Family with School Age Children moving to the Boston Area

[Whatsnext75]

what are somerville schools like? I know they must not be terrible because my boss and her husband both went to MIT and they use them. the husband is also a Harvard professor. They are progressive and their kids will likely do well wherever they go, but i know they wouldnt send them to a bad school. My boss said she doesnt want them to grow up two be two white boys who know nothing but white people.

I think people just want to do the best thing for their kids, but is moving to the most expensive town that you can to send your kids to school the best thing? Many people do this and their kids dont turn out to be all that.

[AdiKaba]

Thank you for the thoughtful replies. I lived in Somerville (not far from Porter Square) for about six years before moving to NYC, then to the Midwest. Both my wife and I prefer to live in a culturally diverse town; however, school quality seems to have an inverse correlation with diversity (demographics). We we would like to get more info about Somerville, particularly the parts that are family friendly. A friend also suggested Wayland but I don't know much about the town. He actually noted all towns that start with "W" have great public schools (except Waltham).

[Beantown_mama]

Will you be driving to Kendall Square or do you want to take public transportation? The EZ ride shuttle goes from North Station to Kendall Square and it is a pretty easy commute. So if that is the case, you can take any of the North Shore town that has the commuter rail - Melrose, Wakefield, even up to Reading where there is an express train.
If you plan to drive to Kendall, I actually think it is harder to go across Cambridge from Arlington and Belmont than it is to go across Cambridge from Winchester or Melrose. Or it is about the same. You are either going across Cambridge from Fresh Pond rotary from Belmont/Arlington and then across Mass Ave, or you are weaving your way from Winchester through Tufts and Cambridge if you are coming from Winchester.
Also, some towns don't have that many rentals (like Winchester) so you should look into that. There are now a bunch of housing developments near the Oak Grove T station though that fit your budget.

[AdiKaba]

Originally Posted by Beantown_mama

Will you be driving to Kendall Square or do you want to take public transportation? The EZ ride shuttle goes from North Station to Kendall Square and it is a pretty easy commute. So if that is the case, you can take any of the North Shore town that has the commuter rail - Melrose, Wakefield, even up to Reading where there is an express train.
If you plan to drive to Kendall, I actually think it is harder to go across Cambridge from Arlington and Belmont than it is to go across Cambridge from Winchester or Melrose. Or it is about the same. You are either going across Cambridge from Fresh Pond rotary from Belmont/Arlington and then across Mass Ave, or you are weaving your way from Winchester through Tufts and Cambridge if you are coming from Winchester.
Also, some towns don't have that many rentals (like Winchester) so you should look into that. There are now a bunch of housing developments near the Oak Grove T station though that fit your budget.

I am planning to drive. You seem to agree that with the majority here about Arlington, Belmont or Winchester. Is the Oak Grove T station on the Orange line?

[Beantown_mama]

I would actually look at Melrose, Wakefield or Reading. Winchester is super expensive and doesn't have much rental housing. The Oak Grove T station is the last stop on the Orange Line.

[semiurbanite]

I actually wasn't recommending Somerville the the OP, I assumed you wanted something more suburban. But if you liked Somerville, the whole area from Davis to Union is pretty family friendly. Spring hill and prospect hills especially seems to have alot of young families that are sticking around. If you think you would value the diversity of this city over the suburbs, and the walkability to everything, in exchange for less space then I would recommend checking it out. We bought a house here 9 years ago and still love it with the family - but we make an effort to take advantage of it. The elementary schools on the west side have changed tremendously over the last 5-7 years. That MCAS document I shared would have showed the Somerville schools near the bottom of the list 7 years ago - now some of them are at the top ahead of Belmont.

It all comes at a price - unfortunately home prices here have skyrocketed in the last 5 years and it's no cheaper than Wellesley or Lexington for the same size/quality home.

Basically - Whatsnext75's personal experience is exactly what is happening - this area has been home to the highly intelligent MIT/Harvard/Tufts crowd for a long time. Until recently, they all flocked to Belmont or Arlington for the schools when they had kids. But over the last 7 years, and especially the last 3, they are enrolling their kids into the schools and making a huge difference. I'm amazed at how many parents are Ivy educated, or work at top tech companies in Kendall square. There is still a rough edge in some of the classes, but it's such a small percentage of the student body that it has no adverse effect on the kids in my experience.

The commute to Kendall is great too. I bike it year round in 13-15 minutes, or take the bus/T in 20-25 minutes. My car rots in the driveway just the way I like it. It's actually slower to drive at peak hours due to traffic through Inman/Union squares.