Needham Schools (Boston, Wellesley: houses, neighborhoods, school district)

[sjfer]

I am relocating to the Boston area this summer and really loved Needham when I visited it with my Realtor. I have done some research online, but it is hard to determine what is accurate. Based on what I have seen, it looks like Broadmeadow and Newman are really great with Mitchell and Hillside close behind. Eliot seems to not have as high of ratings from what I have seen, but am not sure why.

Can anyone comment on the schools in Needham? Should I be concerned about any of them, or should I just look to get to the town regardless of the elementary school?

Also, any general comments on Needham? It seemed almost too good to be true with great neighborhoods, close to the city and phenomenal schools.

Thanks for any feedback!

[Sikaranista]

Good town. School has a nice amount of diversity....a friend of mine was there for 10 years. Her kids (they are Jewish) loved that they had the Jewish holidays off as well as the usual Christian holidays. Unfortunately they had to move away for work, so I do not know about the school afiliation.

One downside of its centralized location, you're in all kinds of traffic during rush, unfortunately there is no way around that. The I-90/128 interchange perhaps the most congested in the state.

I am a telecommunications engineer so I will share this with you. Some folks do not like the Needham "antenna farm"...you probably remember seeing it on the highway? All of the major TV outlets and many of the major radio outlets in Boston have their broadcast antennas on 1300 foot towers in Needham, along Route 128. This can sometimes wreak some havoc with reception for cordless phones, cell phones, radios and over-the-air TV (remember that? LOL). A lot depends on where you are. The closer you are to the towers, the more interference there will be. The further away, the less interference.

[Ispahan1]

Needham is a nice town. The center still feels like a community, with the all the shops you need.

My daughter went to elementary school in Wellesley, and middle and high school in Needham. There was more diversity in Needham, and overall she liked it better. Some of the instruction, particularly in the sciences, though, was not as good as it could have been.

[shiver]

The Needham school district is very good and Needham is a desirable suburb. I don't know the ins and outs of the individual schools, but put it this way, quality of schools wouldn't be a reason why I'd reconsider moving there.

I wouldn't call it too good to be true, only because houses are pretty expensive so you pay the premium to live in a great town with all those advantages. It's a nice area.

[Sikaranista]

Originally Posted by shiver

I wouldn't call it too good to be true, only because houses are pretty expensive so you pay the premium to live in a great town with all those advantages. It's a nice area.

Indeed. Way out of range for what I could afford as a single nerd, but if it's in somebody else's range...more power to them!

[kmann-sherborn]

If you like Needham you may want to check out Wellesley as well, as it has many of the same great features (of course also the same high prices though).

Best of luck with your move!

[sjfer]

Thanks for all of the feedback everyone!!