Neighborhoods in Winchester/Lexington/Belmont (Boston, Franklin: buying a house, buying, private schools)

[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

[brightdoglover]

Sorry, I don't know anything about schools, but I'd be hard-pressed to think of a not-great neighborhood in any of those towns. I think Belmont Hill is an elite neighborhood in a high-end town, a great town.

[elisemarie]

I ask about Belmont Hill because we've been looking at homes there and I never see anyone out and about like I do in some of the other neighborhoods in Belmont. Ditto Monroe Hill in Lexington. I'm used to seeing people walking their dogs, strollers w/babies, kids playgrounds set up in yards along with balls, toys, etc but both Belmont Hill and Monroe Hill look "dead" - beautiful homes but no signs of life. Is that b/c there are few kids with young families living there?

I ask about "the Flats" in Winchester because - while we have not been looking there - it seems to be a neighborhood w/pretty homes but I know nothing about the Flats area - what makes it so special?

[jayrandom]

My wife and I lived in the southern part of Belmont and would occasionally take long walks up and down Belmont Hill and I agree with your assessment that there really aren't many people walking dogs, strollers, kids, or much of anything. In fact, the sidewalk coverage is minimal at best up there. I got the impression that Belmont Hill was more a place for quiet isolation near the city than an active, family-oriented neighborhood. It is quite pretty for taking walks, though, even if you're the only one and you have to jump off the road for passing cars.
Good luck in your search!

[elisemarie]

Anyone know how family friendly Monroe Hill is in Lexington?

[airedaly]

The entire town of Lexington is family friendly. I can't imagine one street being less friendly than another in this town, but you always take your chances buying a house when it comes to neighbors. Monroe Hill is a very attractive area with all type of families and it's a great location, close to the Center. Spend one day this weekend walking around the neighborhood and find out how friendly people are.

[elisemarie]

Airedaly -

Maybe we've been looking at houses at the wrong times but several streets w/in the Monroe Hill area have been devoid of any activity - no walkers/joggers/kids. It's just seemed really quiet and really dead! I thought that given its proximity to the Center that more people would be out and about on foot but we haven't seen that to be the case.

[smarty]

Originally Posted by elisemarie

I ask about Belmont Hill because we've been looking at homes there and I never see anyone out and about like I do in some of the other neighborhoods in Belmont. Ditto Monroe Hill in Lexington. I'm used to seeing people walking their dogs, strollers w/babies, kids playgrounds set up in yards along with balls, toys, etc but both Belmont Hill and Monroe Hill look "dead" - beautiful homes but no signs of life. Is that b/c there are few kids with young families living there?

Gees... most neighbor complain about other people's yard with all those stuff on it... Belmont hill is an exclusive area. They may be vacationing in a different part of the world. If you love golf... Belmont Country Club (cost $20+K to join?) is a very nice club. Also, what time did you stroll through the neighborhood? I hope is not a weekday morning...

[airedaly]

I live on another 'hill' in Lexington and during the day, there is practically nobody around. I take frequent walks and rarely meet people, except on weekends. These days, most families leave the house in the AM and return for dinner. If you're a stay-at-home parent, it's best to form your own group. That's what I did when my kids were very young and that group of mothers still gets together for lunch.

The most noise these days is from lawn services with their leaf blowers. I dread opening my windows because of the daily scream from their machines.

[elisemarie]

Thanks for the insights!

Airedaley - since you live in Lexington can you tell me a little more about the people? I know that you can not stereotype any town but one thing our realtor has said (in part b/c I think she's more comfortable selling Belmont vs Lexington because that's what she knows!) is that Lexington has a lot of academics (Harvard, MIT, etc) while Belmont has more folks in business and "regular folks". Another friend said that Belmont has a lot more stay-at-home parents than Lexington.

Again, I know it's hard to generalize but the town we live in now has so many stay-at-home moms that there is a 300-member moms club and there are always parents w/kids to do something with. Kids play outside and most neighborhoods are pretty active - even during the week. I noticed that neither Lexington nor Belmont has a Moms Club (and Belmont doesn't even have a Newcomers Club...Lexington does...) We are trying to find a great public school system near a walkable town center (don't want to drive for everything) that has activities for the "dying breed" of stay-at-home moms w/young children . I know that both Bel and Lex meet the first two criteria but I'm wondering if we have a better chance of finding stay-at-home parents in other towns???

We really like the town where we are now except for the fact that we have to drive everywhere and the schools are solid but not great and access to private schools is limited. Other than those two biggies, the town is friendly, extremely active and whatever family structure you have (stay-at-home or 2-career) there is something for everyone (the town is Franklin). People are actually out and about in their yards, the playgrounds, walking, shopping during the weekdays. I love that. I know that by moving closer to Boston we'll get lower car-dependency and better public schools and greater access to all sorts of private schools. But I'm wondering if the lack of Newcomers Club and/or Moms club says something about what I and my two young kids may experience on a day-to-day basis.

Our budget is up to $2M so we have some financially flexibility but we're just spinning our wheels in terms of feeling really good about either town from a fit perspective...advice please!!!