What is Concord like as a town?

[4panthers]

Thisiswater,

In the way you described Wellesley, do you think that the majority of high school students are like this, or is it a certain group. As a teacher, I know there are particular "in" crowds that can act this way and that they exist in every town unfortunately. I wonder if the population of "in" is a larger group in Wellesley. Just wondering what your opinion is about that.

[thisiswater]

4Panthers: Wellesley is completely different from Concord-Carlisle. Wellesley is called "Stepford" and "Swellesley" for a reason. It's showy and country-clubby. Lexus to Concord's (old) Volvo. I'm generalizing, but my generalizing is accurate. Wellesley is highly influenced by tons of high-end shopping and the hew "Natick Collection" which has a Louis Vuitton store, etc. The kids I know there are simply v. materialistic. We lived in Concord for our children's HS years only -- I cannot comment on elementary education. We live in Carlisle now, in a house that is 250 years old and gorgeous. No, Carlisle is in no way inferior to Concord. As for neighborhoods: Concord has everything from smallish houses, cottages and multi-families in West Concord the part of town apart from all the tourist stuff and home to some great shops and artsy types. As for Concord proper? The highest end is Monument Street, stunning houses, acres and acres of land and v. horsey. I've never experienced a "snobby" moment in Concord or Carlisle!

Now dh and I are back to the city, though. :-)

[ogre]

Originally Posted by holden125

I had a little more respect before I found out he was buying groceries in town and walking to his parents' house for dinner frequently while he was "roughing it."

Yes, and his experiment with "roughing it" near Walden Pond for a couple of years took place on Emerson's land, and, as Brightdog points out, he kind of sponged off of Emerson's family. Then there was his essay about civil disobedience, in which he used himself as the shining example of being prepared to accept the consequences of one's acts of civil disobedience, when the reality is that for his refusal to pay his taxes he had the mild adventure of spending a night in jail before Emerson bailed him out--hardly a great sacrifice.

Basically, in general Thoreau seems to me like pretty much a hypocrite, who never grew up, and was a lot more dependent on the mainstream world he criticized in his writings than he would have had you believe. But I do think he might have held the present-day Concord citizenry in disdain, even though he was probably a lot like them in some ways. Such hypocrites seem to be the last to recognize this quality in themselves.

The ideas in his writings are worth musing about, but Thoreau himself seems to have been an unimpressive character. Even when it comes to the ideas expressed in writing, Emerson seems to have gotten a lot more into the intricacies of living life in the real world, and in my view is much more worth spending time studying as a writer and philosoper.

Anyway, 4panthers, I agree with what others have said here. I described Concord as crunchy, artsy, etc., in a relative since, being that the point of comparison was Wellesley. I'll second and third others' description of Wellesley as mainstream affluent suburban, while Concord is crunchy mainly by comparison to mainstream Wellesley. Concord also leans a bit more toward the crunchy side than Lexington, which is home to tech types and professors in various fields, but again it's relative. Concord is crunchy mainly in comparison to these other towns.

I would not think that Carlisle would be looked down on by those in Concord or anywhere else in the area. Carlisle has a reputation as an affluent town. The main point to keep in mind about Carlisle is that it has kind of a rural character. That's worth keeping in mind when thinking about your own preferences regarding whether you'd want to be able to walk to stores versus being okay with driving everywhere. Nice well-to-do town, if its rural character works for you, and not a town other towns look down on.

[Mr. Joshua]

Originally Posted by holden125

I had a little more respect before I found out he was buying groceries in town and walking to his parents' house for dinner frequently while he was "roughing it."

He wasn't the hermit people like to think he was and he apparently had many visitors.

"I think that I love society as much as most, and am ready enough to fasten myself like a bloodsucker for the time to any full-blooded man that comes in my way. I am naturally no hermit, but might possibly sit out the sturdiest frequenter of the bar-room, if my business called me thither."

"I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society. When visitors came in larger and unexpected numbers there was but the third chair for them all, but they generally economized the room by standing up. It is surprising how many great men and women a small house will contain. I have had twenty-five or thirty souls, with their bodies, at once under my roof,...."

