Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm newly divorced with a son who is going into 1st grade. I work at Northeastern Univ. and want an area with good charter/public schools, and affordable rents (townhome, small house, or 3/2 apt).
I identified Somerville and Malden as affordable but how are the schools? Besides Milton, what other good school systems are there? I have a car so not really hung up on proximity to Mass transit.
It is kind of hard to say. Malden and Somerville are working class cities and so the public schools will not be as well endowed as rich towns like Lexington or Belmont. They are extremely diverse however with a good mix of White, Black, Asian, and Latino students. Malden is affordable, Somerville is still somewhat affordable but getting increasingly pricey.
If you are looking for good charter schools, you might as well stay in Boston and find a good further out section like Readville, Fairmont (both in Hyde Park), Roslindale, or West Roxbury and take the commuter rail to Ruggles. Some of our charter schools like MATCH, City on a Hill, and Academy of the Pacific Rim are excellent and some public elementary schools like the Patrick Lyndon in West Roxbury are good too.
I grew up in Malden and so did my sister. Do not move there. The schools are terrible, and apparently even worse now than when we went (15 years apart). It's a horrible horrible place to live and to grow up. From what I understand, the Somerville schools are also pretty bad.
What about Woburn? It's somewhat affordable, and I hear the schools are better.
I grew up in Malden and so did my sister. Do not move there. The schools are terrible, and apparently even worse now than when we went (15 years apart). It's a horrible horrible place to live and to grow up. From what I understand, the Somerville schools are also pretty bad.
What about Woburn? It's somewhat affordable, and I hear the schools are better.
Wow, what happened in Malden? I lived in Malden for 5 1/2 years in the late 80's/ early 90's and attended elementary school there. It didn't seem so bad back then, I mean it was working class so there had to be some tough kids in the schools. One of my childhood friends even made it to Harvard after graduating from Malden High School. The change that I do notice when I go back to visit is that Malden has become even more diverse than before. The Asian population alone has increased threefold it seems like.
er... i'd avoid both.
i think if you want good education and you trust your kid, live in boston city proper and make sure he gets into boston latin, which is a very good public magnet school. however, it's definitely very competitive.
the fact is that the suburbs with good schools are expensive. newton is a big city so you might be able to find cheap rent somewhere... there are a few apartments for $1500 a month for a decent family-sized home. (mostly in auburndale)
brookline is so tiny that affordable homes are near impossible to find, don't try.
if you're willing to venture out of the city, acton-boxborough is really good and since it's not as urban you can find affordable homes.
honestly, your best bet is boston latin but only if you think your kid can make it. boston latin is a great school.
Wow, what happened in Malden? I lived in Malden for 5 1/2 years in the late 80's/ early 90's and attended elementary school there. It didn't seem so bad back then, I mean it was working class so there had to be some tough kids in the schools. One of my childhood friends even made it to Harvard after graduating from Malden High School. The change that I do notice when I go back to visit is that Malden has become even more diverse than before. The Asian population alone has increased threefold it seems like.
It was not great in the late 80s/early 90s (I graduated in '91). I mean, the teachers at Malden High didn't really care. Like, at ALL. My sister is 15 years younger than me, incredibly smart, and ended up getting her GED (!!!) - I got out of there relatively unscathed, but I will always wonder what I "could have been" had I gone to a decent school that cared.
I moved away for almost 10 years (to SoCal & then Austin) in 2000 and came back and lived in Malden for about a month this past Nov. It was horrible. Truly horrible. Within 10 minutes of getting there, my husband & I witnessed a drug deal right outside the place we were supposed to rent.
The people there just seem really really beaten down, weathered, and miserable. At the Dunkin' Donuts, that first morning, a woman screamed "Slow Slow Slow!" at the cashier. When I tried to commiserate with the cashier (after the woman had left), she basically gave me an "F-Off!" look. After that, I witnessed a lot of customers yelling at various people in stores, fights breaking out in parking lots, and general extreme rudness.
