Best towns and/or neighborhoods (Boston, Cambridge: homes, best school, live in)

[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!

[MovingForward]

Arlington.

[elisemarie]

Thanks for your quick response! I love Arlington but my concern is that the public schools there don't rank well (although I may be misguided). We would like the option of really strong public schools - have the schools in Arlington improved?

[MovingForward]

The Brackett Elementary School in Arlington has been the top-performing elementary school in MA for the past three years. Once you move to the middle school and high school, the quality drops, but not that significantly. If you want the best, awesome, top of the top, schools, then you're going to have to go "snooty." Sorry, but that's the way it is.

[puffle]

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!

After searching high and low for months, ask anyone, I hope I can help someone else. My suggestion for first choice would be Acton-Boxborough. Diverse economically,easy going,great for families, train to Boston and one of the best school systems, especially high schools, in the state. Second would be Newton or Needham. Talk about walkable towns and from what I hear, not snotty. Very close to Boston and tons of parks,shopping,etc. Maybe Marblehead or Hingham to be close to the coast. Again, diverse economically and very family friendly with good schools. Just some suggestions. I'm sure there will be varied opinions. Good luck.

[nooneknowsmyname]

I grew up in a town not too far from Boston and my son attended an elementary and secondary day schools in Cambridge. Here are some suggestions. I listed the private schools I could remember.

Newton, Brookline, Lexington, Wayland, Lincoln, Sudbury.

Newton and Brookline have the advantage of being closer to Boston, cities in their own right, have some excellent schools although individual schools may vary in terms of achievement. The Park School, a private elementary day school, is located in Brookline. Beaver Country Day School (grades 6-12) is located in Chestnut Hill. Brimmer and May (lower, middle, upper school) is also located in Chestnut Hill as is the Chestnut Hill School (elementary). Fessenden School and Solomon Schecter School are located in Newton.

Lexington, Wayland, Lincoln and Sudbury were originally small New England towns that later developed into suburban enclaves. All four are considered to have excellent schools, but they are farther away from Boston and are more homogeneous than Newton and Brookline. The Waldorf School and Lexington Montessori School are located in Lexington.

Hope this gives you some options.

[findingmesomeday]

1.Westwood (not really walkable town center but very nice and great schools)

2. Needham: Close to train, Rte 128, lots to do in town center, great schools

3. Newton: Don't know much about it except that it's conveniently located near Boston, is very affluent and the school system is excellent

4. Sudbury: Good schools. I'm not crazy about the town though. Definitely a bit of the Wellesley stepford-wife-ism you speak of.

5. Acton: Good schools though a bit far out from Boston

6. Very good schools, small town, rapidly rising housing costs, and can be snobbish

7. Dover or Sherborn: Great schools but the epitome of snobbism

Hope that helps!

[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!

[findingmesomeday]

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!

Ooops sorry! Medfield.

[nooneknowsmyname]

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...)

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!

Belmont is considered to have good public schools.

Chestnut Hill is the most upscale of the Newton "villages". Both Brookline, a neighboring town, and Newton have areas know as Chestnut Hill. Newton Centre is a walkable "village" with a small downtown area. Other areas of Newton were formerly industrial areas, Newton Upper Falls & Newton Lower Falls. If the public elementary schools are a concern, it is worth checking into the schools located in each neighborhood as it may be that some are stronger than others. Some of the villages are located on the MBTA (affectionately known as the T) Green Line.