Tell me everything about Hingham, Ma?

[butterflyladyof2]

Hi!

I know I am bombarding everyone with questions, but we are highly thinking of Hingham, Ma relocating.

So, I would like to hear everything about Hingham, Ma? If anyone lives there, can you tell me about the area, (schools, stores, easy to get around, parks, safety, people, etc.)

Please give me your full opinions in lifestyle in Hingham, positives and negatives.
Schools and area highly important (3 kids: age range 1yrs- 8yrs) So I would be curious of elementary, preschool and middle school, ofcourse High School eventually.

Thanks,
Angela

[jessjgh1]

This is the area my dh wants to move to as well.... so I'm very interested in the responses.
As far as the reputation, Hingham probably has the best schools in the south shore area, is safe, lots of sidewalks, parks and green areas, etc. I'm more worried about class issues and 'fitting in'- although I've had several people say that most people in the area are laid back/welcoming- not to worry about that.

Jessica

[sugarpop]

Well I know it is expensive and nice. I have always been told the cost of living there is crazy and money doesn't go far when buying a house. That said it is nice, the streets are beautiful and the homes gorgeous! I would love to live there...if I had the money and DH would live in Red Sox territory (lol). In my experience where there is money there are good schools, but I don't have any real info on that!

[Kikibell]

Hingham is gorgeous!! Houses and green areas are just beautiful. Cute town center, near the ocean. There is no way we could ever afford to live there, but if you can, more power to you! Down sides: you may find it a bit class-conscious, and not so diverse. That doesn't seem very helpful now that I wrote it. I'm sure lots more people will chime in with info about schools.

[butterflyladyof2]

THanks!

Yes, I would love to hear more!

We are not in the elite of being able to afford a house there on the high end, We will have to find a special low range priced nice house, or a diamond in the rough type of deal. But we are more so looking at a nice area for the kids to grow up and nice vibe for us.

I looked on Hingham's website and found some pics of parades and the town, which looks cute.

We are a 'diverse' family though, so I wonder about the minimal diversity there. I figured when we visit we can roam the area and get more of a feel.

Love to hear more!
Angela

[pjsmom30]

There is a lot of "old" money in Hingham, but many of those send their children to private school. I lived in Norwell, right next door, similar but not as expensive and not on the ocean. There are great restaurants in Hingham that I miss so much since we moved. There are neighborhoods of smaller houses, cape style, but understand that a three bedroom cape will probably run you close to 400,000. We sold our two bedroom cape in Norwell in 2001 for almost 400,000. Hingham is more, but the market has fallen a bit since then. There is great shopping in Hingham. Boutiques in the town center, a newer outdoor mall (Whole Foods and retail shops) near the highway. There is a wonderful walking area called Worlds End (I think...it's been years) that runs along the ocean. And a state park nearby too. Minutes to the Quincy water shuttle into Boston, and also on the commuter rail line (is it called Greenbush? It was being built when we moved).

It's a lovely place. Good luck.

[Kikibell]

You might also look into Milton then - a very nice area as well, but a bit more varied in terms of housing prices (ie, most of the houses are way out of our range but I have seen some affordable ones) and also a bit more diverse because of it's proximity to Boston. I'm not certain about schools there but I think they should rate similarly to Hingham.