Neighborhoods in Winchester/Lexington/Belmont (Cambridge, Billerica: homes, to buy, middle school)

[TheWereRabbit]

Originally Posted by holden125

I like hills as well and grew up on one in a couple of different places but I think the Flats is a beautiful area. I don't like endless grid-based suburbs sprawling across western deserts either, but I don't see the Flats in the same way. The grid is only 6 blocks long or so and the architecture and flora alone make it different from something like Phoenix.

There are similar areas in New Haven that I've always liked a lot.

Ya, that is completely true. I didn't mean to hate on the Flats too much. It reminds me more of Chicago suburbs than somewhere like Phoenix I guess. I was in Evanston, IL once and I felt like I was in a Flats that never ended, and I still thought it was a cool town.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by TheWereRabbit

Ya, that is completely true. I didn't mean to hate on the Flats too much. It reminds me more of Chicago suburbs than somewhere like Phoenix I guess. I was in Evanston, IL once and I felt like I was in a Flats that never ended, and I still thought it was a cool town.

I kind of like Evanston, which is one big Flats. Oak Park, IL too. They are all from the same era in the 20's, which was a pretty good era for American residential architecture. I vastly prefer that kind of neighborhood to the curving suburban streets that came later. Stuff like Willowbrook Drive, Kristin Rd, and Tulip Way. If they weren't naming the streets for their kids, they were naming them for whatever feature of the local landscape had just been permanently obliterated to make room for the 5-BR houses.

[elisemarie]

Thank you for the great information!!!

Since it seems like you both really know Wichester well, I'm wondering if you could comment on the general "vibe" of the town...conservative? liberal? or a real mix? A balance of stay-at-home parents and 2 career couples or it is mostly nannies? Academics, business people or a mix? How would it compare to Lexington and Belmont?

Thanks so much!!!

[lightblue]

Originally Posted by elisemarie

Hi -

I am wondering about three very specific neighborhoods in three different towns: Lexington - Monroe Hill; Belmont - Belmont Hill; Winchester - The Flats.

How do those neighborhoods compare to eachother in terms of friendliness? Small kids living in the neighborhood (we have two young children)? Overall old-fashioned neighborliness?

Also, separate question re: Lexington...how do Bowman and Fiske compare to eachother in terms of reputation? Does anyone have any first hand knowledge about Lexington Montessori School?

Thanks

My sister has two children that both attended Fiske, actually one still does, and she can't say enough good things about it. The kids are great kids, have good friendships from the school, and seem to be extremely articulate and well rounded (am I biased ) My sister worked as a director in another school district and has a master's degree in education etc. so she is VERY picky and on top of these things. They love Lexington overall but absolutely wanted their kids to go to Fiske so bought in that district specifically.

i have friends with a son at lexington montessori. Now they say it is a very good school and they are happy with it and do not want to remove him now that he's been there a while BUT, and this is a big BUT, they probably wouldn't do it again mainly because of the high price. Also their son doesn't have the gaggle of friends that kids usually have after school and from school. He goes to school with kids from all over so when he goes home he doesn't have too many kids to play with unless they drive half an hour away to an arranged play afternoon. They live in Watertown and weren't happy with the elementary schools so they sent him to the Montessori but wish now that they had moved to a better public district instead. They could easily have afforded Lexington or another town but they renovated their Watertown house and thought they would never want to leave but now they are looking for another house and wish they had done all this four years ago.

Hope this helps! Why do you ask btw???

[lightblue]

Lexington LPPTA is extremely well attended and offers a lot of supportive events and activities for moms with young children. it's a great way to meet new friends. The newcomers club in

lexington is the most welcoming and best I have come across.

The town center is bustling with people and the many restaurants are full and lively wed - sat pretty much. whoever said it is not a walkers downtown must not have been there recently. It's very busy, clean and I particularly like their double-wide brick sidewalks lined with teak benches and bike parking. with the bike path running adjacent to the length of the downtown area it's very convenient. very pretty downtown with a lot of new shops going in soon because a the large Battle green motel was torn down and new construction is going up in its place.

lots of new things underway.

[TheWereRabbit]

Originally Posted by elisemarie

Since it seems like you both really know Wichester well, I'm wondering if you could comment on the general "vibe" of the town...conservative? liberal? or a real mix? A balance of stay-at-home parents and 2 career couples or it is mostly nannies? Academics, business people or a mix? How would it compare to Lexington and Belmont?

