5 things to know about living in Chatham
Do a quick Google search for “living in Chatham” and you’ll see phrases like “happiest seaside town” and “best neighborhood” pop up as descriptors for the Cape Cod community.
In 2012, Coastal Living ranked it one of the happiest seaside towns, writing, “Pure New England in its shingled cottages, cozy along its narrow streets, Chatham maintains the small-scale beauty of its 18-century beginnings.”
Tucked away in the lower Cape Cod area, the coastal town sees its share of wildlife, like great white sharks and seals. It’s a summer vacation destination, but also a pretty great place to settle down.
Check it out.
1. You’ll live in…
… or surrounded by summer homes. According to the town’s website, “currently only about one-half of the Town’s 6,300 housing units are occupied year-round; the other half are occupied seasonally.” Many of those that do live in town year-round are retirees.
Homes in Chatham will undoubtedly be close to the beach, and many were built in the Cape style, especially those built in the late 18th and early 19th century. In the late 1800s the town also began to see gable-front houses and two-story homes, and in the 1900s began construction of Queen Anne, Shingle, and Colonial Revival homes. From WWII to the present, development has continued and created about 1,000 homes per year.
The Boston Globe also emphasized the variety in the town’s neighborhoods: “You can choose to live in a variety of neighborhoods, including South Chatham, where the communities funnel to the beaches on Nantucket Sound; the Old Village Historic District; on Shore Road; or somewhere along the four premier bodies of water that allow access to the ocean: Ryder’s Cove, Mill Pond, Oyster Pond, and Crows Pond.”
2. You’ll pay…
… more than half a million. The Zillow Home Value Index puts Chatham’s median home price at $618,600, which has increased 4.9 percent over the last year and is expected to increase another 2.0 percent over the next.
For $550,000 to $650,000, you can get a quaint Cape-style home that has a lot of character and about 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of living space. Chatham doesn’t have a Walk Score recorded, but if you ever want to live in the town, which can be pretty isolated, you probably will want some wheels.
3. You’ll hang out…
… (not so surprisingly) near the beach. There is no question why vacationers like to visit Chatham in the summertime. The three top-rated Trip Advisor things to do in town are to visit the Chatham Lighthouse, Chatham Lighthouse Beach, and Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. The lighthouse was built in 1877 after two other versions were destroyed by bad weather, is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is sometimes available to tour. The Chatham Lighthouse Beach is right nearby.
At the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, which was originally established in 1944 as a habitat for migratory birds, you can see wildlife and fish, and take beautiful photos.
If you are done relaxing and in the mood for some history, there are plenty of historic places around town, including the Chatham Bars Inn, which the Chamber of Commerce describes as “the last of the grand hotels of Chatham.” You can also tour the Atwood House Museum and the Chatham Railroad Museum, or see a film at the historic Chatham Orpheum Theater.
If golfing is your activity of choice, Chatham has a few options for you, such as Captain’s Golf Course and Chatham Seaside Links.
It probably will come as no surprise that almost all the top-rated Yelp restaurants in town are seafood places. The No. 1 rated place to eat is Del Mar Bar & Bistro, which describes itself as “a cool and friendly nightspot on Cape Cod for eating, drinking and socializing, featuring native seafood, bistro cuisine and wood-fired, thin crust pizzas as well as popular specialty drinks and an extensive wine list.”
4. Your kids will…
… got to very small schools. Schools in Chatham don’t have a Great Schools ranking, and back in 2013, Cape Cod Today wrote a piece describing the falling attendance at Monomoy Regional School District’s schools. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the average age for a full-time Chatham resident is 58.9, according to the Globe, and many residents are retirees.
If you do have kids though, you won’t be short on activities. The Chatham Chamber of Commerce lists some on its site, such as classes at the Chatham Creative Arts Center, Volunteer Park (a skate park), and Pleasant Bay Community Boating, which offers sailing classes.
5. You’ll love…
… the Cape Cod baseball league. Chatham has a team called the Chatham Anglers. The league goes throughout the summer and the players, many of which are college-aged, live with host families on the Cape. But these aren’t just recreational games – many of the players are prepping for the major leagues. SB Nation noted that one in every seven major league players spent at least one summer playing on the Cape.
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