More info on Beverly please (Norwood: affordable houses, neighborhoods, middle school)

[kristenethom]

I would love some more information on Beverly from those who may live there. Specifically, which areas and schools are most desirable and if there are any areas to avoid. I have two small children and am searching online at this point for homes in the area. I think I like the Cove area the best. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[RMP059]

Beverly is nice, one of my favorite No. Shore towns. Lots of nice restaurants, and it is large by NS standards and has lots of different feels. The Cove area is a really nice part of Beverly. I have a freind with a couple young kids who lives there and he loves it. Beverly Farms is very upscale but kind of snooty. Actually, strike the "kind of", it's snooty.

The only area I would avoid around the railroad tracks downtown, to the west of Rantoul St and the Rantoul St. area in general. A little sketchy there. But very little. Some good restaurants in that area even so, Harry's 240 is good, Wild Horse Cafe up around the corner on Cabot. And a great deli, Glorias. It's really not bad, just not as nice as other parts of Beverly.

I don't think you can go too wrong in Beverly.

[jake786]

---lived in Beverly for 25 years---

I agree that you can't really go wrong in Beverly aside from downtown off of Rantoul/Cabot. In my opinion, North Beverly is the nicest part of Beverly. The elementary school is walkable and there are tons of affordable houses. 300-500K range for 2-3 bedrooms. There are tons of nice quiet sidestreets off of Dodge St (Putnam, Norwood, Roy, Oakhurst, Berrywood, Red Rock, Elnew, Wirling etc) plus Enon St has become quite the bustling downtown with a Starbucks, Bank of America etc... not to mention all the great sub and roast beef shops.

I also like Cove, quick access to Lynch Park is nice, but not as much as I like N. Beverly. And I also like Centerville, but the homes tend to run slightly higher and are slightly bigger. They are newer houses in more of a planned community sense. Not as quaint, but still very nice if you have the money.

[jake786]

one quick edit to my last post..- you can also find nice houses in N. Beverly for under the 300-500K estimate I stated earlier

[kristenethom]

Thanks for the tips. I am planning on driving around all of these areas. Does anyone know about the schools. Good rep/bad rep?? It looks like they almost closed two schools this year due to budget problems.

[jake786]

yes, they closed the better public middle school which is too bad. The one that is left "Briscoe" really isn't that great. As for elementary schools, North Beverly and Centerville I think are best, but most others are very good too. There are private schools in teh area too.

Can anyone with younger children help add to this?

[luvmyguys]

Beverly did close one school, McKeown that unfortunately directly affected our family. We have settled nicely into North Beverly school and have no complaints other than it is "not McKeown" but I am sure you know how that goes. Change is good and bad. There is a very good possibility Cove could close in the next few years if the economy doesn't turn around, hopefully it will and we can keep Cove School in our community. My oldest child was affected by the middle school closing and did quite well with all students in one school. He is now in High School and continues to do well in the Beverly Public Schools. Having all these budget issues going on around town, I still would not move out. I think it is just a sign of the times. As far as neighborhoods, I would agree with previous posters. Centerville tends to have more "subdivisions" where the rest of the city has more of that old new england/norman rockwell feel to it. I say as long as you avoid the down town area, you'll do fine. Good luck

Originally Posted by jake786

yes, they closed the better public middle school which is too bad. The one that is left "Briscoe" really isn't that great. As for elementary schools, North Beverly and Centerville I think are best, but most others are very good too. There are private schools in teh area too.

Can anyone with younger children help add to this?