Needless to say, we put all our stuff into storage, lived on blow-up beds (in Malden) without any of our stuff (with me 7 months pregnant) and moved to Arlington 1 1/2 months later when we finally found a place. It was absolute hell, but worth it as I would rather lose a limb than ever live in Malden again. And I would NEVER want to raise a child there.
er... i'd avoid both.
i think if you want good education and you trust your kid, live in boston city proper and make sure he gets into boston latin, which is a very good public magnet school. however, it's definitely very competitive.
the fact is that the suburbs with good schools are expensive. newton is a big city so you might be able to find cheap rent somewhere... there are a few apartments for $1500 a month for a decent family-sized home. (mostly in auburndale)
brookline is so tiny that affordable homes are near impossible to find, don't try.
if you're willing to venture out of the city, acton-boxborough is really good and since it's not as urban you can find affordable homes.
honestly, your best bet is boston latin but only if you think your kid can make it. boston latin is a great school.
As a Boston Latin School graduate, I agree with you that BLS is an excellent school but it is definitely not a reason to just move to a city or neighborhood. Too many suburban and outside parents believe in the hype that Boston Latin is the only school they must send their kids to without realizing that many other schools offer nearly as good an education. In fact, when I was student at BLS, I sometimes envied our suburban counterparts. One should move to Boston only if the person finds the city or a neighborhood in the city comfortable and attractive or convenient and it is fine if the person does so but moving to a place just in hopes of getting a child to enroll in just one school (and a very competitive one as you mentioned) is not a good idea in my opinion.
It was not great in the late 80s/early 90s (I graduated in '91). I mean, the teachers at Malden High didn't really care. Like, at ALL. My sister is 15 years younger than me, incredibly smart, and ended up getting her GED (!!!) - I got out of there relatively unscathed, but I will always wonder what I "could have been" had I gone to a decent school that cared.
I moved away for almost 10 years (to SoCal & then Austin) in 2000 and came back and lived in Malden for about a month this past Nov. It was horrible. Truly horrible. Within 10 minutes of getting there, my husband & I witnessed a drug deal right outside the place we were supposed to rent.
The people there just seem really really beaten down, weathered, and miserable. At the Dunkin' Donuts, that first morning, a woman screamed "Slow Slow Slow!" at the cashier. When I tried to commiserate with the cashier (after the woman had left), she basically gave me an "F-Off!" look. After that, I witnessed a lot of customers yelling at various people in stores, fights breaking out in parking lots, and general extreme rudness.
Needless to say, we put all our stuff into storage, lived on blow-up beds (in Malden) without any of our stuff (with me 7 months pregnant) and moved to Arlington 1 1/2 months later when we finally found a place. It was absolute hell, but worth it as I would rather lose a limb than ever live in Malden again. And I would NEVER want to raise a child there.
Ouch, I didn't realize Malden went down so badly . I think the demise of the working class in this area in general i.e. fewer blue collar jobs and opportunities, might have to do with it.
As a Boston Latin School graduate, I agree with you that BLS is an excellent school but it is definitely not a reason to just move to a city or neighborhood. Too many suburban and outside parents believe in the hype that Boston Latin is the only school they must send their kids to without realizing that many other schools offer nearly as good an education. In fact, when I was student at BLS, I sometimes envied our suburban counterparts. One should move to Boston only if the person finds the city or a neighborhood in the city comfortable and attractive or convenient and it is fine if the person does so but moving to a place just in hopes of getting a child to enroll in just one school (and a very competitive one as you mentioned) is not a good idea in my opinion.
i agree, suburban schools are great and less of a risk than boston latin since everyone can attend... but it's a bit hard to find the money sometimes as homes are very expensive in boston.
i think that if you're on a budget boston latin is probably your best option.
I think commuting to Northeastern from Milton or Dedham would be more desirable than Malden or Somerville and the schools are arguably better.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. I think the demise of the working class in this area in general i.e. fewer blue collar jobs and opportunities, might have to do with it.
