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Old 01-20-2011, 10:16 AM
 
5 posts, read 46,359 times
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My wife and I are considering a move for our family. We have done our research and the one town that has everything we are looking for on paper is Concord, MA. The things we cannot assess without living there is the type of people and the commute to Boston (during my commute time).

Are the people of Concord welcoming of newcomers?
Are there many organizations for young families to meet others?
Does Concord have a good corporate feel or is it mostly intellectuals?
Is the school system filled with pressure (I know it is highly ranked)?
Are there many professionals working in Boston?
What is the commute like to Boston (Back Bay) around 6:45am?
What about 6:30am or 7:00am - does it change drastically?
What is the commute home like around 6pm?
What about 5:30pm or 6:30pm - does it change drastically?

Last edited by New Englander 77; 01-20-2011 at 11:32 AM..
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Old 01-20-2011, 05:03 PM
 
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Are the people of Concord welcoming of newcomers? I think so. I've had plenty of friends & clients move there and have no problem getting to know people & making friends.

Are there many organizations for young families to meet others? Yes, there's a newcomer's club, women's club & a bunch of others as well as lots of recreational activities. They used to have a lot of local clubs listed on the town website but they seem to have reorganized it. Concord, MA - Useful Links for Residents

Does Concord have a good corporate feel or is it mostly intellectuals? Do you mean lots of people who work in the corporate world? If so, yes.

Are there many professionals working in Boston? yes

What is the commute like to Boston (Back Bay) around 6:45am? I'd take the train if you can. Much less hassle!
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Old 01-21-2011, 05:41 AM
 
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I'll do my best:

Are the people of Concord welcoming of newcomers? I've never lived there, so it's hard for me to say. Concord is a very wealthy town and, in my experience, towns like it tend be more insular with less of a community feel. But each place is different. Concord has a great town center, BTW.

Are there many organizations for young families to meet others? No Idea.

Does Concord have a good corporate feel or is it mostly intellectuals? Are these things mutually exclusive? I didn't get the memo on that.

Since it's between 128 and 495, there are lots of businesses in close proximity. And, since it's rich, there's a fair chance that a lot of the residents are highly educated. I'll let you do the analysis.

Is the school system filled with pressure (I know it is highly ranked)? I have to assume that the schools are a lot like Lexington's system, with which I'm more familiar. So, it's a good bet that there's a fair amount of pressure.

Are there many professionals working in Boston? Yes.

What is the commute like to Boston (Back Bay) around 6:45am? If you drive, it's going to take you about an hour at that time to get to Boston. But as the other poster said, take the train.

What about 6:30am or 7:00am - does it change drastically? About the same. 7:00 AM is prime school bus time, so it may take a bit longer.

What is the commute home like around 6pm? Awful ... easily 1.5 hours. Route 2 is nasty during rush hour.

What about 5:30pm or 6:30pm - does it change drastically? Ditto last comment.
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Old 01-21-2011, 08:26 AM
 
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Thank you very much for the responses. I agree that being corporate and intellectual is not mutually exclusive (just generalizing for the sake of simplicity). Regarding the commute, based on my schedule and my location in Boston (Back Bay) my only option is to drive. Does Rt 2 to 95S to 90E really take 1 hour if I leave at 6:30/6:45am?
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Old 01-21-2011, 12:56 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by New Englander 77 View Post
Thank you very much for the responses. I agree that being corporate and intellectual is not mutually exclusive (just generalizing for the sake of simplicity). Regarding the commute, based on my schedule and my location in Boston (Back Bay) my only option is to drive. Does Rt 2 to 95S to 90E really take 1 hour if I leave at 6:30/6:45am?
Yes. At best, you could do it in 50 minutes. But, I don't know how fast you drive
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Old 01-22-2011, 11:37 AM
 
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Perhaps 50 minutes in the best of driving circumstances with no hold ups, however, the routes you would be driving in are notorious for routine traffic snarls and hold-ups. Also, figure in that if there is an especially snowy winter (like the one we are having this year), that many of the mornings will simply have a very slow commute just due to weather. You may occasionally make it in 50 minutes, but I would bet that more times than not it will take 1 - 1 1/2 hour.
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Old 01-30-2011, 01:06 PM
 
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Again, I appreciate the responses to the post. Does anyone else have a view on the commute (early morning, late evening) and/or the people of Concord?
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Old 01-31-2011, 08:47 PM
 
Location: Sacramento CA
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Concord might only be good if you think of the history, but overall it seems like it would be boring to live in.
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Old 02-05-2011, 03:38 PM
 
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I stumbled on this.

I live in Concord.
Yes, people are welcoming. Yes to professionals. Yes to all the good things except that the commute is a 1 hr commute during rush hour. Depends where you are starting from and are going to. This past snowstorm created a 2 hr commute nightmare. We have no idea why, but this the worst we have ever seen since we moved here 40 yrs ago. i used to make it back and forth in 35 minutes at the time, but we lived next to Lincoln. We now live next to Carlisle. My daughter got a wonderful education in the public schools there.

If you think Concord must be boring I think you would find it so.
If you love the outdoors, love the idea that there can be so much history packed into one place, want to raise your child in a place that was green, had early free-thinkers and authors, has at least 5 working farms and where the Farmers' market produce is actually grown Concord, then it is for you. It's one of the few semi rural towns within an hr's commute of Boston.
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Old 02-06-2011, 02:51 AM
 
Location: Sacramento CA
1,342 posts, read 2,055,447 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lisou View Post
I stumbled on this.

I live in Concord.
Yes, people are welcoming. Yes to professionals. Yes to all the good things except that the commute is a 1 hr commute during rush hour. Depends where you are starting from and are going to. This past snowstorm created a 2 hr commute nightmare. We have no idea why, but this the worst we have ever seen since we moved here 40 yrs ago. i used to make it back and forth in 35 minutes at the time, but we lived next to Lincoln. We now live next to Carlisle. My daughter got a wonderful education in the public schools there.

If you think Concord must be boring I think you would find it so.
If you love the outdoors, love the idea that there can be so much history packed into one place, want to raise your child in a place that was green, had early free-thinkers and authors, has at least 5 working farms and where the Farmers' market produce is actually grown Concord, then it is for you. It's one of the few semi rural towns within an hr's commute of Boston.

I never lived there so I don't fully know. The age group of some of the people seem on the 40s + side. I think it is charming for sure though.
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