Nice Neighborhoods Near Springfield (Boston, Worcester: house prices, school, median income)

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by FCMA

Anecdotally not sure why anyone would hesitate to send their kids to Northampton schools. Scared your kids might meet the few kids in town who live in projects and the many who smoke the reefer and they’ll falter and lose out on their presumed inheritance of your highly educated socioeconomic hyper-privilege? The very fact of being raised on your privilege farm of married parents with high education levels and stable professions is the most predictive factor of how they’ll do, not whether your town’s schools are ranked 8th instead of 38th in the state. In short, chill and choose the town you like for its other lifestyle factors - the only local district in state receivership is Holyoke. Maybe stay away from that one?

And that note on our NYC friends - People from NYC also seem to unironically think Stowe and Woodstock VT or Lenox and Stockbridge MA, or Wolfeboro NH, are typical New England towns when really they are kind of like an ultra high end mall and food court that has preserved its small-town historical theme (the real small-town bones, turned in to an undead luxury mall - “Visit Manchester - 5th Avenue in the Mountains!”) all set up specifically by and for them. Longmeadow must appeal to that type as I have found many tend to think New England is primarily made up of affluent, unthreatening Gilmore Girls settings where there are no collapsing trailers or strung-out townies loitering at Cumby’s, and Longmeadow is about as pleasantly unthreatening and bland as it gets. I would invite them to visit quaint, charming Palmer, or perhaps the well-chosen Castle Rock setting of Orange, or Claremont NH would be a good bet too for a taste of our very own small-town flyover (or- “fly past in a Land Rover with a ski rack?”) country where not everything is entirely swell for everyone.

Did you purposely leave out Ware? Palmer looks okay in comparison.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by massnative71

If we are talking about a place to go and do stuff, yes. Some may also seek that in where they live. But coming from a Boston perspective where it's now the norm to commute 1.5 hours each way, it just doesn't make sense with so many nice affordable towns within 15 minutes of Springfield. Most Boston commuters I think would envy that situation, and scoff at the idea of CHOOSING to commmute further when it is so unnecessary.

Yes, it actually does make a lot of sense. Lots of people, including everyone I really know, don't want to just go in on a weekend to do things somewhere. They want to live in culture, be part of communities of art, culture, music, etc.


With your mindset I should have chosen a nice town near Westborough and cut my commute in half (or less), instead of living in Providence where there is actually stuff going on. It would have been hell for me and most people I know who have no desire to be part of the suburban hordes that take from the cities and retreat to the doldrums.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by FCMA

Anecdotally not sure why anyone would hesitate to send their kids to Northampton schools. Scared your kids might meet the few kids in town who live in projects and the many who smoke the reefer and they’ll falter and lose out on their presumed inheritance of your highly educated socioeconomic hyper-privilege? The very fact of being raised on your privilege farm of married parents with high education levels and stable professions is the most predictive factor of how they’ll do, not whether your town’s schools are ranked 8th instead of 38th in the state. In short, chill and choose the town you like for its other lifestyle factors - the only local district in state receivership is Holyoke. Maybe stay away from that one?

And that note on our NYC friends - People from NYC also seem to unironically think Stowe and Woodstock VT or Lenox and Stockbridge MA, or Wolfeboro NH, are typical New England towns when really they are kind of like an ultra high end mall and food court that has preserved its small-town historical theme (the real small-town bones, turned in to an undead luxury mall - “Visit Manchester - 5th Avenue in the Mountains!”) all set up specifically by and for them. Longmeadow must appeal to that type as I have found many tend to think New England is primarily made up of affluent, unthreatening Gilmore Girls settings where there are no collapsing trailers or strung-out townies loitering at Cumby’s, and Longmeadow is about as pleasantly unthreatening and bland as it gets. I would invite them to visit quaint, charming Palmer, or perhaps the well-chosen Castle Rock setting of Orange, or Claremont NH would be a good bet too for a taste of our very own small-town flyover (or- “fly past in a Land Rover with a ski rack?”) country where not everything is entirely swell for everyone.

News flash. People self-segregate along socioeconomic lines.



News flash. The same people who own in those high end suburbs also own vacation homes and tend to cluster there, too.


I'm from a socioeconomically mixed town. My high school graduating class was about 300. The top-50 were doctor/lawyer/college prof kids and were in AP classes segregated from the unwashed masses. Some smart, motivated welfare kids were in those classes, too. Decades later, most of those people had very good outcomes. Northampton is a big enough town where that's going to happen in the high school.

[FCMA]

“Choosing to commute” from the vibrant arts town of Northampton to Springfield (20-30 minutes) is a pretty nice tradeoff for not having to live in Springfield or its pleasant if dull ‘burbs.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by FCMA

“Choosing to commute” from the vibrant arts town of Northampton to Springfield (20-30 minutes) is a pretty nice tradeoff for not having to live in Springfield or its pleasant if dull ‘burbs.

Seriously. Seems like a no brainer to me.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by timberline742

With your mindset I should have chosen a nice town near Westborough and cut my commute in half (or less), instead of living in Providence where there is actually stuff going on.

My case in point. YOU may choose to do what you do, but the majority do not (especially if they have a family). Almost everyone I know working in Westborough, Marlborough, etc. also lives in that surrounding area. Those that travel further might live in Worcester or Northbridge or something, usually due to affordability or just being a matter of where they have always lived (it's hard to just pack up your whole family and relocate). I can't think of anybody who would choose the commute if they had to do it all over again.


It may come as a total shock to you, but most working adults today live relatively boring lives that a bedroom community can more than accommodate.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I'm from a socioeconomically mixed town. My high school graduating class was about 300. The top-50 were doctor/lawyer/college prof kids and were in AP classes segregated from the unwashed masses. Some smart, motivated welfare kids were in those classes, too. Decades later, most of those people had very good outcomes. Northampton is a big enough town where that's going to happen in the high school.

I do think it's good to grow up in a town with socioeconomic diversity, as long as it's not skewed too much either way. This leads to a greater resilience in and better preparation for the real world, than if one's world was limited to a town like Longmeadow.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by massnative71

My case in point. YOU may choose to do what you do, but the majority do not (especially if they have a family). Almost everyone I know working in Westborough, Marlborough, etc. also lives in that surrounding area. Those that travel further might live in Worcester or Northbridge or something, usually due to affordability or just being a matter of where they have always lived (it's hard to just pack up your whole family and relocate). I can't think of anybody who would choose the commute if they had to do it all over again.


It may come as a total shock to you, but most working adults today live relatively boring lives that a bedroom community can more than accommodate.

Almost everyone I know working here, or in business parks along Framingham, do not (the exceptions being the people who were born here). They mostly live in Cambridge or Somerville, or Brighton, and some in Providence or other areas. Each person in my office that commutes like me to Providence all have families with children, and many of the people in the Boston metro do as well.


And you mean, most working adults "you know", which is coming from a very conservative relatively boring perspective. It's no wonder that's what you see.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by timberline742

And you mean, most working adults "you know", which is coming from a very conservative relatively boring perspective. It's no wonder that's what you see.

Uh, OK.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by massnative71

I do think it's good to grow up in a town with socioeconomic diversity, as long as it's not skewed too much either way. This leads to a greater resilience in and better preparation for the real world, than if one's world was limited to a town like Longmeadow.

I realize Longmeadow is wealthy for the Springfield area, but if you compare the median income to towns within commuting distance to Boston, then it's not. It has pretty much the same median income as Natick and nobody is going to tell anyone not to move to Natick because it's too wealthy.