As someone who has never had a great experience dealing with government services, this place has…read morebeen a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't say they were friendly but were still very professional and direct when I came here to get my parking permits for my movers arriving in a van. And I also came here to hand in an application for a mail in ballot several minutes prior to the 5pm deadline that day and a clerk was readily available to take it; that's something that would never happen in any of the other places I've lived.

I was here to attend an elopement. Town clerk, a very nice gentleman who officiated the ceremony…read morewas able to accommodate his off day to fit couple's schedule. They have a metered lot in addition to more metered spots on Washington St & Holden St.

Old town hall transforms into an indoor flea market w/ unique finds. It is a must visit in Salem,MA…read morein October.It's packed w/ a mix of vendors that have all sorts of goodies from delicious foods & chocolates to all kinds of Halloween items that capture the spooky Salem vibe perfectly. You can wander through different vendor spaces full of treats, handmade crafts, & seasonal décor, picking up everything from sweet snacks to quirky Halloween treasures. The atmosphere is lively & festive, making it more than just shopping it's an experience. If you're hunting for gifts, indulging in some chocolate, or just soaking up the Halloween spirit, this flea market has a little something for everyone. It's a fun, colorful stop that really shows off Salem's charm.

We checked off Old Town Hall from our Hocus Pocus movie sets tour while walking around Salem last…read moreweek! While it was not open to explore, it was still really cool to see the outside of where the movie was filmed - the Halloween party that Max and Dani's parents attend. If you're a fan like me, I highly recommend taking a quick photo outside! I hope to check out the inside next time we visit Salem!

Some of the nicest people work at Needham Town Hall (other towns should take note!!) and I need to…read moresend a special thanks to Jill who helped me over the phone at 4:45 on a Friday afternoon when I was in a panic about my car's excise tax. Needham uses an online payment processor (should you choose, or just mail a check the old-fashioned way) and I thought it was due that day but couldn't access the online payment site. As soon as Jill answered the phone, I apologized for calling at that time on a Friday and explained my problem (it seems that account numbers change each year, so I now know I wasn't completely losing my mind... and the change is due to the Registry of MV, not Needham). Fortunately, it was not due for another 3 weeks, but she gave me a new account number to log in with, I made the payment and am safe from being chased by the Registry for another year. Thanks again Jill, you make these things so easy (which would never have been said when I lived in Boston!!).

Having grown up in Winchester, I always loved driving by the Town Hall because of how beautiful it…read moreis, but turns out its facade is the ONLY thing good about it. My fiancee and I attempted to go apply for our intent to marriage license. Online, all it said that we needed was our IDs and both of our presences at the Town Hall. I should know. I checked at least once a week for the past two months. So much was my surprise when we entered the entirely empty office and are told that it would take two whole weeks for them to process a single email and to make an appointment to complete the state application for a marriage license. Massachusetts already has a three day waiting period so we'd be SOL. The absolutely unhelpful clerks- all three of them- wouldn't look my fiancee and I in the eye as they turned us down. They couldn't help us, even though when we got there, they were gossiping like mean girls in a COMPLETELY EMPTY office. Mind you, every single town around us has the appointment requirement explicitly listed on their website. The whole experience was awful and the clerks were rude. DO NOT GO HERE.

The Town Hall of Winchester, Massachusetts. A gorgeous old building. Recently restored, as well…read moreas a new veteran memorial just outside, this beautiful building is at the heart of Winchester. They've managed to keep it's exterior intact while updating the interior, and it all just looks awesome. The main hall inside is big enough for medium-sized events. They held the first Octoberfest there last fall. Elections are held here, many public services can be found here. It's a great office in a beautiful location with free parking all around.

Lovely place. My only concern is that there are so many…read moreleft wing radical books on Palestine and left wing people who preach hate. I have not seen a book on display about our Great President Trump or any of the wonderful women he has hired. Many books are on all the left wing radical women and DEI people Biden has hired. I feel this is racist towards white people and conservatives. Maybe they have the books but they are very hidden. The radical democrat books are on display. This is shameful. The library should be so proud of the President of the United States of American.

Libraries are excellent resources and there should be more of them. And they should be easily…read moreaccessible, like this one is. It's close to the Wellesley Square and the commuter rail station, there's tons of parking here for cars and bicycles and the entire facility is completely handicapped accessible. Wellesley's Free Library is a winner. This is a large library with a huge collection of books. I spent two hours at a study table upstairs which had a power outlet and access to a free and fast wifi signal. If only I needed books! [Review 10124 overall, 1710 of 2018.]

Don't let the small size fool you-this little library has a really good selection of both adult and…read morechildren's books/videos. The staff are very helpful and they have the best storytime for littles of any branch. Charming atmosphere-like a English cottage...great place to stop by.

This library packs in just about everything a tiny neighborhood library should. The collection…read moretends to recent news, popular fiction, videos, and children's books - for research you should head to the main library at 530 Washington Street, across from the town hall. I prefer the Hills Branch when finding books for my kids, because the collection is more curated, and anything they pick up from the shelves is a great read. It's been closed for COVID, so I'm looking forward to seeing it opened again.

Natick wants to pretend that it's Wellesley or Newton it is not. It is a town that has no money. It…read moreis a town that would allow vehicles to kill bicyclists because they have no infrastructure for bicyclists. They have tried to create more residential space than they can actually accommodate. Natick is a horrible town, they have absolutely no regard for pedestrians nor cyclists only vehicles which shows that they have no respect for average citizens and it is deplorable. If you are looking to live in Natick I would suggest otherwise. Their taxes are going to go up because they are trying to fund projects that they cannot actually afford it is a pathetic town and very sad how degrading it has become throughout the decades. I hope they get their act together because clearly they only want rich individuals in their town yet they can't keep up with the infrastructure to maintain it it is pathetically sad. My advice don't move into Natick Go into Framingham Wellesley or Newton or any other town or city besides Natick because you will not like where you live.

