HINGHAM /Crow Point
Crow Point is perfect for young and old

By KAREN GOULART
For The Patriot Ledger Area: 22.59 sq. mi.

POPULATION
2000: 19,882
2007: 21,202

Density: 943 res./sq. mi.
Median age: 43
Median household income: $94,693

FINANCES
Tax rate: $9
Town budget: $71.8 million
Avg. annual sewer bill, North Hingham Sewer District: $525

HOUSING
Median home price (number of sales)
2007: $624,900 (281)
2008: $722,500 (5 through Jan.)
Median condo price
2007: $353,500 (46)
2008: $897,980 (3)

SCHOOLS
Number of students: 3,797
Number of teachers: 263
H.S. grads to 4-yr. college: 90%
H.S. grads to 2-yr. college: 2%
Median SAT score (2006): 1,668

With its eclectic mosaic of modest homes and audacious manses clustered on winding, hilly streets overlooking Hingham Harbor, Crow Point is one of Hingham's most sought after neighborhoods.

Like its homes, the neighborhood's inhabitants also comprise a colorful blend.

Kathy Foraste, a realtor with the William Raveis Hingham office, said the population runs the gamut of younger couples with small children to those who intend to spend a lifetime there.

"Depending on where they are, they tend not to leave, they like being by the water," Foraste said. "And that's what makes it a good place for people to buy, once they're in, they've got a very good investment."

Phyllis and Jim Rodgers fall somewhere in between. After 20 years living and raising their four children in the Liberty Pole area of South Hingham, the couple was looking to "scale down" a bit.

They always wanted a home by the water, and it was a matter of finding the perfect one. A lot of patience and perhaps a little divine intervention helped.

Seven years into the search, Phyllis, an artist, was on her way to a Bible study group in Crow Point when she became lost. When a neighbor pointed her in the right direction, she noticed the house at 36 Highview Drive.

""I told a friend of mine that it looked like what I'd been looking for for the last seven years," Rodgers said. "And my friend said, 'So go in, find out.'"

She did and found her dream home.

"I put my foot in the door and said, "'I could die here on my own sofa,'" Rodgers said with a laugh. "It was the middle of January, all snowy and icy, and it was gorgeous. That's how it happened."

The Rodgers moved into the neighborhood on Phyllis' 60th birthday, 20 years ago.

From their home, they walk to the bank, the bus stop and the shops of Hingham Square.

"Everything was so convenient," Rodgers said.

Perhaps most importantly, they were just steps from a picturesque water view.

"I have 12 grandchildren, they were little when we moved here ... they would run to beach and play and swim and use their imaginations with all the rocks and the marsh," Rodgers said. "It really was a great place and is still."

Up until the 1960s, the neighborhood mainly consisted of summer cottages. Most of the larger homes were the summer getaways of wealthy Bostonians.

But as one of only two waterfront neighborhoods in a town with gorgeous water views, it has become a destination and a place that longtime residents are loathe to leave.

Rather than buy a larger house elsewhere, several residents have chosen to add-on to their homes. Already densely populated from bay side to hilltop, new houses continue to go up wherever they can fit.

Between the older summer cottage-type homes and grand estates, the range of home prices here is vast, Foraste said.

"There is no typical number, the asking prices range from approximately $350,000 to $4 million," Foraste said. "It all very much depends on the size, condition, and the water views."

Rodgers said it has changed the look of the neighborhood and made things a little more crowded, but has not distracted from its beauty and the friendly feeling among neighbors.

But is it still the perfect place to live?

"You bet," Rodgers said.