QUINCY /Quincy Point
A perfect place to take life in stride

By TERI BORSETI
For The Patriot Ledger Area: 16.64 square miles

POPULATION
2000: 88,025
2006: 90,526

Density: 5,485 res./square mile
Median age: 40
Median household income: 53,642

FINANCES
Tax rate: $10.44 res./$22.41 comm.
Town budget: $230 million
Avg. water/sewer bill: $1,100

HOUSING
Median home price
2006: $355,000
2007: $340,000 (461 through Nov.)
Median condo price
2006: $260,000
2007: $263,500 (525 through Nov.)

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 8,785
Number of teachers: 676
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 57%
H.S. grads to 2-yr. college: 18%
Median SAT score (2006): 1373

Residents of the city’s Quincy Point section tend to be walkers. You don’t need to own a car if you live there and if you do, you probably don’t use it much.

Steve Marcus, a broker with Century 21 Annex Realty in Quincy’s Wollaston section, and his wife moved into the neighborhood – which includes Edwards Street, Union Street, Elm Street and Main Street – more than two years ago. They were drawn to the area because of its close proximity to Quincy Square and the MBTA.

“My wife works in Boston, and she walks to the train station from here. After living in the suburbs where we had to drive everywhere, it was really nice moving to a place where we can just leave the car at home. Many of my neighbors don’t even have cars, and that’s a big selling point here,” Marcus said.

With the price of gas at historic highs , renewed appreciation is being found for neighborhoods like this one. Residents can walk to Quincy Square to do errands or go out for dinner, and they can catch a train into Boston.

“It’s a manageable-sized city and has everything you need, but it isn’t overwhelming,” Marcus said.

Quincy Point is lined with a variety of homes, including condominiums, single- and multi-family houses and townhouses.

The mix is typical of Quincy, Marcus said. Multi-family houses are great for those who like having tenants help pay the mortgage, he said.

From the outside, it is hard to tell single-family from multi-family homes. Neighbors regularly gather on their front stoops or at the fence to chat.

“We’ve been here for four years, and a lot of our neighbors have been here for their whole lives,” said Mandy Johnson of Edwards Street “I understand this was once a predominantly Italian neighborhood. Longtime residents are just starting to sell their houses now. We love that it’s so convenient.”

Residents range from empty-nesters to young couples with children.

Paul Wright moved to Union Street from South Boston more than a year ago. He said he likes being close to the T.

Vinny Lam owns a single-family on Main Street with a slightly raised roof in front. The section that stands taller than the rest of the house is where a sign hung back in the days when the house was a convenience store. Lam bought it five years ago and likes the quirkiness of the facade. The former store was transformed into a two-bedroom house.

“I know my neighbors, and I can walk just about anywhere from here,” Lam said.

Lam, a machinist who works in Norwell, said he is always driving the opposite way of rush-hour traffic.

A bonus of living in his house, he said, is that neighbors on both sides have large honeysuckle bushes that perfume the air during the summer.

In February, Marcus sold a two-bedroom condo that had gone into foreclosure for $245,000. “That house probably should have sold for around $299,000. The average price range in the area is upper $200,000’s to mid $300,000s – and that can be for a house, condo or multi-family,” he said.

“The neighborhood is a good example of Quincy,” Marcus said. “It offers a nice mix of people and houses. It’s a working-class neighborhood, and the one common denominator is the location. Everyone loves not having to use the car every day.