The wiring inspector Scott Chavious is very unprofessional and should be removed from his job. He…read morewas scheduled to do an electrical inspection for some solar work at my house. I have lived in the town for over 9 years. Over that time I have made over 200,000$ in improvements to my home. Scott has inspected every time without the electrician present. This time he refused inspection even though I was present and willing to show him anything related to the installation. He stated that I wasn't an electrician and couldn't open anything up. The installation was already opened up and ready for inspection. When I explained this to him he still refused to look at anything because he stated that I wasn't qualified to show him the work. I'm an electrical engineer, the work was done to my home, and I supervised it. There are no regulations stating the person who did the work must be present. The work just needs to be inspected and signed off. That's his job. If for some reason it's not to code, then don't sign. Refusing to inspect and wasting everyone's time is just wrong. Scott's handling of this situation was a complete abuse of his authority. As a "professional" who is paid by town tax dollars, I would expect better conduct. The town really needs to be more accommodating towards contractors. To hire a part time inspector that's only in the office at 4PM, then out to do inspections at 5PM or later is unreasonable. These aren't normal working working hours for contractors. I have filed a complaint with the state board of examiners. If others have had the same interactions with Scott Chavious, I recommend you do the same. At a minimum, Scott should have some counseling on his lack of professionalism and some clarification about what his actual duties and responsibilities are.

I have lived in this town for almost 60 years. I am amazed at how bad the town hall is run…read more Recently I sent the town clerk to renew my dogs license and they cashed the check and did not send me the dogs tag. When I called about it, they had no record of the check or of cashing it. Really? To make matters worse, they made me take time off from work to go to the town hall and prove that they cashed the check. Also last year my bank sent them a check for the excise tax on one of my vehicles, and they said that they never got it. Yet, I have proof from my bank that it was delivered. So they keep sending me notices to the wrong address, which they refuse to change.So, now I have to pay another $110.00 in penalties and interest. The best they would do is take $15.00 off of the bill. Even though they are the ones that lost my check. I have lived in Cochituate, again, for almost 60 years. My address has been the same for the whole time. The address is on the titles to all of my vehicles. It is on my drivers license and the registration to my vehicles. I have received mail from Mass DOR, The Treasury Dept. of the US govt., I have received mail from China, Paris, Florence Italy, Barbados, Jamaica and quite a few states. All were sent to my correct address. I even have a ticket that my Mom received 50 years ago that has her address as Cochituate. Yet, a person at the town said that they won't send it to my real address because they said that it may end up in Framingham. The ironic part of this is that the town building is on Cochituate road. Why is the road called Cochituate road, well, I'll tell you. Because it goes to Cochituate. Duh. Yet, they can't seem to fathom that. Essentially if the town building was a business, they would either have gone out of business, or half of the employees would have been fired by now.

I recently needed to call the Wayland Building Dept with a basic and I mean basic question…read moreregarding permit and fee schedule. I wanted to clarify with the "expert" and elected official on hand. It had to be one of the worst phone calls of my life. Arrogant, entitled, bureaucratic, blow hard who spoke in circles and refused to answer my question. It was so bad I thought I was being pranked!!!! Government should be working for the people to better the community and strengthen it's towns and people-not to feel some overwhelming need to make up for their own shortcomings with a power play. Good luck to anyone building in the future. Get out your code book, but be prepared for them to make up their own. It would be negative stars if allowed.

Very rude staff. Condescending and not helpful at all.. What a waste of my tax dollars on such…read moregarbage.

I've loved living in Newton for quite some time. Its beautiful, has lots to eat, and hey, Fig…read moreNewtons were named for the town. But.. the positives are quickly being outweighed these days - the straw that's about to break my back? The Langley Rd bridge reconstruction. I can almost deal with the sudden increase in crime. But I cannot.. absolutely cannot.. tolerate the new traffic jams they are forcing upon us. It seriously takes 14 months to rebuild a GD bridge??? And what on Earth possessed you to change the traffic pattern on the Beacon/Langley traffic light? Who the hell has the right of way on Langley now? Oh and how about starting major work on Union St at the same time - that's simply brilliant. Newton Center is an absolute joke to get through these days. And explain this one to me. They shut the bridge down in May. It's slated to by finished in June next year - which equates to 14 months in my head - where the heck to they get 9?? "The Langley Road Bridge will be closed for approximately 9 months to allow for construction of a new bridge over the MBTA Green Line. The new Langley Road Bridge is slated for completion in June 2009." (source - this incriminating document: http://www.ci.newton.ma.us/DPW/mbta%20shut%20down.doc )

Tew Newton Library really is great! It is very big and has a wonderful kid's area. They have…read moreactivities every so often (they have a music movement class tomorrow!) and story time both Tuesdays and Thursdays (at the current moment) The staff in the kid's area are also very kind and the little one I nanny loves to go and play there.

I came for some magazines and found a movie that interested me…read more I decided to watch at least half so I stayed 2hs, I went to the 2nd floor for my magazines there was a woman in the desk. But when I got downstairs for almost those two hours NOBODY sitting in that desk. I called the attention at two woman who were passing by one even didn't say nothing even when I said "excuse me" and the other "give a minute" and she never came back I had problems with the DVD but I left it So many walking by and nobody to help. Maybe they are not happy working over there