Best towns between Boston & Providence for multiracial family? (Brockton: for sale, crime)

[deborahk]

Anyone have any advice for a family of 2 white moms with 3 black kids looking for a friendly town with good schools between Providence and Boston? We love Providence but the public schools get worse as the kids get older if they can't test into the gifted programs (at Greene and Classical). And 1 of us may be commuting to Boston soon. So we're looking for diversity-friendly (if not actually diverse, which may be too much to ask) towns between the 2 cities. We're considering Sharon. Any advice?

[goyguy]

Realistic options are few and far between given that your household is doubly "diverse," sad to say in this century :-/ But that's only in a general sense, as common decency and open-mindedness know no geographic boundaries. Two examples I can share are: an interracial, unmarried, male-female couple in Chelmsford and an unmarried two-male couple (both Jewish) in North Reading. Neither of those towns have what you'd call sterling reputations for social tolerance, but these friends are delighted with how things turned out. Being of an outgoing nature helped their cause, methinks. The prevailing attitude of everyday White American suburbanites is (at least supposedly) "Keep your property looking good, share an interest in maintaining a nice community, and don't do anything to shock our sensibilities. Then be nice to us and we'll return the gesture."

The odds are more in favor of your not being perpetually subjected to glares and snubs and worse, though, if you put down your stakes in Sharon or Randolph or in the west, north, and east sections (as opposed to the center and south) of Brockton. The latter two places in particular are no strangers to cultural inclusiveness; the BLGT issue is a different matter, with Randolph and Sharon most likely to prove "tolerant." Sharon would be #1 where public schools are concerned, with budget cutbacks having caused damage in Brockton and Randolph.

Stoughton and Taunton would be more "outside" possibilities but still might call for being checked out. They're ethnically "mixed" to some extent and the schools are, well, OK.

[surfingatwork]

There's a lesbian family at one end of my street and an african american family on the other end. I live in Lakeville (house is for sale - everyone's probably tired of me pushing my house being for sale ) and have never heard of anyone having any problems. Heck you could be green and orange and your children purple as long as you keep your yard and house looking nice no one cares (at least no one on my street).

[elisemarie]

Have you checked out Franklin? It is not racially diverse but it is slowly changing I think and around the center of town you could surely find what you're looking for on a quater of an acre or slightly more. It is 30 min. from providence by car (no train) and there is a commuter rail stop right in the center of town that goes into South station - takes about 50 min.

Schools are above average, crime is low, and the town offers lots of things for families to do - pretty active community.

[deborahk]

Originally Posted by surfingatwork

There's a lesbian family at one end of my street and an african american family on the other end. I live in Lakeville (house is for sale - everyone's probably tired of me pushing my house being for sale ) and have never heard of anyone having any problems. Heck you could be green and orange and your children purple as long as you keep your yard and house looking nice no one cares (at least no one on my street).

Thanks for the advice, but my co-worker lives in Lakeville and I don't like anything I hear from her about bullying at the middle school and a completely inadequate response from school administrators.

[deborahk]

Originally Posted by elisemarie

Have you checked out Franklin? It is not racially diverse but it is slowly changing I think and around the center of town you could surely find what you're looking for on a quater of an acre or slightly more. It is 30 min. from providence by car (no train) and there is a commuter rail stop right in the center of town that goes into South station - takes about 50 min.

Schools are above average, crime is low, and the town offers lots of things for families to do - pretty active community.

I like Franklin, but a 50 minute commute feels too long for me. Especially given the unreliability of the MBTA, where 50 minutes can easily become longer as trains break down, etc. Any other suggestions?

[ProvGuy]

Attleboro may be worth a try. Attleboro has an openly gay mayor and has a decent minority population. And it's minutes from Providence and right on an MBTA line. I'm not sure about the schools but I haven't heard they are terrible, and around here you usually here about it when they are. Most places are pretty open-minded in this area of New England, I can only think of one vocal community where I've heard other-wise, and that's Easton.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by deborahk

Thanks for the advice, but my co-worker lives in Lakeville and I don't like anything I hear from her about bullying at the middle school and a completely inadequate response from school administrators.

I'm sure there is a divergence in how particular administrators or districts generally handle these situations, but it's tough to rule out an entire town on the basis of a secondhand account from a colleague. Bullying is unfortunately the kind of thing that can happen anywhere and it's not always possible to avoid it.

[bostonnative]

a family so rich in diversity would do AWESOME in Northampton MA, too far away - too bad. best of luck with the search....

[deborahk]

Originally Posted by bostonnative

a family so rich in diversity would do AWESOME in Northampton MA, too far away - too bad. best of luck with the search....

I used to live there actually, pre-kids. But our work is elsewhere at this point.