Living on Cape Cod

[Anonymous]

Anyone live on the cape year around? I'm looking for some insight and experiences. I'm thinking to relocating to MA from NOVA. Looking for some change in just about everything. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

My mom does. And she has quite a few friends who have retired to various parts of the Cape. I also spent my summers there and visit frequently.

[Anonymous]

My wife's grandparents have been living in Chatham year around for about the last 50 years. She's visited several times during the winter before we were married (seems pretty unpleasant) and we go every summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom does. And she has quite a few friends who have retired to various parts of the Cape. I also spent my summers there and visit frequently.

Thank you! Can I ask you a few questions? How do the summers and winters compare to DC? How much snow do they get up there? Do you drive up a lot? How long does it take you? What are the people like? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I grew up in Falmouth. The year round Cape community is more conservative politically. No one goes over the bridge. The winters can be cold and damp but not the kind of snow fall you see in Boston because of the ocean. MA is an expensive state to retire in but there is plenty to do all year, my parents do yoga and pottery and lots of hiking.

Do you have kids? Schools arent great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Falmouth. The year round Cape community is more conservative politically. No one goes over the bridge. The winters can be cold and damp but not the kind of snow fall you see in Boston because of the ocean. MA is an expensive state to retire in but there is plenty to do all year, my parents do yoga and pottery and lots of hiking.

Do you have kids? Schools arent great.

This is so helpful, thank you. Is the shopping decent enough?

No kids, so schools aren't an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in Falmouth. The year round Cape community is more conservative politically. No one goes over the bridge. The winters can be cold and damp but not the kind of snow fall you see in Boston because of the ocean. MA is an expensive state to retire in but there is plenty to do all year, my parents do yoga and pottery and lots of hiking.

Do you have kids? Schools arent great.

This is so helpful, thank you. Is the shopping decent enough?

No kids, so schools aren't an issue.

depends on the town, but shopping has improved significantly over the years, its fine

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom does. And she has quite a few friends who have retired to various parts of the Cape. I also spent my summers there and visit frequently.

Thank you! Can I ask you a few questions? How do the summers and winters compare to DC? How much snow do they get up there? Do you drive up a lot? How long does it take you? What are the people like? Thanks!

Winters are cold but they don't get a ton of snow. You'll want a house with a generator though. She doesn't lose power a ton, but because her area is less occupied they tend to wait longer for pow to get back up. And tropical storms/hurricane ar always a concern. Summers are hot, a little less hot than DC. But the mugginess and humidity still exists.

It all depends on where you live with how the people are. My mom lives in an area that's much quieter in the winter and busy in the summer. It's 99% people her age that are their year round. Her friends in Falmouth see more of a variance in ages and there are more people that live their year round. Same with Dennis. I do agree with PP that a lot of people tend to be conservative from what my mom has said and loathe going off Cape. They aren't in your face Trumpers or anything (at least the ones I've met) but definitely conservative. But everyone I've ever met is very nice. The healthcare system down there isn't great. My mom still drives up to Boston for her specialists.

We don't live in DC anymore. I definitely wouldn't choose the Cape as a place to buy a vacation home unless you're able to stay for stretches at a time. Or keep a car at the house and fly in and out (which is what one of her friends does that lives in Ohio).

[Anonymous]

As for shopping, that's so dependent on where you live. There are a lot of "Main Street" shops in various towns but have limited hours in the off season. Hyannis has a mall that's fine. Mashpee has a shopping area called mashpee commons that's decent, and mashpee also has more year round people.

[Anonymous]

Summers are glorious on the Cape. Nothing like DC.

[Anonymous]

My grandparents spent 30 years living on the Cape full time.

There is plenty of shopping, decent healthcare with world class healthcare an hour or so away and lots of amazing culture in Boston and Providence in winter when there is less on Cape.

Phenomenal hiking, birding etc. available year round.

Traffic in summer is a nightmare, no way around that drawback.

There is a mix of working class D and working class R and lots of wealthy retired R on Cape. There are issues with drugs as in any rural area with an economy dependent on seasonal traffic but overall crime is low. It isn’t true that the schools are bad; Massachusetts has the #1 ranked schools in the country (as it has had for decades), and while Cape schools aren’t the very best in the state they are quite good.

I would live on Cape if I could afford to - granted I have great memories from summers and holidays with my grandparents, but I also live 45 minutes from the Cape now and visit whenever I can which is mostly in the off season as I can’t abide the summer traffic.

[Anonymous]

Can someone give a lowdown on different neighborhoods?

[Anonymous]

There are like a dozen different towns on the Cape each with neighborhoods.

Generally the “upper Cape” is the first part of Cape Cod, with Mashpee and Sandwich for example. Then as you go further out on Rte 6 you get to mid Cape, with Dennis and Yarmouth, then the lower Cape (roughly the elbow) and last the outer Cape is the end that sticks up with Provincetown at the end.

If I was living there year round I would want to live in either Upper Cape or mid -Cape.

[Anonymous]

My grandfather lived there for years in retirement. He loved it. I have lots of fond childhood memories. It may be different now, but there were many fewer year round residents and it was super quiet in the winter, which is its own beauty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My grandparents spent 30 years living on the Cape full time.

There is plenty of shopping, decent healthcare with world class healthcare an hour or so away and lots of amazing culture in Boston and Providence in winter when there is less on Cape.

Phenomenal hiking, birding etc. available year round.

Traffic in summer is a nightmare, no way around that drawback.

There is a mix of working class D and working class R and lots of wealthy retired R on Cape. There are issues with drugs as in any rural area with an economy dependent on seasonal traffic but overall crime is low. It isn’t true that the schools are bad; Massachusetts has the #1 ranked schools in the country (as it has had for decades), and while Cape schools aren’t the very best in the state they are quite good.

I would live on Cape if I could afford to - granted I have great memories from summers and holidays with my grandparents, but I also live 45 minutes from the Cape now and visit whenever I can which is mostly in the off season as I can’t abide the summer traffic.

Where do the wealthy Ds live? MV?