What is Concord like as a town? (Boston, Cambridge: fit in, brokers)

[4panthers]

What are the schools like? I know there are 3 elementary schools. Is Alcott the favorite? The people and general feel of the town? i keep hearing that it is old money and a little snobby (like Wellesley a bit), but I don't really see that. Am I missing something? It's difficult to get a sense because there are so many tourists.

[ogre]

I'm not familiar with the individual schools in Concord, but the system as a whole seems to be well regarded. Old money? I'm not sure. There may be some old blue-bloods sacattered around Concord, but I don't get the sense that they define the town's character. It is a very affluent town, though, home to many well-to-do professionals. If Concord has a reputation for snootiness, I have not heard this, while I do hear sometimes that Wellesley has this reputation, though I always like to keep in mind the distinction between reputation and reality. It's possible that all a town needs is affluence for some people to assume it's a snooty place.

Concord differs from Wellesley in a couple of ways. First, Wellesley residents on the whole seem to be a fairly mainstream group of well-to-do professionals. Concord has plenty of people like this as well, but also has a reputation for leaning to the left politically in a sort of artsy back-to-nature kind of way, with its share residents who might be somewhat like would-be latter-day Thoreaus, though still within the context of a culture of modern-day professionals Thoreau probably would have viewed with some disdain.

The towns are physically different as well. Wellesley is significantly closer to Boston than Concord, and has a very suburban character. Nice, affluent suburban, but suburban--sidewalks, streets roughly in a grid pattern, two commercial districts along a street that parallels a commuter rail line. I don't know enough of Wellesley's history to be sure, but from the look of the town, I'd guess that it first gained prominence years ago as an affluent railroad suburb. Concord is exurban. This may not be so true of Concord itself, but the general area where Concord is located is apple orchard country. There is some moderate population density around the downtown, and the secondary commercial district in West Concord, and the rest of the town is woods, fields, ponds, and winding roads, with some houses widely scattered throughout.

So . . . affluent, exurban, proffesionals with an artsy element, good schools . . . Concord in a nutshell.

[4panthers]

Thanks, Ogre! Do you have comments about how Concord compares to Lexington? Schools, people, general feeling of the town, etc.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by ogre

though still within the context of a culture of modern-day professionals Thoreau probably would have viewed with some disdain.

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."

[holden125]

Originally Posted by 4panthers

Thanks, Ogre! Do you have comments about how Concord compares to Lexington? Schools, people, general feeling of the town, etc.

Lexington is left-leaning too but less crunchy. It's a pretty intellectual place but doesn't quite have that writer/Thoreau legacy. But there are a lot of professor and scientist types to go along with your doctors, lawyers, and stockbrokers.

It's more diverse than Concord; there are significant Asian and Jewish populations in town, and a decent number of professionals originally from places like Europe or Israel. A lot of professor and scientist types to go along with your doctors, lawyers, and stockbrokers.

Lexington is between Concord and Wellesley on the suburban-exurban scale. While Wellesley was developed more deliberately as a high-end suburb earlier in the 20th century (and the train was the main motivator), Lexington remained a bit more rural (no train station) and had a big population boom in the 50's and 60's, when the interstates went up. Today it's more densely populated than Concord, but less filled in than Wellesley and certainly less filled in than towns nearer to Boston such as Arlington.

I say "filled in" because Lexington appears to follow the typical pattern of towns once you get more than 10 miles or so from Boston. There was a center at which a series of rural roads going to all corners of the town converged. Suburban development has tended to consist of isolated little "neighborhoods" with a few streets built off these older main roads. There are more such developments in Lexington than Concord.

Because of when the town started to grow, there are a good number of ranch houses and other types that were popular between 1955 and 1975. Split levels? All this is sort built around Colonial Lexington, and in more recent decades the newer houses have tended to be colonial-style. In my personal opinion, while it's clearly a nice town, it's not as aesthetically unspoiled as Concord or as coherent (or attractive) as Wellesley. Sociologically, I'd prefer Lexington to Wellesley, but that's just me.

Schools are strong, pretty demanding, and offer a lot of activity options. Overall I think the town has a pretty active community life. Commute to Boston can be tougher. Though it's closer, there's no train. You have to drive, or drive to Alewife, or deal with buses, or go to Anderson Woburn, or do something that invariably makes it a bit less convenient.

