Texas to Boston area move, family of 4 (Newton, Framingham: insurance, neighborhood)

[CaseyB]

This is the video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBgXqT25NeA

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by Partial Observer

Hingham doesn't check the "diversity" box by any measure. But in fairness, no one who asks for diversity on this really wants it -- at least not at the expense of top-rated schools and neighbors with very high incomes.

I will strongly agree that Hingham is not diverse, and the attitudes of many of the people I know who live there are inclined in that direction.

I do believe that it is positive that people are stating that diversity is something that is important in their decision about where to live. However cultural and racial diversity are often quite different that economic diversity, which really frightens people.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

This is the video:

The Burberry scarf is too perfect there.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by Partial Observer

Hingham doesn't check the "diversity" box by any measure. But in fairness, no one who asks for diversity on this really wants it -- at least not at the expense of top-rated schools and neighbors with very high incomes.

Whenever diversity makes an appearance on one of these priority lists (and it usually does), I can't help but think of the jingle, "One of these things is not like the others..."

It seems impossible to ask for "liberal" or "left leaning" areas and not also ask for diversity. I usually take diversity in that sense to mean "I want to live by people who also say they want diversity" but aren't poor or anything. In Massachusetts this almost always mean Asian and Asian-American in practice.

[CaseyB]

I wish people would specify what they mean by "diversity". I know there was one forum poster who kept insisting on it but she wouldn't tell us even after being asked multiple times.

[turf3]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

I wish people would specify what they mean by "diversity". I know there was one forum poster who kept insisting on it but she wouldn't tell us even after being asked multiple times.

Yeah, if everyone around you is from late 20s to late 40s, family income over $150k, one to four school age children with which they are obsessed, that is not diversity even if substantial numbers of these neighbors are African American, Hispanic, Asian Indian, East Asian, African immigrants, and white.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

I'm torn about this issue -- while I can see the benefits, especially when one is not familiar with the area, moving is indeed a huge expense and a huge hassle. But, the key is that OP has two children, aged 10 and 6. I moved a few years back, when my kids were 6 and 11. It was traumatic enough for the kids to move away from their home, school, and friends, and getting them established up here was a big priority. I think it would have been extra traumatic to move up here, get them in school and into a new community, and then move again right after they became established here. I figured that even if we did rent first, what we'd end up doing was limiting ourselves even more, since then we'd want to live in whatever town we were in, in the same school system. So, I definitely did not want to move twice, even though I would have considered it if I moved up here before kids or with preschool aged kids.

(Also, we had a corporate move, and they'd pay for us to move up here, store our stuff for a short time, and pay for closing costs, but they wouldn't pay for that second move, so it really would have been an expense we didn't want.)

I was lucky when I moved to this area - my company paid for my stuff to go into storage for a few months and put me up in a furnished apartment while I looked. That worked out great. I wound up moving to Newburyport and have never moved since. I would not have come on Newburyport in a quick search - it struck me as too far from Cambridge when the relocation person I worked with kept pointing to it on the map as they heard me discuss what I liked and visited other towns with me that I ultimately passed on. Eventually I went up there with her and was convinced, but that took a couple of months of looking (part time).

As far as the expense goes, the hiring company will certainly pay for the long distance move, and the second move is just a local one - it won't be that expensive, probably a few thousand dollars. If you bought a $900,000 house and decide you made a mistake and want to move - that's $45,000 dollars for the realtor's fee alone.

Of course, I was single when I moved to this area, and the kids may be upset by the move with the social situation at school changing twice in a year. There is no perfect solution, I think, and I am not saying that what was best for me will be best for someone else. The OP needs to discuss it with her fam and make the best choice for them.

[G-fused]

Originally Posted by SalamanderSmile

As an Austin/SanFrancisco-esque person myself I think Hingham would be a misery. It is very concerned with affluence and the trappings of affluence in a way that much of greater Boston is not. Google-up some Hingham streetview and you will see more Mercedes than Toyotas, which in some parts of the country would just be a normal sign of affluence, but -get this- in greater Boston it is actually frowned upon to demonstrate your wealth in that ostentatious a manner. There is something about Hingham, and I don't know what it is. Maybe "late to the party fishing town turns fancy" ? But Hingham is really really focused on outwards demonstrations of wealth. It is also an island of affluence so maybe they feel like they have to "represent" to keep out the filthy hoardes.

I know you would love to be on the ocean, and you need a south station commute. You have to decide if the ocean is more important than living amidst more like-minded people. Arlington has great connection to the redline for a commute directly to south station and Newton has the commuter rail to south station. Both are better suited to you, if less exotic, than Hingham.

I don't know much about the south shore but I imagine there are more down-to-earth choices than Hingham without going full townie.

I agree about Hingham and it's show of affluence and also agree that the Boston area isn't a place where that is a thing. It's one of the things I like about Boston.

I'll add however that Newton (and a couple other towns West of Boston) has some of that too. Newton is closer to the city so I don't think has as much of that as Hingham, but still.

[Boston Shudra]

To the people recommending Newton, remember that one of the OP’s requirements is a school system that is good but not “pressure cooker-esq”, one where her kids can learn a lot without being in an uber-competitive environment.

And maybe times have changed, but I’ve always thought of Newton as having one of those really over-the-top school systems. Remember it was only 4 years ago that 3 Newton high school students committed suicide.

Hopefully the town has made reforms since then, but still...

[jbasser]

Originally Posted by Partial Observer

Hingham doesn't check the "diversity" box by any measure. But in fairness, no one who asks for diversity on this really wants it -- at least not at the expense of top-rated schools and neighbors with very high incomes.

Whenever diversity makes an appearance on one of these priority lists (and it usually does), I can't help but think of the jingle, "One of these things is not like the others..."

Fair. I should check myself for that comment. Thank you for pointing it out. Scratch the diversity comment. I want good schools, nice house, decent people who are interested in talking about something other than Trump, Bahamas or the Tory Burch sale. I’ve been a nurse for 20+ years so truly think people are just people.

I really just need to get on a plane and check it out. Thank you for all the feedback!