Lexington,MA (Boston, Acton, Concord: hair salon, rentals, houses)

[dae]

Hi-
I am thinking of moving to Lexington, MA. Can anyone tell me which elementary shools are the best as well as what the town is like. Also, how long is the commute to Charlestown? Thanks

[puffle]

Lived in Lexington for a year and loved it. As for elementary schools, any of them are fine. Go to greatschools.net for more info. The town has a great recreation center for all sports including hockey and ice skating, swimming and a gym. There are two large super markets (stop and shop) and a lovely downtown area with clothing stores,book store,restaurants, lots of banks,hair salons, ice cream, video rentals, and a wonderful library. You have to pay for metered parking all through the town, even in the parking lots an library which was new and annoying to me. No dunkin donuts, but a Peet's and Starbuck's doors from each other. My son went to Diamond Middle School which is very academic and a good precursor to Lexington High if you remain in town that long. It is expensive in most standards. There is a Newcomer's Club which was very friendly and a few churches and temples in town. Good luck to you.

[smarty]

[quote=puffle;272933] No dunkin donuts, but a Peet's and Starbuck's doors from each other. QUOTE]

No dunkin donuts No way!
I recall at least 2-3 dunkin donuts. May be just not downtown.

[smarty]

Originally Posted by dae

Hi-
I am thinking of moving to Lexington, MA. Can anyone tell me which elementary shools are the best as well as what the town is like. Also, how long is the commute to Charlestown? Thanks

They are all good... the controversy principal went to Sudbury.

It may be the shortest but the longest commute. I think the towns are only about 6 miles apart. Yet, it probably take you 45+min. It may be faster for you to go 95N and back down 93S than the local roads.

Good luck.

[zarroc]

I grew up in bedford, the town right next to lexington.

Lexington is richer than bedford, a lot of houses there are million dollar houses. It's right next to route 128, and without traffic it's about 20 minutes to boston. It would probably take about 45 minutes to get to charlestown. Don't count on there not being traffic though, and it will probably take a long time to find a parking space.

Lexington has a nice little town center with some good places to shop and a small movie theater. As a kid I used to go the lexington playground that was next to the track, it's different than other playgrounds because it's like a big maze. Almost like chuck e cheeses except free. Every 4th of july in that area there's fireworks and a carnival. The lexington library is nice, but I like the bedford library better. The bedford library has a lot more movies, and they have a small gallery with art from local artists.

On the bad side, the kids from lexington can be pretty snobby. The schools there are competitive, it's the kind of environment that turns kids into jerks.

[vendela]

Originally Posted by dae

Hi-
I am thinking of moving to Lexington, MA. Can anyone tell me which elementary shools are the best as well as what the town is like. Also, how long is the commute to Charlestown? Thanks

The FISKE Elementary is regarded as the top elem. in the town of Lexington although they are all considered very good--Fiske stands out in ratings, test scroes, etc. When we checked out elementary schools this one really stood out as great (hard to put your finger on exactly why but lotsa reasons) The fiske also has a completely new school building that was completed in February 2007. It's QUITE NICE!

The commute to charlestown is tricky and depends on the time of day but you could make it in about 45 minutes most mornings but occasionally you'll hit crazy traffic and have a 90 min commute but I guess that's the story everywhere in the Boston area. As a relative newcomer to Lexington I can say we are very pleased with the town and found that it offers more than anticipated in terms of both abstract and literal aspects.

[JxA]

I have alot of knowledge of Lexington and it's schools. There are many schools in the region that are as good or better; Lexington schools are way overrated.
If you can afford it, look at the towns of Weston/Lincoln/Carlisle and possibly Concord- these are the public schools in the area that are like the best private schools. Acton is also a good choice.
Over many decades, Lexington has become a tense, densely developed town/city interspersed with neglected conservation lands. It is a popular choice for imigrants from other countries and people from other parts of the country that are not familiar with this area. There are several ethnic enclaves in town.
There are many tense political/religious conflicts in town.

[badluck]

I am curious what the tension consists of and what the dynamic may be. What ethnicities are emmigrating to Lexington and, in your opinion, what does it do to/for the town's personality and climate? I understand if you would prefer to tell me in a private message if your answer may not be politically correct but I am interested in your view of Lexington.

[momoffive]

Originally Posted by dae

Hi-
I am thinking of moving to Lexington, MA. Can anyone tell me which elementary shools are the best as well as what the town is like. Also, how long is the commute to Charlestown? Thanks

hi, if you are commuting to charlestown, then your best bet might be anywhere along 93 then just when you are about to hit traffic going into boston, you would get off at the charlestown exit. some of the towns on 93 or 93 to 128 are: north reading, reading, melrose, stoneham, lynnfield, andover, north andover.....

[puffle]

Originally Posted by badluck

I am curious what the tension consists of and what the dynamic may be. What ethnicities are emmigrating to Lexington and, in your opinion, what does it do to/for the town's personality and climate? I understand if you would prefer to tell me in a private message if your answer may not be politically correct but I am interested in your view of Lexington.

This is news to me! I didn't see any of what JxA speaks of. In fact, to me it very All-American except for a few people from India. Didn't experience any tension, political or otherwise. Where and when did this all take place, while I was sleeping? I loved Lexington and found it to be a beautiful New England town.