Falmouth · Relocation
Relocating to Falmouth
Learning the South Coast and the Cape from someone who lives here, before you commit to a town you have only seen in August.
One of the few Cape towns with a real year-round economy
Falmouth has a hospital, a working downtown and the scientific institutions at Woods Hole, which together mean the town has employment that has nothing to do with summer. The effect on daily life is large. Restaurants stay open, the schools are full in February, and the town does not feel like it is waiting for June.
For a relocating household where somebody needs to work locally rather than remotely, Falmouth is one of the few towns on this coast where that is a realistic plan rather than a hope.
Ask me which Falmouth village fits your week
Woods Hole is a village and an institution at the same time
The oceanographic and marine biological institutions at Woods Hole draw scientists from everywhere, and the village has the feel of a place where people from all over the world are working on something. The ferries to Martha's Vineyard leave from there too, which makes the village busy in a specific concentrated way.
Living in Woods Hole and living in Falmouth are not the same experience, and the village carries its own housing market with its own rules.
Eight villages, and the town name tells a newcomer nothing
Woods Hole, Falmouth village, Falmouth Heights, Teaticket, East Falmouth, Waquoit, Hatchville and North Falmouth are all Falmouth. They differ on water, on density, on price, on how much of the street is occupied in January.
A relocating buyer who says Falmouth has narrowed nothing. One conversation about how you want your week to run narrows it to two.
The bike path and the water are daily, not seasonal
The Shining Sea Bikeway runs from North Falmouth down to Woods Hole along the water, and it is used all year rather than only in summer. The town has ponds as well as ocean frontage, and a pond house and an ocean house are different propositions on insurance, on privacy and on what you can do off the dock.
Ask about which body of water before you ask about the house. It changes more than the view does.
Where to start
Tell me whether anyone in the household needs to work locally, and whether you want ocean, pond or neither. Falmouth answers all three, in different villages and at different numbers.
When you are ready, get in touch, or read about buying a home in Falmouth.
This describes my general process and is not legal, tax, or lending advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there year-round work in Falmouth?
More than in most Cape towns. The hospital, the downtown and the scientific institutions at Woods Hole provide employment that has nothing to do with the summer season, which is why the town does not feel like it is waiting for June.
What is Woods Hole like to live in?
A small village that is also a working scientific center, with the Martha's Vineyard ferries leaving from it. It is busy in a concentrated way and it carries its own housing market. Living in Woods Hole and living in Falmouth are not the same experience.
Should I look at a pond house or an ocean house in Falmouth?
They are genuinely different propositions on insurance, on privacy and on what you can do off the dock. Falmouth has both. Ask about the body of water before you ask about the house, because it changes more than the view.
Falmouth
What relocation looks like in Falmouth
A real year-round downtown, a long stretch of coast, and the ferry to Martha's Vineyard at the end of it.
Falmouth is one of the few Cape towns with a Main Street that works all twelve months: restaurants, cafés, shops and a town center people actually use in February. Around it sit Old Silver Beach, the Shining Sea Bikeway, and Woods Hole at the far end.
That combination is why Falmouth holds value differently from towns that empty out after Labor Day. For a buyer weighing year-round living against a summer place, it is one of the easier answers on the Cape.
The method
How I do it in Falmouth
Relocation: keep exploring
Ready to make your move with Susan Gorden Ryan?