Lesbian family relocating to Boston

[missionhill]

Never lived in JP but I can say something about the geography... Pond and arboretum are both in the least rough areas. where JP gets rough is where Centre Street meets Columbus Ave, which is at the Jackson Sq stop on the Orange Line. There's a little shopping plaza there with a big supermarket. Around the plaza is the Bromley-Heath housing project. They've had drug problems in the project since forever. The shopping plaza is new, maybe 5 yrs old--seems to be a success. Farther up Centre St is Hyde Sq (intersection of Perkins). That used to be a little rough but not any more, now a nice mix of shops and entertainment venues. Much farther up (south) Centre St is the Monument (intersection of South St). That's the shopping hub of JP and there's something of a nice street scene there, though nothing like other parts of Boston or Cambridge. West of Centre St, the "pondside" area is the original plain in Jamaica Plain, an unusually level piece of land with beautiful streets (Eliot, Burroughs, etc) that lead to Jamaicaway and the pond. East of Centre St are hilly streets and a great variety of old houses, many of them architectural gems. East of that area, across the Orange Line, is Washington St and side streets going uphill to Franklin Park. This area was rough years ago but now pretty good. Egleston Sq (Washington and Columbus) is the beginning of Roxbury and now a pretty good Latino/African American shopping area. Jamaica Pond is really lovely, widely used by Boston and Brookline residents for walking, picnics, running, fishing, etc. Has some parkland around it for dog-walking, ball games. The Arnold Arboretum is a really beautiful public tree and shrub garden (265 acres, seems bigger), great for long walks, walking dogs, sledding, skiing, running. No admission charge, administered by Harvard Univ but part of the Boston park system. Both pond and arboretum are easily reached on foot/bike, and by T or car from anywhere in Jamaica Plain. JP also borders Franklin Park, a big, very informal green space with a medium-sized zoo.

[brightdoglover]

J.P. is sort of the capital of gay women couples in the Boston area. The neighborhoods in general safety vary from block to block, but I don't think being a gay family is an issue. Same with basically any urbane neighborhood- Brookline, Newton, Cambridge, Arlington.
I think the Central Square/Inman Square neighborhoods in Cambridge are also a focus of gay women, at least were at one time.
I don't know about any areas outside the urban areas, but (do I imagine things?) seems that most areas near Boston that aren't very low income are accepting of many diversities. If you're thinking of kids' schooling, Cambridge is probably terrific, as is Brookline, J.P., well, it's the Boston system- not so good.

[hcoen]

Hi there,
Jamaica Plain is quite diverse and there are many lovely homes. It is part of the city and thus city schools, not the best for your children. There are many private schools in the area that you may want to look into. Brookline and Newton both have great school systems and are close to the city.

[hgudger]

Hi
we a e a lesbian family that relocated tothe boston area 8 years ago..we have a son that is 10 . He was 18 months when we moved..we found a fantastic home and comunity in arlington heights..Jeff our son goes to lexington Montessori which is a great school that has been there since the todler room it is a diverse school with a great comunity ..We also had a great realtor that is very knowledgable about the challenges and needs of lesbian family relocations

[CityGirl52]

The previous poster took the words right out of my mouth, definitely check out Arlington or Arlington Heights. You won't regret it at all. In fact, there's an area right along Mass. Ave. across from the Stop & Shop that would be ideal I bet, talk about a sense of community? It's awesome thru there.

Two other really great communities would be Newton or Brookline, so remember them when you're checking out the various communities. I suppose JP would be good too for your lifestyle, but to be honest with you? That Jamaica way is a pain in the butt to drive on and it always was thru the years! It hasn't changed one iota either, trust me! It's just always been a nuisance thru there for so so many of us to be perfectly honest with you! I have a relative that lived in JP for a good 5 years or so and the main reason her and her husband moved? They couldn't take driving on that Jamaica way for another minute! They ended up moving to the opposite side of Boston all together and it was like they died and went to heaven!

Best of luck in your search for the right community, by the way. I also would suggest private schools instead of public. They always had such a great reputation; especially the private schools near the greater Boston area! You're so so lucky you'll be close to them, believe me! I really think you'd be crazy not to utilize one of them. It'll pay off in the end; there's quite a lot of them to choose from too! Good luck!

[clevedark]

Originally Posted by CityGirl52

Best of luck in your search for the right community, by the way. I also would suggest private schools instead of public. They always had such a great reputation; especially the private schools near the greater Boston area! You're so so lucky you'll be close to them, believe me! I really think you'd be crazy not to utilize one of them. It'll pay off in the end; there's quite a lot of them to choose from too! Good luck!

Yeah, if you've got an extra 25K lying around every year for each kid!

[CityGirl52]

Well, to me it sounds as if the original poster has no problem with tuition expenses with a private school education. If you read their very first post it says they can spend 1 million for a place to live! Then I would guess they would have no issues with the private school tuition bills. What do you think?

[clevedark]

Being able to afford a million dollar home doesn't necessarily mean you can afford private school. That's major bucks you have to fork out year after year.