Three years ago the Noon family moved to Beverly — and they’re loving life
When Susanna Noon and her family — her husband Mike and their three young kids — started exploring the Boston suburbs three years ago, they planned to stay in Cambridge. “We had lived in the area for 10 years and owned our home for seven, and felt that the roots we had put down were worth preserving,” Susanna says. “However, it’s a very dense neighborhood, with mostly multi-family homes. Since one of our ‘must-have’ criteria for a new home was that it have four bedrooms plus space for me to teach birth classes, that was a difficult find in Cambridge. And with small kids, we didn’t want to do many renovations.” After connecting with Suburban Jungle Strategist Barbara Hirsch, the family expanded their search and, ultimately, settled in Beverly in July 2018. Now, nearly three years in their new community, Susanna and her crew are taking full advantage of everything the North Shore has to offer, from hiking and biking trails, to beaches, to tons of world-class cultural activities and events.
Loving life in the Boston ‘burbs!
Fast forward three years and the family is well acclimated into the suburbs. “We love Beverly,” Susanna says. “Moving here was a great decision for our family. It’s like living in a village inside of a larger community — so we have the benefits of living near a city and being adjacent to these big towns. At the same time, though, we have all of the perks of living in a small, tight-knit community. Coming from an urban environment, we really appreciate the balance.” That community, she says, has been especially important during COVID-19. “There’s a lot to do in Beverly — and there’s nothing you can’t find within a 15-minute drive, which is fantastic,” Susanna says. “It’s great, too, because we can go to the park and see the same families, or go to the beach and see people from the community. That’s been really important, first when we were getting acclimated, then when the COVID-19 closures started.” Susanna and Mike’s three young children are also happily adjusting to life in the ‘burbs. In Cambridge, she says, they were in a condo. Now they’re in a five-bedroom house with a big backyard, giving the kids plenty of space to spread out and play. They’re also walking distance to the train, the library, and two family-friendly restaurants.
What comes next
Looking ahead, the Noon family is eager for warmer weather — and getting back to school full time. For the first two years, Susanna’s children attended a local private school. Now they’re enrolled in public school which, currently, is in hybrid mode. “We’re excited to get into the swing of things at school,” she says. “With a hybrid model and the limitations because of COVID, it’s tricky to meet in person — to hang out at drop off or pick up and chat with other parents. But everyone has been very warm and very welcoming, and there’s a lot of parental involvement in the district, which I love.” As she watches friends in Boston and Cambridge start exploring suburbia, she recognizes the same fears she had about making a move — and encourages them to think beyond their comfort zone. “Families worry about leaving the city and being in the middle of nowhere,” Susanna says. “But that’s not necessarily the case. If you want to be in a small, more rural community, you can find that in the Boston suburbs. But if you want to be more in-the-mix there are plenty of towns — like Beverly — where you can be close to the city and plenty of things to do. You don’t have to compromise. You can really find exactly what you’re looking for in the suburbs.”
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