Looking for help in relocating to MA (Boston, Bridgewater: spring break, credit)

[HelloE]

Hi -

We are considering a move to MA from South FL. My husband has a job offer in Raynham. We are looking for a home ideally about a 30 minute commute north west of Raynham. Could you recommend some family friendly, well run strong community, top school district (we have a K and pre-K) with high parent involvement areas. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[lrfox]

^Though not north or west, Assonet and Lakeville are very pretty, family friendly, good schools and well run. They're also a little more affordable than what's closer to Boston but they're within 10-15 minutes of Raynham. If you want more information, Direct Message me and I can put you in contact with town officials (both run by boards of selectmen) and school comittee members who could provide you with much more detailed information.

North and West... Easton, Mansfield, Norton, Bridgewater, and others fit your description. I wouldn't count Assonet or Lakeville out until you check them out first.

[HelloE]

Thanks for the quick response and offer. I checked the areas that you listed on greatschools.net and they are not ranked very high. Do you think they are reflected correctly on greatschools.net? 2 cities that are rated 10 are Sharon and Medfield but I am not sure how the commute is to Raynham. Any thoughts on these towns as well?

We will be visiting the area during the kid's Spring break so we will definitely look into all the areas you mentioned. Thanks again!
Raynham, MA West Bridgewater, MA Bridgewater, MA Bridgewater South, MA South Easton, MA <Assonet, MA Norton, MA North Easton, MA Lakeville, MA East Bridgewater, MA

[lrfox]

^Sharon and Medfield have EXCELLENT schools. Not only some of the best in Massachusetts; but some of the best in the nation. There are few school districts in the state that can beat those two. The commute from Sharon and Medfield is doable, but not particularly close. You would be pushing your 30 minute mark and with traffic (which there frequently is on 27, 24, 138 and 495), you would likely exceed that.

As far as the school rankings on greatschools.net, I don't think I would argue with that. 7/10 is pretty good, though not as good as Sharon or Medfield (or some others in the closer Boston suburbs). For the record, Assonet (which is the Western half of the town of Freetown) is part of the Lakeville school district so the rankings reflect both towns (in fact, they share the same intermediate, middle and high schools). The facilities are all relatively new (Freetown elementary, Apponequet High, and G.R. Austin Intermediate have had thourough renovations in the past 8 years and Freetown-Lakeville Middle School is less than 7 years old), and the staff is pretty decent. Parents are VERY much involved with their children as Assonet and Lakeville are mostly White-Collar communites (East Freetown is more Blue Collar). All of the schools are fully accredited and their test scores are all well above state and national averages. Even MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) scores, which many people in MA disregard as being too difficult and strict for students, are higher in the school system.

I would personally give the school system an 8/10 but I really wouldn't arge with 7/10. It's a really good school system, but I wouldn't put it in the same category as places like Sharon, Medfield, or Sudbury. Everyone is different and has different expectations from their schools, but I wouldn't let the numbers on that website scare you away from at least looking into those towns.

the city data information page on Lakeville provides similar numbers to what greatschools.net provides:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Lakevi...achusetts.html

North Easton is ranked 9/10 on that site and I can attest that it's also a really good school system and the commute to Easton is a bit more reasonable than Sharon or Medfield. To the East (though again, pushing your 30 minute commute limit), Duxbury and Marshfield are ranked 8 or higher and truly are good school systems.

hope you find what you're looking for!
good luck.

[CaseyB]

So much of it depends on what you want to spend for housing. If you could give us an idea, we could probably target communties around that area with the better/towns schools in your price range.

[smarty]

so many helicopter parents... Black Hawk parents...

Kids are so lucky nowadays... I had a neighbor one time bought his son a Ferrari when he graduated from college. No wonder kids do not want to move out of the house.

Oops... I digress...
Basically top school systems (ie high scores) correlate well with high family income and parent education level. If a kid is not doing well in school, there is always $100/hr tutors.

[HelloE]

Hi - we're by no means trying to keep with the Jones'. We are looking to find the best education out there for our kids within reason. Our max on housing would be about $500,000.

Irfox -What would you expect the commute to be from Medfield or Sharon?

Thanks again for all your inputs!

[lrfox]

^I would say that on a clear day you can do Medfield to Raynham in about 35-40 minutes. Most likely during the week it could take anywhere from 5 minutes longer to 30 minutes longer depending on traffic congestion which can get bad on I-495 and I-95 (the primary highways you would travel to get there).

Sharon to Raynham would be right about 30-35 minutes on a clear day. Again, since you'd be using pretty much the same route, the commute during the week is subject to traffic on 495 an 95. When you come up to visit, I would consider driving the route to see how you feel about it. Like I said, it'll be pushing the 30 minute limit you set, but if you like the schools that much it may be worth it.