Barrington (real estate, motel, safe area)

[windance]

We are thinking about moving to the Barrington area for our kids to go to St Sndrews. Anyone have comments on the school? Any thoughts on the area for a family of 5? What is real estate like? Where should we stay while visiting? Thanks

[chrisvivieros]

Have you seen the movie Stepford wives?? That is typical of Barrington. So if that is your atmosphere, it is nice. Great schools though.

[Sail4337]

Barrington is a very pricey town. However the public schools are very good. Rumtick and Nayatt are very desirable area but extreamly pricey.

[rockwood 22]

I have lived in Barrington my whole life. I make honest wages and live in a quiet, safe area near Primrose school. The town gets its bad rep from a very small amount of people with to much time and money. There are lots of everyday pepole who arent rich or snobs here. You may also want to check out the public scools before going to St Andrews. The public schools send lots of very bright kids to college year after year.
Check into New Meadow or Primrose area for a great family atmospher. Aflred Drowne is also nice, on the water but a little pricey (like the Nayett and Rumstick areas)

[traceyr13]

Hi - I lived in Barrington and worked at the high school for 8 years. I second a pp that, in my opinion, the nicest family friendly areas are around Primrose Hill (I personally feel that is the best elementary school). Unless your child(ren) have learning disabilities (and even then, it's debatable) I'm not sure why you would choose St. Andrew's over the public system. It is absolutely fantastic, and I say that as educator and as a parent.

With that being said, I have to disagree with the pp and his opinion that it is only a "small group" of people that give Barrington that reputation. I feel it is just the opposite - there are only a small group of people that are down to earth - the vast majority of people that live in Barrington (again, my opinion) are entitled, snobby and completely out of touch. It was incredibly, incredibly frustrating to teach and live there for so many years and deal with the community. It was one of many reasons that my husband and I decided to leave the area (we're now in Austin, TX).

There ARE some great people in Barrington, the schools are great, and the community is beautiful and safe. But at the end of the day, I just didn't want to raise my children in that environment.

HTH

[professorsenator]

Barrington is a beautiful community. It is upscale and has a reputation for being snooty. This is due, in part, to the nature of the state--tony Barrington is an outlier in largely blue-collar Rhode Island. But it's also based in fact: Barrington has the highest household income in the Ocean State. St. Andrews has a picture-postcard campus. Very, very nice. Needless to say, housing is relatively expensive in Barrington.

As for places to stay when visiting: the closest motels (Comfort Inn, Motel 6, Best Western) are in Seekonk, MA (yes, going to the next state is closer!). Seekonk is about 5-10 minutes from Barrington. Mapquest it. Seekonk has a long strip of chain food restaurants & big box stores that provide lots of conveniences for the area, and it has easy access to I-195. Seekonk is a good, functional base for checking out the area.