[4panthers]

Thanks Holden125. Wow. That's pretty helpful. You seem to know a lot about these towns. Is Concord mostly "crunchy"? I don't mind liberal, but I'm not really the crunch type. I do like the way Lexington is set up as a town with a nice center and winding road, but I don't like the houses. There are too many McMansions mixed with post war bungalows. (I know there is a high end in Lexington, very historic, but that's a bit out of my price range and not reality. The neigborhoods lack uniformity or at least an "established" look. I guess Wellesley has that, but then it's also a bit more urban. Would you say Winchester was a bridge b/w Concord and Lexington? Someplace in the middle? I know it has a cute center and nice neighborhoods, but I am unsure about the schools, the high school especially. Would you know anything about Winchester? Thanks again.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by 4panthers

Would you say Winchester was a bridge b/w Concord and Lexington? Someplace in the middle? I know it has a cute center and nice neighborhoods, but I am unsure about the schools, the high school especially. Would you know anything about Winchester? Thanks again.

For a brief moment in time, I was a citizen of Winchester, the nicest town in Massachusetts that's always overlooked.

To me Winchester is somewhat similar to Wellesley in look. I can't say I consider Wellesley all that urban except for Route 9 running through it, which is nothing like the rest of Wellesley, but I'm a city person myself. I suppose you mean more filled-in suburb instead of country lane exurban like Concord.

Winchester is, with the possible exception of west of Route 3 nearer to Lexington, not nearly as rural as Concord (though it does have the Fells). That area, though, is farther from the train and 93. Winchester always seemed more coherent and uniform to me than Lexington and I therefore find it more attractive than the non-200-years-old parts of Lexington, and the lot sizes in many neighborhoods are not that small.

It's a high end town and the schools are generally very good. The only issue I've ever really heard about the high school is that the building itself could use some updating. It also has a decent community feel. There is Town Day and good youth sports, etc.

I don't think Concord is oppressively "crunchy." It's not like the whole town feels like the Central Square Whole Foods (which was Bread and Circus "in my day"). But it does attract some residents who identify with a literary tradition or, as ogre said, a "back to nature" approach. The Land Rover (or Subaru) kayaker type. Which isn't so unbearable, I guess.

[brightdoglover]

Remember that, professionally speaking, there are lots and lots of tech people in any expensive town in the Boston area. Sociologically, I think software wonks tend to be sort of engineers in outlook and background, regardless of income. I think a lot of the folks in Lexington work in tech up in Burlington and along 128 because of the easy access.
I don't think Concord is overly crunchy. I doubt it ever went for, say, Nixon (am I showing my age?). The Unitarian church there is big and as liberal-leaning as most Uni's are. Congregational is the original group, but being near Boston, of course there are also Catholic churches. As one poster pointed out, more Jewish and Asian (south Asian) people in Lexington- again, tech work, I think.
Both towns are wonderful. Don't know anything about Winchester, but I like the Alcott/Emerson/Thoreau history vibe about Concord. (But remember, Thoreau used to walk a short distance to Emerson's mother's house to wash up and get a good meal, and there were more than a few rumors about the two men's relationship!)
I just love driving past the sign for "Walden Pond" twice a day, and past Emerson Hospital on my way to work. I feel like there's this intellectual undercurrent, of their times, of abolishinists, of smart unpretentious people (not that the other towns aren't smart or anything, but I am more familiar with how Concord feels). And the outlying rural area, on into Carlisle, is stunning, the farms and fields, pre-Revolutionary houses, no glitz.

[thisiswater]

Hi - Concord has a literary past and present literary vibe that can't be beat. If you want all that and a gorgeous country town - Carlisle, next door, shares the high school and is probably the lowest key "quiet money" town in MA. Wellesley is very mainstream, new money, kids in the HS "have" to have upscale designer clothing to "fit in." Concord has a lot more acceptance of difference and when our kids were at the high school I was just amazed and heartened by how they had friends who played sports, were artsy, intellectual, rockers. Just a great place. But now - we can't wait to get back to the city! Because... when you move a a town "for the schools" that's all people really talk about ...

[4panthers]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Thisiswater, did you use the elementary schools? Are there differences b/w the three schools? What are the desirable areas to live in? The neighborhoods seem fragmented with busy roads in between. It seems that choosing the right neighborhood is key. Do you have to do a lot of driving for the kids? (sports, friends, etc.) What is it like as a town for adults? Do you drive to Acton for grocery shopping? Also what is Carlisle like? Is it more "back to the earth" feel? I think it is a beautiful place, but I wonder if people feel isolated. Do people from Carlisle feel inferior to Concord? Just wondering. What is the commute like into Boston/Cambridge? If you can answer any of these questions I would be delighted. I know it's a lot but anything would be great. Thank you for you help.