Winchester MA is one of Boston's pricier communities, offering upscale housing, a beautifully well-maintained historic downtown, and classic homes. Excellent schools, parks, and green spaces make Winchester a great place to raise a family, and incredibly low crime rankings coupled with easy access to Boston combine to make it an attractive suburb for professionals who live and work in greater Boston.
Winchester's homes offer countless stunning examples of colonial era architecture. With a median home price of $1.3 million, it's obvious that the town's neighborhoods are something special. Most of the homes in Winchester were built in the colonial era or the early 1900's and have been meticulously well-maintained. Many homes are brick-and-stucco Tudors, which enjoyed a surge in popularity in the 1920's. Colonial revival homes with gambrel roofs and shingle siding aren't uncommon.
The Arts and Crafts movement also brought a surge of simple elegance in the form of homes with ample large windows and beautiful, well-balanced woodwork. A surge in new construction is also adding more homes to Winchester's confines, mostly spacious neo-colonials in western Winchester, so homeowners have a wide selection of options to choose from.
Winchester contains ample green space, from the Winchester Fells Reservation on the town's east side to the Mystic Valley Parkway, which runs along the Aberjona River Valley all the way down into Medford, on the eastern edge of the Mystic Lakes. The Parkway offers a paved, landscaped trail for bikers, walkers, and joggers, through well-maintained, picturesque scenery.
The Winchester Fells Reservation offers a slightly more rugged option for those who want to don their hiking shoes and hit the trails; rocky crags in the Fells also provide climbing and mountainbiking experience that's challenging enough to keep you on your toes. Views from some of the Fells' more challenging trails, like the Skyline Trail, make you feel like you're miles from the city but provide jaw dropping views of the Boston skyline from the top.
During the winter, Winter Pond is the go-to place for ice skating. The pond is shallow enough that it freezes over quickly in the colder months of the year and offers a fun getaway for the whole family. Sunsets from the pond are particularly breathtaking. In the warmer months, Wright-Locke Farm offers something for everyone in the family. An operating organic farm, Wright-Locke has tractor rides for the kids, wooded trails for a walk/hike, and plenty of fresh organic produce in the farmstead. Fantastic events are also held throughout the year for both youth and adults. And for older kids and those who like to go see a show, Next Door Theater is a community theater that typically runs 4-5 different productions each year.
Winchester public schools are known for their challenging academics and high rankings. Winchester High School in particular is on the list of the top 25 high schools in Massachusetts. High school sports are huge in Winchester. Sports teams are called "Sachems" and play lacrosse, soccer, football, and field hockey, among others. Residents also have a selection of private school options, including one of the longest surviving Montessori schools in the country.
Winchester's crime history is practically nonexistent, making it one of the safest places in the Boston area to live. Neighborhood Watch ranks Winchester as safer than 85% of the cities and towns in the U.S. An average of 5 violent crimes per year comes to an average of 0.23 violent crimes per 1,000 residents, compared to a Massachusetts average of 3.91 per 1,000. Property crimes are slightly more prevalent, at 6.96 per 1,000 people, which is just a fraction of the state or national averages (which come to 18.57 and 26, respectively).
Winchester's town center contains small bookstores, coffee shops, and other small local shops, from stationary stores to high-end consignment stores and music shops. Winchester's downtown is completely walkable and easily accessible, the perfect place to spend an afternoon wandering and grabbing a coffee and a bite to eat at one of the town's cafes. More mainstream stores and shopping malls are in nearby Woburn and just up the Middlesex Turnpike in Burlington, a few minutes away. It's also a quick ride via commuter rail into downtown Boston for a day of shopping in Back Bay or Faneuil Hall Marketplace.
Whether you've already decided to move to Winchester or you're just looking at options, having the help of a local agent can be invaluable to your home search. Feel free to contact a Movoto agent for the insight and help of someone who knows the area and will listen to your expectations so you can find the perfect home or condo for you and your family.
