How's your economy? (Metro West) (Boston, Lynn: find a job, good schools, living in)

[GypsySoul22]

We're ex New Yorkers currently living up in VT and the economy has seriously tanked to the point I cannot get hired to do anything. (despite education and degrees and experience).

I'd like to stay in New England. I thought I would ask how things are in the Metro West area? I'm interested in 'safe' areas, good schools, and the general job situation.

The 'better' special ed. programs/districts really concern me.

I would like something 'not too far' from Boston by rail but still not right in the city (couldn't afford it).

Any feed back would be appreciated either in DM or here.

[ogre]

Job prospects will have a lot to do with which field you're talking about. It depends on where you're living in Vermont, but for the state in general the economy is often sluggish at best, so most likely the economy in general in this area will be better. But again, this will vary depending on the field.

I'm not quite sure what you mean about being concerned about special ed. in the "better" school systems. Are you saying that you would like to know about some of the better school systems generally which are also strong in spec. ed.? I don't know a lot about spec. ed. programs in the area. Most of the towns west of Boston are affluent and have good school systems overall. Also, Metro West is generally a safe, affluent area, with the vicinity of downtown Framingham being an exception to some degree. This means that you probably want to focus on learning about the towns with good spec. ed., finding out which towns fit your housing budget, and providing some info about your preferred setting (older walkable suburb, woodsy suburb, exurb, etc.), preferred commuting time, desire or not for access to public transit. Chances are that any area in the western suburbs that meets your criteria in these areas will be clean and safe. If we have some details about what you're looking for, we can point out any of the few exceptions to the generally clean, safe character of the area.

[GypsySoul22]

Thanks, that is very helpful.

[ogre]

You're welcome. Regarding the economy, shortly after posting on this thread last night, I happened to run across some info on a thread at the General U.S. forum, about how quickly metropolitan areas are recovering from the recession. The article ranks the 100 largest metro areas. Boston ranks 25th best of that group. It's possible that some smaller metros are doing better than the places on this list, but this still gives some indication that Boston, while maybe not doing spectacularly well, at least is maintaining a solid economy overall.

America's Fastest-Recovering Cities - Forbes.com

Full List: America's Fastest-Recovering Cities - Forbes.com

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by ogre

You're welcome. Regarding the economy, shortly after posting on this thread last night, I happened to run across some info on a thread at the General U.S. forum, about how quickly metropolitan areas are recovering from the recession. The article ranks the 100 largest metro areas. Boston ranks 25th best of that group. It's possible that some smaller metros are doing better than the places on this list, but this still gives some indication that Boston, while maybe not doing spectacularly well, at least is maintaining a solid economy overall.

America's Fastest-Recovering Cities - Forbes.com

Full List: America's Fastest-Recovering Cities - Forbes.com

I hate to be negative but cities are not recovering from the recession. Some sectors have seen some growth but overall the economy is not getting better and people continue to lose jobs. The problem is how they calculate unemployment. Many of these people are running out of their unemployment benefits and some are only working a few hours a week...but they are now not considered unemployed making the unemployment statistics go down.

[Lowerdeck]

That and with all the seasonal work - people aren't collecting, but will be again soon.

[GypsySoul22]

Well, up here in Vermont it is deader than a doornail (we don't live in the Burlington area) but outside Lebanon, NH.

It 'was' a 'good' place to find a job till about a year and some ago. Then the recession hit big (in a place where it was 'pretty hard') to get anything decent unless you are in medical or higher ed.

I realize no place is awesome and MA is 'probably' more expensive overall than VT but I come from the suburbs of NYC and I am used to more amenities and so forth. After 2 years, I am tired of staring at trees and not working. Even a store job is considered good up here. I would be willing to do that for a while.

[stevemorse]

Gypsy Soul, just by the sheer population and all the activity around the Boston area there is definately better jobs and more than where you are in VT. I recently have done many trips to that area, from Saugus/Lynn area which is packed with stores, shops, auto stuff, I mean talk about town after town with non stop action!!! Then did a loop from Marshfield Hills /Plymouth area to Foxborough another area with tons of things more than VT!! There is no doubt you will find SOME JOB! Its just so much more action than VT! VT is dead compared to MASS. I consider mass like living in NJ. The key is to find a quiet area to live like I found areas west of Marshfield Hills in between Marshfield and Foxborough that were quiet but CLOSE to the action!!

[GypsySoul22]

I hope so, SteveMorse.
You've been in the unemployment forum w/me for a long time so you know my pain!

We like VT but you have to make a living. I'm from Long Island so I am used to 'busy' but a little less crazy would be good.

[ogre]

Originally Posted by stevemorse

Gypsy Soul, just by the sheer population and all the activity around the Boston area there is definately better jobs and more than where you are in VT. I recently have done many trips to that area, from Saugus/Lynn area which is packed with stores, shops, auto stuff, I mean talk about town after town with non stop action!!! Then did a loop from Marshfield Hills /Plymouth area to Foxborough another area with tons of things more than VT!! There is no doubt you will find SOME JOB! Its just so much more action than VT! VT is dead compared to MASS. I consider mass like living in NJ. The key is to find a quiet area to live like I found areas west of Marshfield Hills in between Marshfield and Foxborough that were quiet but CLOSE to the action!!

I think that a balanced view is important here. That balance can probably be found somewhere between the post I'm quoting here and LeavingMA's assertion that the economy in Boston isn't so great. The trouble with talking about the sheer number of jobs in Boston, as SteveMorse does here, is that there are also more people competing for those jobs than would be the case in Vermont. However, generally it's true that major metropolitan areas have more prosperity, and a better variety of job opportunities, than isolated small towns. It's also generally true that Boston has a diverse economy, and tends to weather recessions relatively well.

The key word is "relatively." LeavingMA's point that Boston's economy is hurting has some truth, as one would expect when there has been a recession going on for the past year or two. However, it's important to keep in mind that GypsySoul is looking for a place with better job opportunities than there are at present in small towns in Vermont. A lot depends on whether there is a particular field in which someone is seeking work, and how that field is doing in a given city, but generally it is true that even in the current recession the Boston metro area should offer more possibilities than there are in Gypsy's current situation.

One question I have for GypsySoul, though, is why the focus on Metrowest. Not to intrude with specific questions about your finances, but to offer some information that may be pertinent if your economic concerns are translating into tight finances, Metrowest is generally the most affluent and expensive section of the Boston metro area. While this will vary from town to town, there are other sections of the metro area which would definitely be worth a look, all the more so if money is tight at this time.