Winchester is definitely liberal in comparison with the rest of the United States but when compared to the surrounding towns it is actually pretty conservative. Basically, this means 60% vote Democrat as opposed to 80%. Winchester definitely doesn't have the liberal vibe of some other towns of similar demographics (Lexington being the best example). It has a pretty solid mix of political views, most of the conservative folks being more concerned with keeping their money than with social issues. I grew up in Winchester and am 19 now and I would say most people I know from the town would describe themselves as "liberal" but that could also be a youth thing. There are a lot of retired people who come out in droves to vote down overrides but overrides seem to be an issue in most towns from what I have heard. Overall, I would say "a real mix".

There is certainly a solid mix of stay-at-home moms and 2 career couples. It seems a decent percentage of women don't work when their children are young and as they begin going to school they get back into work. There are also a lot of women that work full-time. Chalk another one up for "a real mix". If you are planning on not working I am sure you will meet plenty of other mothers (and maybe some fathers too, gotta be PC) in the same situation, especially living in the flats, which is definitely a family area. There is probably some organization to meet each other like other people have discussed in regards to other towns but that's really not something I know anything about.

As far as people's area of work goes I would say it is a pretty good mix with business people winning out. It certainly doesn't seem to have the amount of academic people as Lexington, but there is still a presence. Overall, I would say Winchester is just less known than Lexington, so Cambridge ex-pat professors who probably grew up elsewhere wouldn't be as quick to look to Winchester. I would say the occupational mix is much closer to Belmont. In addition to what I previously said, Belmont and Winchester also have more middle and working class people than Lexington. Though they are both considered very well-off towns they have a decent mix, so I would say you'll find more blue-collar workers in Winchester than Lexington and probably even more in Belmont. Then again, in the neighborhoods you are looking you will almost certainly find none. Speaking of the Flats specifically: I just remembered that a guy who lived there won the noble prize last year. So, it doesn't get a whole lot more "academic" than that. If you go to each towns page on city-data you can see the break-down of most common industries and most common occupations. Here's Winchester's: Winchester, Massachusetts (MA) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news

Hope some of that helped. Let me know if you have any more questions. When away from home, It's always fun to think about it.

[4panthers]

I am currently looking for a house in either Winchester or Lexington. I have lived in Winchester Center, but I am now looking for a house in the Flats. I am a stay-at-home-Mom as well. Winchester is a fabulous community with lots of at-home moms. We like the Flats location with the sidewalks for riding bikes and because kids can walk from one house to another to see friends. I know all about Winchester! It's great for commuting downtown by car or train.

Have you looked at Wellesley?

[elisemarie]

Yes - and I have friends that live in Wellesley too. My concern with Wellesley is based on the fact that it seems as though there are a lot of nannies (and not as many stay-at-home moms) and that it just seems a little "stepford" - there's a real "same-ness" that I've found in Wellesley and we're just looking for something a little bit more "interesting". But I love the center, the housing stock, schools and location of Wellesley - it certainly is a wonderful community!

If you don't mind my asking, why are you looking at Lexington? How do you think it compares to Winchester?

[4panthers]

We are looking at Lexington as an alternative for the reason of activities for kids. Also, the high school is a consideration. We absolutely love Winchester, but we are wondering if there are more town amenities for kids (public pool, art and music programs). The two towns are difficult to compare. They are both great. Winchester has the Fells which is wonderful for hiking and running. The small town feel of Winchester can't be beat. It's the closest one can be to Boston with the feeling of "small town". If I were to stay in Winchester, which is very likely, we would concentrate on the Flats. We are exploring Lexington to see if the town is just a bigger version of Winchester.

We may take a look at Wellesley, for all of the great aspects, but it doesn't feel quite the same as Lexington or Winchester. Belmont Hill has a similar feel, but the area is much smaller and more urban.

Are you leaning one way or the other?

[4panthers]

I am interested to see if Lexington has a large stay at home mom group as well. Winchester really does have a large population.

I think the town center of Winchester is great. Picture perfect. To live within a walk to the center is fantastic with children. I have two little ones, and they love walking to get an ice cream, morning Starbucks, bookstore, toy store. There is a Whole Foods on Route 3, about 5 minutes away. The library is fabulous too. There are some great recreation activities for the little ones, though not nearly as extensive as in Lexington. There is a great summer camp for kids, a town pond, tennis courts, and soccer. A music school is in town too. It seems, though, that Lexington offers more through the teenage years too. We are just looking ahead a bit.