ABINGTON /Near Weymouth line
A slice of country life in the suburbs

By TERI BORSETI
For The Patriot Ledger Area: 10.14 square miles

POPULATION
2000: 14,605
2007: 15,463

Density: 1,551 res./square mile
Median age: 38
Median household income: $65,527

FINANCES
Tax rate: $10.80
Town budget: $32 million
Avg. water/sewer bill: $700/year

HOUSING
Median home price
2006: $310,000
2007: $290,250 (112 through Nov.)
Median condo price
2006: $305,000
2007: $272,900 (61 through Nov.)

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 2,332
Number of teachers: 145
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 59%
H.S. grads to 2-yr. college: 26%
Median SAT score (2006): 1491

Ed Reilly is home. Two years ago, the lawyer and his wife, Leslie, bought a Colonial home in the neighborhood where Reilly grew up.

The 1990 graduate of Abington High School enjoyed his childhood in the north Abington neighborhood so much that he always hoped to move back and raise his own family there.

"We were living in a house on the other side of the neighborhood for a while, but now we have three children, including 4-year-old twins, and a fourth on the way, so we needed a bigger house. We have a lot of family and friends in this neighborhood, so it's worked out great," Reilly said.

The architecture along Russell Lane, Old Farm Drive and Checkerberry Road in this development is diverse. The development dates back to the 1970s and streets are lined with everything from Colonials and Capes to ranches and contemporary houses.

The neighborhood is near the Weymouth line just off of Route 139. Abington is 19 miles from Boston and offers the convenience of the commuter train and a little slice of country life in the suburbs.

"My dad still lives in this neighborhood, and my brother and my best friend bought houses next to each other on Strawberry Lane," Reilly said. "I think when some of the houses in here were new that they sold for around $70,000," he said.

The Reilly brothers and their father are all lawyers who work in the same Abington law office.

Times change and the raised ranch across the street from Reilly on Russell Lane is listed at $459,900.

"The house is in perfect shape and has a lot of extras like a pool, three-season porch, new kitchen with granite counters, and garage with loft. This is a beautiful family neighborhood that's close to Boston and I'm sure it will sell," said Ed Mulligan of Old Town Real Estate in Abington.

He said that as empty-nesters downsize to condos and over-55 communities, the streets where the Reilly boys grew up are starting to turn over.

"That's just the natural cycle. Neighborhoods turn over again and again with new families," Mulligan said.

Not everyone in this part of town grew up in Abington.

Wayne Golden on Checkerberry Road said many South Boston and Dorchester families moved to the area like he and his wife, Mary, did seven years ago.

"My wife was from Dorchester and I'm from South Boston and you can't imagine how many people from the old neighborhoods live here now. We looked in places like Milton, Canton and Braintree, but everything was just too expensive -- like in the $400,000s. We found this house by accident and it's everything we could want and it was listed in the $300,000s instead," Golden said.

Fred Hitchins, a North Reading native, has lived all over the country and settled in his current home on Old Farm Road in 1995 and said he likes everything about it. On his acre-plus parcel of land, he regularly sees deer, a variety of birds and an occasional coyote.

"In summer when the trees fill in here you can barely see the other houses and it's very quiet. We have a big Fourth of July block party every year and the roads are nice and flat so there are a lot of people out walking or riding a bike. It's the kind of place where you really do know your neighbors -- and you can't beat the location if you need to be close to Boston," Hitchins said.