Best towns and/or neighborhoods (Boston, Cambridge: apartment, renters, condos)

[momoftwonh]

Hi EliseMarie,

I grew up in Belmont, and honestly there is no place else that I would rather raise my children. We are in the process of trying to move back now(trying to sell our current home...). There are tons of stay at home mom's(some are snobby and some are not), lots of great programs for the kids(soccer is especially popular), and wonderful public schools. You also have a great selection of private schools to choose from(Belmont Hill, Belmont Day, BB&N, Shady Hill, etc.). Everything in town is within walking distance. Rush hour traffic can be difficult, but it definitely shouldn't be a deterrent. It's location is unbeatable as far as access to Boston is concerned.

We are looking in the Winn Brook, Wellington and Burbank elementary school districts, Butler is also good, but has more of a transient population. Hope that helps...good luck with you search.

Jan

[brightdoglover]

Hey, our hypocritical lying putz former governor, Willard Mitt Romney, supposedly lives in Belmont. He managed to ram through a big honkin' LDS temple in Belmont, presiding over Route 2. Dramatically ugly.
I think for people not from New England, the housing in N.E. is old and rundown. The "charm" of old places (if in fact they are charming, and not just old and beat-up) is lost on people more accustomed to newer housing. Seems I see a lot of posts on the Mass. forum from people moving to the area who want newer construction, and there is relatively little.
After years of old beat-up apartments from the 1920s in the city, I have no interest in subway tiles, clawfoot tubs, pedestal sinks, etc. I want NEW stuff.

[lorilou]

Originally Posted by elisemarie

We are looking to move to a town or neighborhhod that meets the following criteria:

1) Strong public schools and easy driving distance to a variety of private schools too

2) Walkable - sidewalks, an interesting town center with a library, coffee shops, restaurants, etc

3) Friendly (not snobby) people and an active community (so not a town where no one is around during the week except for the nannies but a place where at least some of the parents - moms or dads - are with the kids on the playground, in music classes....not a place where you take your child to the playground on wednesday afternoon and it's either empty or filled with only nannies)

4) Within 45 minute drive of Boston or providence

Housing costs are not a concern for us and we could afford the prices of, let's say, Wellesley or Weston. Both communities (which are lovely) meet the good schools criteria. Wellesley also meets the "walkable" and good town center criteria but Weston does not for the most part. The big thing i worry about with both a Weston and a Wellelsey is #3 - the snobbiness/"stepford wife" factor along with very few stay-at-home moms. I hope I have not offended anyone but I have friends that live in both towns and they complain about this all the time. But they also tell me that what I'm looking for just doesn't exist .

Please share your opinions with me and offer suggestions!

Thanks!

Hello, for what it's worth, I thought I would offer this opinion. Since you are fortunate enough not to have financial restrictions, I think you should find a town that you love and send your kids to private school. I admire you for trying to avoid the snob factor, but you are going to find that in many of the towns that you have mentioned. If you momentarily erase the "strong public schools" from your criteria (in some cases, it is meaningless anyway), and simply look for a town that meets the other criteria, you might be surprised at the new options available. I wish you luck in your search. Keep looking; it's out there. LL

[commandingspirit]

I have to vote for Lexington. It is a lovely place and I wish I could afford to live there!

My cousin just moved to a wonderful new neighborhood in Lexington called Pine Meadows - gorgeous homes surrounded by conservation land and a golf course. Downtown Lexington is great to walk in and the schools are excellent.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Hey, our hypocritical lying putz former governor, Willard Mitt Romney, supposedly lives in Belmont. He managed to ram through a big honkin' LDS temple in Belmont, presiding over Route 2. Dramatically ugly.
I think for people not from New England, the housing in N.E. is old and rundown. The "charm" of old places (if in fact they are charming, and not just old and beat-up) is lost on people more accustomed to newer housing. Seems I see a lot of posts on the Mass. forum from people moving to the area who want newer construction, and there is relatively little.
After years of old beat-up apartments from the 1920s in the city, I have no interest in subway tiles, clawfoot tubs, pedestal sinks, etc. I want NEW stuff.

