researching schools: Concord, Sudbury, Lexington, Carlisle, Wayland, Winchester (Boston, Lynn: best town, rentals)

[mom2ak]

Hello, in researching a relocation to MA - looking at Middlesex County - can anyone please give me an idea of great schools in the mentioned towns on this thread?
We are interested in both public and private.
We have a kids that are H.S. (Junior) and Elementary (4th grade).
Looking for a high school that is NOT enormous in size.
Thank you!

[kingeorge]

Might be too vague question OP. Budget? Commute (super important for daily sanity)? Desired space, yard size? Walkability? More rural? Town center important or not?

All places you have listed are great.

What is desired size of HS? Opinions on something being enormous can wildly differ.

Best town will be determined by your budget and commuting needs. Traffic is awful and be hyper-aware of that.

[Parsec]

What is considered enourmous? I've included enrollment figures at each of the high schools that you are looking at.

Concord-Carlisle Regional: 1250
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional: 1600
Lexington: 2100
Wayland: 850
Winchester: 1200

[mom2ak]

May I ask what is the main difference from what you may know from between say Concord-Carlisle and Winchester high schools AND the community overall?

Thank you!

[mom2ak]

"Might be too vague question OP. Budget? Commute (super important for daily sanity)? Desired space, yard size? Walkability? More rural? Town center important or not?

All places you have listed are great.

What is desired size of HS? Opinions on something being enormous can wildly differ"

Commute - we are looking at communities with commute to the Woburn/Burlington area for work.
Desire in a town: family friendly, great schools, amenities close by (Whole Foods, Coffee Shops, Target, Yoga etc..), prefer subdivison but NOT on top of one another. 1 acre would be ideal. Executive style, newer homes. Towns that offer fun things for the families, newcomers groups etc. Like suburban feel NOT rural.

Towns looking at: Concord, Carlisle, Wayland (not sure about this town - know very little as of now), Lexington (aware very $ not as much for your dollar here/land less etc..), Sudbury, Lincoln and we have heard Winchester is nice too.

Hubby needs access to both Logan and Manchester too.

Thanks for any info!

[MikePRU]

What is the housing budget you want to stick to? Also, these towns don't have much in the way of rentals. So, I imagine you're going to be buying and not renting.

[kingeorge]

I think that 1 acre in new big development near Boston with great schools pretty tall order around here. We do not have many new "executive style" developments around. There is simply no space.

Carlisle could work with commute but it seems most insular of the bunch. Also the smallest with no amenities and most rural in comparison to the rest. Somehow in my mind newer executive style home and Carlisle do not mix. Same for Concord.

Winchester, Lexington, Concord tend to be more walkable, and most homes are not on 1 acre lots. Winchester has the most "executive" vibe for me, and the best commute. Lexington and Concord commutes are doable, Lexington being better of the two. Lexington schools are highly regarded with some complaining of pressure cooker environment.

Wayland would be long and unnecessary commute considering place of work. I would skip it. Same with Sudbury. It is too far away for an easy commute.

Add Bedford to the mix, good schools and many new homes, with good amenities and commute. Bedford offers excellent shopping including WF. You can also consider Lynnfiled as well. Manicured, and very well regarded.

RE is very competitive, fast paced, and your dollar gets you much less then elsewhere. With rare exception, most buyers have to compromise regardless of how high is their budget.

Check greatschools.net for some reviews and insights that are not necessarily always truthful, but they let you get the flavor of possible extremes.

Good luck.

[mom2ak]

Kingeorge - thank you! I will look into Lynnfield and Bedford (need to pull up my map). In my research I am finding larger lots in Carlisle with new homes there - but again I am also getting the feel it is more rural, you have to drive a little bit say into Wayland for amenities. Having grown up in MA but more NW then the Middlesex county area - I am truly having to reacquaint myself with these towns. I understand the 1 acre idea. Agreed that will have to compromise on that a bit. Looking for a newer home, or newly built but not in a mass subdivision either. We would like to have at least a bit of a yard, enough for the feel that you are not on top of your neighbor.

The towns of Lynnfield, Bedford and Winchester - do they have the urban town center feel?

I am familiar with the entire RT 2 area - Acton to Leominster etc...Lancaster, Harvard, Bolton. So I am able to compare too.

Thoughts for any comparisons on town feel, amenities, urban feel with the above towns to the ones we are considering.

Thank you very much.

[kingeorge]

"The towns of Lynnfield, Bedford and Winchester - do they have the urban town center feel?"

Only Winchester, and it is small town feel. Wouldn't call it urban, probably semi-urban.

Bedford has many shops in its "downtown area" but more of a big box type where car is still needed to get around. Has some sidewalks too, but limited.

Smaller, boutique type of shops and places to eat in walkable town center are more often found in Lexington, Concord or Winchester area.

Lynnfield has huge newly built "Market Street" open shopping center, but no town center to speak off. Just homes and lawns mostly. Before this shopping mall was build there, people had to travel out of the town pretty much for everything. Same as Carlisle is now.

[495neighbor]

For executive feel and newer homes and big box stores with regular Burlington/Woburn commute, I think Westford would be perfect for you. Westford doesn't have a walkable town center with independent stores, but it does have a very nice town common with library, churches, town hall, arts center and community center all around a town common that has many events.