Best towns and/or neighborhoods (Boston, Cambridge: transplants, elementary school, living in)

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by elisemarie

Also - Newton seems to have tons of "villages"... are there certain areas in newton that you found more preferable than others? For us, the more walkable and close-knit neighborhood feel the better!

Do you happen to be of Italian heritage? If so, the village of Nonantum might be for you. There's an extremely close-knit community of Italians here -- probably a much higher percentage than the North End in Boston since it has been gentrified. It also has one of the better walkable village centers in Newton according to walkscore.com

[puffle]

Originally Posted by elisemarie

Thanks everyone! Any thoughts on Belmont? Good public schools? (I know that it's close to a bunch of private schools...)

Puffle - is Acton very different from Boxborough in terms of the town (is one more walkable than the other?) Do either have good town centers? How would you compare the two? Also - Newton seems to have tons of "villages"... are there certain areas in newton that you found more preferable than others? For us, the more walkable and close-knit neighborhood feel the better!

NChomesomeday - you didn't name a town for #6 - I think it was just a typo - what town did you mean to include?

Thanks so much for your insights!

Belmont is more upscale than Arlington, similiar to Lexington which has a very nice town center and great recreation programs for neighborhood kids. Great pools,skating rink, and a ton of fields to play on. Schools are all top notch. Quieter than Newton and no public transportation. Belmont does and has nice shops and good access to Boston. Great high school. I have a 14 year old, so I only know about hs. I think Newton might be a good fit for you. Definetly the most walkable city with good schools. Newton Center and Auberndale,good areas. Not sure about the snobby factor in Chesnut Hill and it is pretty busy near Boston College. Just stay clear of Boyolston(?) st, Rt9 and other major highways. I was told the closer you get to a country club, the quieter? If I could afford it, I would go for Newton. I can't so we are probably going for Acton. Better high school!

[MovingForward]

puffle: Acton is a GREAT town. You will not be disappointed.

[elisemarie]

We will check out Newton - thanks!

You have gotten me curious about Acton - does it have a nice town center and is it a walkable town? (It sounds like it has great schools...)

[Parsec]

Newton and Acton are similar in that they are comprised of different villages. Acton has 5 village centers -- Acton Center, West Acton, South Acton, East Acton, and North Acton (very creative names, eh?). I'll just copy and paste something I found about each village since this explains better than I would.


* Acton Center is the civic center of the town and is the site of the town hall, the main public library, a children's playground, an obelisk monument commemorating Acton deaths in "the Concord Fight" of the Revolutionary War, a Congregational church, a 64-acre arboretum and conservation area, and the former post office. The modern post office and the police station are each located about one-half mile away in opposite directions along Main Street. Otherwise, Acton Center is generally a residential area.
* West Acton is an important commercial area of town, consisting primarily of numerous commercial developments along the western part of Route 111. It developed in response to the growth of the Fitchburg railroad in the 19th century. West Acton has also served as the shopping area for the nearby town of Boxborough.
* South Acton is the most industrial area of town. In the eighteenth century this area held many mills and other small industrial developments that used water power generated by Fort Pond Brook, which includes the Faulkner Homestead which is the oldest home still standing in Acton. The Faulkner Homestead was owned by the Faulkner family who owned and runned a mill across the street which is also still standing today and is still utilized in the fashion of selling grain and feed.
* East Acton was a small commercial area that grew around the East Acton train station in the 19th century. However, with the advent of the automobile and the demise of this branch of the railroad, East Acton became a residential area with a small commercial base that focuses largely on the commuter traffic on Route 2A.
* North Acton has had major growth in the past 30 years. In the eighteenth century it held a small store, a school and a church/meetinghouse. A post office was located at the intersection of Ledgerock Way and Main Street, near the old train station, and operated into the middle of the 20th century. With the growth of automobile traffic, these ventures folded and North Acton became primarily a farming area that developed into a residential area in the 20th century. With the growth of the Rte 2A/119 corridor, North Acton has developed many commercial complexes and condominium buildings. The North Acton Recreation Area (also called Nara Park) contains a small swimming pond, an open air auditorium, playing fields, and hiking trails.

The current Master Plan for the town encourages development in the village centers in an attempt to prevent further sprawl and preserve open space in the rest of the town. So the town on the whole isn't walkable -- the villages are separated by winding country roads and conservation land.

[westonlegacy]

don't go to arlington. i went to school there k-12, there are gangs (white kids acting ghetto) and it has little culture. weston would be the town where i would look. i can give you the number of a great builder in that town

[MovingForward]

Arlington is a GREAT town with PLENTY of culture. I don't know when you went to school in Arlington, but it must have been a while ago. No gangs in the schools, according to parents in my area. In fact, the very suggestion of it was appalling to them.

Arlington is much more diverse and upscale than it used to be. Over the past 10-15 years, lots of folks from Cambridge have moved in, new restaurants have opened up, all newly built elementary schools. In fact, the elementary school in my neighborhood is better than any elementary school in Weston--which is horribly overpriced and overrated, imo.

[smarty]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

Arlington is much more diverse and upscale than it used to be. Over the past 10-15 years, lots of folks from Cambridge have moved in, new restaurants have opened up, all newly built elementary schools. In fact, the elementary school in my neighborhood is better than any elementary school in Weston--which is horribly overpriced and overrated, imo.

Of course... my kids are smartest....making my school the best... making my town the best in MA (I wish)

If I live in Weston... I'll probably be sending my kids to a private school... i live there just because I like the zip code.

[MovingForward]

smarty: I don't have any kids. The Brackett School IS the highest rated in MA. Just look it up.

[smarty]

Originally Posted by MovingForward

smarty: I don't have any kids. The Brackett School IS the highest rated in MA. Just look it up.

I seemed to recall another school was highest rated in 2005. A different one was highest rated in 2004... 2003... 2002... 2001... 1999... 1998... In the past 10 years, there were 10 different highest rated schools in MA. With only 60 kids in each grade, ONE kid could change almost 2%.

If you add all 8 elementary schools in town... the score drops... why? If the school system is so good.... Why couldn't all other elementary schools in Arlington perform like Brackett School did last year? Even Brackett school did not perform like that every year... Does it mean I have to move only to the Brackett School area to make my kids smarter? What happen when you move into middle and high school? What does highest rated mean?

My point... it changes from year to year... from kid to kid... all you need is a few non-English speaking kids move into the neighborhood and the score will go down. 2% can drop from highest rated.... down 10-20 schools... Like Patriots... they were one of the worst team in NFL not too long ago... Is it the team or the player that makes the difference?

MA Dept of Education... DO NOT RANK SCHOOL BASED ON MCAS scores.