Agree about Romney and the temple. Also agree that a lot of people on here ask about new construction and that there is little. But I don't share the desire for new at all and I'm going to stick up for Boston. Boston is an old place and would not be anywhere near as charming if it weren't.

Right now I am stuck in NYC for a year, and am living in a brand new high rise apartment building. My girlfriend lives in a 1905 2-family in Belmont and I envy her house every single time I'm in it (though I have some of the best NYC skyline views you could imagine). She's got architectural details that nothing new ever has, and especially since the windows were replaced in 1999, the older place is of better construction quality, hands down. Until this year I've never lived in anything built after 1920 and I've loved all my homes. I have friends and relatives who live in new places and to me most of the new places are just not that attractive or interesting. I've traveled a lot around the US and feel that way about all the places out there with all this big new housing. It seems boring and I just would have no interest in living there. I feel exactly the opposite about Europe, where everything is old and sometimes cramped but it's so charming and beautiful that I'm enchanted.

Not to be harsh about it, but the idea that something is rundown or garbage because it's more than 20 years old seems to me to reflect a lack of understanding of what New England's all about. But, then again, I am from New England and used to it, and if I don't stay there forever, I'd probably move back to France, where the housing stock is REALLY old.

[elisemarie]

Sri_latha

I used to live in Brookline - lots of rentals, GREAT schools but as you probably know, it is VERY different from Winchester. Ironically, Brookline is a "town" technically but it looks (and acts) more like a city in most areas. Winchester is 100% suburb - nothing "city" about it in my opninion. But both are wonderful - just very different from eachother.

[puffle]

Where will you be working once you get here? Will there be a daily commute? I lived in Lexington for a year and the downtown, although nice, gets old quick with just a few choices and everything closes at 9. There is also no public transportation into Boston although it is a short car ride away. I personally like living in Concord much more because the train is there if you need it, there are two downtown areas to walk around (Concord and West Concord) the schools are excellent and the area is so beautiful. We are not well off as most are here. In fact, all of my son's friends own huge homes in Carlisle,which could work as they have newer homes on large lots, and there is no snob factor at all. In most cases here, money is never discussed or shown off publically so you never know who has what until you visit their homes. I like that very much...totally different from what I am use to in Los Angeles. How many of these areas have you personally spent any time in? That is the best way to decide. Walking around the stores, stopping in for coffee and eating at the local restaurants,visiting the schools. Like seeks out like...if you are not snobby then you will not have snobby friends. Forget the snobby factor....what would be best for your kids..they know nothing of snobbiness, that's an adult issue.

[puffle]

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scarletfire
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
433 posts, read 128,688 times
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Hi Polly,

Neither town has much of a downtown per se. Wayland doesn't really have a center, and Holliston has a cute little craft/toy/candy store that's been there for years, a coffee shop, a children's park (and I believe tennis courts), a small family-run grocery & sandwich shop, and a few antique stores downtown but it's not really a nice strolling downtown like you'd find in Concord or Wellesley. Unfortunately a lot of the metrowest downs lack a great walking downtown.

If Wayland is in your price range though I'd recommend Concord too because it has a lot of what Wayland has to offer - excellent schools, open space, easy highway access, plus 2 commuter rail stations, great bike trails & a lovely walking downtown with shops & boutiques. Plus all the historical sites. I saw a lovely updated 1920s home there walking distance to downtown for sale last week actually.

[wickedripeplum]

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

I know this is OT, but seriously GANGS? At AHS? Were the Vicelords and Latin Kings battling it out for territory in the Fusco building? Come the **** on, don't trivialize the actual problems that some schools have because you didn't like your time in high school.

[elisemarie]

I agree about Belmont - the more I look the more I think it may offer the best of all worlds. Re: the "snob factor" - I don't agree that it's just an adult issue though I wish it was! I have lived in enough places to see that some places attract friendlier folks than others and while every town has a mix of both, I certainly have seen towns skew one way or another.

While Belmont looks like a good fit, we are also still intrigued by Lexington.

Is anyone familiar enough with the two to compare them for us (we have kids from pre-school to high school to consider so schools at all levels are important to us!) Also want walkable streets (sidewalks and street lights, active town center, etc)

Thanks!