CARVER /Great Meadow Drive
Great Meadow Drive great for families

By TERI BORSETI
For The Patriot Ledger

Area: 39.8 sq. mi.

POPULATION
2000: 11,163
2006: 11,281

Density: 301 res./square mile
Median age: 39
Median household income: 61,782

FINANCES
Tax rate: $11.02 residential/ $17.65 commercial
Town budget: $30 million

HOUSING
Median home price (# sales)
2007: $306,500 (90)
2008: $265,000 (11 through Feb.)
Median condo price
2007: $269,150 (18)
2008: $253,663 (3 through Feb.)

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 1,995
Number of teachers: 146
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 57%
Median SAT score (2006): 1517Cindy McManus enjoys walking the route that starts with Great Meadow Drive in Carver. The postal worker is familiar with the neighborhood in the southwest part of town. It also includes Shaw Street, Ransom Street, Pope Street and Murdock Street. The streets are well designed and the area is flat, making it an easy drive and a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood.

"I always see walkers, bikers and lots of kids here. It's a well-established neighborhood," McManus said.

Carver may be a little off the beaten path but in neighborhoods like this, home buyers can find a lot of value for their money. And families with kids know their youngsters will always have playmates.

Most of the capes and ranches in the neighborhood are priced around the $300,000 mark.

Lisa Badaoui, the mother of children ages, 12, 9 and 6, moved from Dedham into her split-level ranch on Pope Street seven years ago. The family moved to Carver because her husband is a native of the town and owns a gas station here.

"This is a great neighborhood, the kind where neighbors watch out for each other. One day my son wiped out on his bike at the other end of the street and a neighbor called me right away. There are quite a few stay-at-home moms here as well as people who work at home so there's always someone around," Badaoui said.

She said many tradesmen, including brick layers and contractors, and several small-business owners, like her husband, live in the area. In her yard, there are always brightly colored bikes and other child-friendly items.

"There are so many kids here, of all ages. When we first moved in, we had no idea until that Halloween when we went through 30 bags of candy," Badaoui said.

"This is an excellent trick-or treat neighborhood and people from all over town tend to bring their kids here. It's safe, the houses aren't too far apart and the walk is easy."

Larry Foster, a real estate broker with Chute-Payzant, said he just got his first listing in that area on Murdock Street. He is sure it will go fast.

"I've always heard that houses in that neighborhood sell quickly, and the listing I have is a bank-owned cape. The foreclosure is listed at $256,900.

That's an incredible price for a 3- to 4-bedroom house. It needs a little cosmetic work but comes with a great front and back yard," Foster said.

He said $300,000 prices are hard to find on the South Shore, so when one comes up in this neighborhood, that is a bargain.

"In today's market that's considered reasonably priced and you're buying into a real neighborhood," Foster said.

Tracy Turner's husband grew up in a yellow house on Shaw Street. Today, the Turners and their two yellow Labrador retrievers live there.

"We bought the house from my in-laws eight years ago. Many of the houses here were built in the '70's, so we did a gut renovation and updated the house so it would work for us. We love the area and my husband, a self-employed mechanic,

would never leave Carver. It's quiet and neighbors are friendly and they're there if you need them but not nosy or in your face. We have no problems here," Turner said.

The neighborhood is off of exit 2 on Route 495 and just 10 minutes from the bridges to Cape Cod. The completion of the Route 44 interchange has made the once inconvenient locale much more accessible, even for commuters to Boston.