[brightdoglover]

Not sure what "back to the earth" means. Carlisle is in no way a farmer homestead 1970s kind of thing. It's just a gorgeous, very rural area. Not sure about any main town, but you live there for the gorgeous rural spaces. Nothing anywhere near Boston (eastern Mass.) is cheap enough for any back-to-land experiments. (See Under: Bronson Alcott's failed commune in Harvard, Mass., where everyone nearly starved to death and the women did all the work).

I think there might be some people in Concord who moved over after their Cambridge years are over, and back when it was more affordable. I think that might account for a *slightly* crunchy vibe, although I also think Cambridge types would be drawn there from the historical and literary vibe.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by thisiswater

I'm generalizing, but my generalizing is accurate.

Do you have this copyrighted? Can I use it for my signature?

[ccpats]

Hi 4Panthers,
I hope it is not too late to respond. I live in Concord right near the center. Concord, I think, has more of a town feel than Acton, which, by contrast, seems to be more of a bunch of strip malls. I do grocery shopping in Concord at Crosby's or at Whole Foods in Bedford. Sometimes I go to Donelan's or Roche Bros. in Acton and sometimes Stop & Shop in Bedford. (A friend of mine always goes to Market Basket in Westford.) I would not call Concord "crunchy" but I would not call it snooty either. It has been described well in this thread. Only think I will add to help you get a feel for it -- it is my sense that people will go to the supermarket without makeup and in their sweats. I don't feel it is pretentious. The town center has some useful businesses but also a lot of boutiquey stores (some of which I shop at for clothes, others I have never been into and don't intend to go into.) The area by the depot (Thoreau St.) has some useful shops. West Concord does too.

I commute to Boston by car at odd times. When it's not rush hour I can get in to Boston in about 25 minutes, but during rush hour (leaving at 7:30 am) it often takes me about 45 min and I leave myself an hour just to be safe.

I have been happy with the schools (my kids went to Alcott). All three elementary schools are comparable and all three are very new buildings, with Willard being the newest and built "green". The middle school has good teachers and, I feel, a nice inclusive atmosphere for the kids (there are two campuses that are run as one school.) The high school has great teachers, but the facilities are a little run down and hopefully will be rebuilt.

We live in a place where kids can walk to their friends' houses, but a few friends live further away and if the child is young, would need to be driven. There are some nice neighborhoods with lots of kids near us (e.g. Independence Road area.)

There are a lot of nice places to walk in Concord -- Town Forest, Estabrooks Woods, Great Meadows, The Battle Road Minuteman National Park, White Pond, and little places here and there that are just gorgeous. There is something near almost every neighborhood, if you like the outdoors.

Carlisle is much more spread out. I think there's a zoning law that each parcel must be an acre at least or something like that so if you want land and to not be near neighbors, it's a nice place.



Hope this helps!

[kmann-sherborn]

My father-in-law and his wife and children live in town and feel the elementary school (Alcott) is very supportive. He complains good naturedly that they're "too liberal". I personally love it, though I don't love there. The things I like best are: historic nature of the town, the great walkable town center which is absolutely charming yet usable, great biking trails, and easy train access. There are definately parts of town I don't like (those that are close to Rt 2/2a - lots of noise, too close to the prison, or near that hazarous waste site). My favorite neighborhood is near the Colonial Inn. I love the homes on Lang St, Monument St, etc so you can walk to the town, library, shops, arts center, parks, etc. Either way I imagine you'd have a lot of driving to get the kids to and fro.

Carlisle is also very nice and much quieter. I imagine some people would find it feels a bit out in the middle of nowhere.

Anyhow, that's my two cents!

[hartford_renter]

How long is the commute from carlise to boston?

[ccpats]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

How long is the commute from carlise to boston?

It depends where one lives in Carlisle, but I would guess about 10 or 15 minutes longer than from Concord Center. Depending where they live, some people who live in Carlisle may not need to go through Concord to get to Boston (they would go through Bedford.)

I don't think anyone has mentioned that there are two commuter rail stops in Concord (near Concord Center and in West Concord). It is approximately a 25 minute train ride to Porter Station in Cambridge where one can catch the Red Line subway (the "T") to Cambridge and Boston. Porter is one stop from Harvard Square. It is about a 40 minute train ride from Concord Center to North Station in Boston. But if you are going to a different part of downtown Boston or Cambridge, by the time you change from train to subway, it could take a total of an hour to get there.