and is right along the border with Westwood.
I agree with everyone that Medfield has a bigger and better downtown area than Westwood.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Medfield is currently fighting a 40B Affordable housing project in the Medfield Hospital area that could add 200 units. That might make the traffic downtown worst than it is, and it can be pretty bad. Do yourself a favor and drive through the 27/109 intersection during rush hour on a weekday and see if you'll be able to tolerate that. Those are the two main ways to get out of Medfield and they intersect, with an occasional train that goes through to shut down 109 right before the intersection.
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