Good neighborhoods in Boston for young people? (Quincy, Somerville: low income, 2014)

[chrislee97]

So my friend and I are both from Mississippi and we're both graduating from college in the May. We are thinking about moving to Boston. We're both looking to become teachers. He wants to do deaf education and I want to do history. What neighborhoods are affordable and good for people in their early 20's, but are also safe. We'd like somewhere that's 2 bedroom and around $2000 or less.
Thanks!

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by chrislee97

So my friend and I are both from Mississippi and we're both graduating from college in the May. We are thinking about moving to Boston. We're both looking to become teachers. He wants to do deaf education and I want to do history. What neighborhoods are affordable and good for people in their early 20's, but are also safe. We'd like somewhere that's 2 bedroom and around $2000 or less.
Thanks!

I'd have a job secured before coming out here. You'll be looking at parts of Allston, Brighton, Somerville, Dorchester. But I think it'd help to know where you were going to work. It's not always easy to get to any part of the city from any other part, so our suggestions probably won't be too helpful yet.

[yaeger07]

Are you a person of color? It's hard to get a job in the Boston Public Schools as a white person because of a court mandate that says 25% of teachers in the district need to be people of color (or black, I'm not sure if it's that specific). Right now the district is only at 22%.

Of course, there are other districts in the area, charter schools, and private schools. I imagine it's especially tough to get a history teaching position though. Your friend might have an easier time.

[dapeaz]

Originally Posted by yaeger07

Are you a person of color? It's hard to get a job in the Boston Public Schools as a white person because of a court mandate that says 25% of teachers in the district need to be people of color (or black, I'm not sure if it's that specific). Right now the district is only at 22%.

Of course, there are other districts in the area, charter schools, and private schools. I imagine it's especially tough to get a history teaching position though. Your friend might have an easier time.

I'd like to here more input on this. I'm white and will be applying to BPS in the Spring.

[yaeger07]

You can read about it here: Boston Public Schools seeks more diverse teaching force - Metro - The Boston Globe

There was an update on WBUR at the beginning of the school year but I'm having trouble finding it.

[Urban Peasant]

I used to work for the BPS as a substitute teacher. I'd expand on Yaeger's comment to say it's pretty much hard to find a position and keep it in the BPS nowadays. Schools are continuously threatened with closure, student enrollment is declining, and the general atmosphere is grim. I wouldn't say that it's harder for someone not of color to land a position is totally off the mark but I don't think it's entirely the result of the court order alone. It's a result of a combination of racial ethics, poor management of many schools, big city politics (it's who you know not what you know), and the court order that created that policy. For instance, if you teach in a predominantly Black school (and there are many in Boston), the school administrators very often will want someone who can simply control a classroom regardless of race or ethnicity and if they can't find that someone, then they will resort to someone who is of the same race or ethnic background as the majority of students are. Perhaps psychologically this makes sense (although I personally disagree with the idea and I can argue why) because many of the most low income at risk students in Boston are students of color and many of these have a developed distrust of persons not of their own type as I have found. Quite often, the only non-Black person in the classroom is the teacher which makes some students of color (though luckily not all) feel as if they can never be as smart as other races, or at least that is what some school administrators want to believe. I personally found that the longer a teacher is in the classroom regardless of racial or ethnic background, he/she will eventually win over the students with effort. Many schools don't want to believe in this though and are using racial politics to their own advantage.

Anyways, I've delved too long on the touchy subject of the BPS. In returning to the O.P.' s concerns, I'd say landing a regular ed. history position is very hard here as in most any other place because there is much competition and little demand. Demand is high in math, science, and special ed. and so the O.P.'s friend will have a much easier time finding a position. Should the O.P. want to continue pursuing teaching history, then I highly recommend getting a moderate needs special ed. certification as well and be willing to teach students with mental disabilities, behavioral problems, attention deficit disorder, and a host of other special needs. That will make job hunting less competitive and more stable. And yes, the BPS pays the most but there are many other suburban districts worth looking into as well. Quincy, Everett, Malden, Dorchester, Mattapan, Revere, and Chelsea are relatively affordable in this region.

[dapeaz]

That's a shame to hear such things about BPS. I've found it very difficult to hunt down school within a reasonable commute from Boston and the other areas of interest around it. The International School of Boston looks promising if I could sell them on my French minor. Any other suggestions would be welcome to me and the OP, I'm sure.

I also thought the BPS system was fairly solid. Maybe I'm reading the wrong articles?

Originally Posted by dapeaz

I'd like to here more input on this. I'm white and will be applying to BPS in the Spring.

"HEAR" more input! How shameful I mention a desire to teach and make such a mistake. That's what I get for multitasking.

[Urban Peasant]

Originally Posted by dapeaz

That's a shame to hear such things about BPS. I've found it very difficult to hunt down school within a reasonable commute from Boston and the other areas of interest around it. The International School of Boston looks promising if I could sell them on my French minor. Any other suggestions would be welcome to me and the OP, I'm sure.

I also thought the BPS system was fairly solid. Maybe I'm reading the wrong articles?



"HEAR" more input! How shameful I mention a desire to teach and make such a mistake. That's what I get for multitasking.

To get the most teaching opportunities, one has to look at places where school age population is growing, places such as Texas, California, Virginia, North Carolina, etc. Boston is still having trouble attracting families to live within its borders and so its school population isn't increasing in droves. Besides this, the BPS pays the highest wages and best benefits and probably has the strongest teachers union in the region which makes it an extremely huge draw for applicants. Suburban school districts will always be competitive because the community is often much more supportive to teachers and/or provides far more resources although according to some of my friends who taught in both types of districts, some suburban parents can be far more demanding of a teacher than inner city parents. Add to that, the plenitude of colleges and universities in Greater Boston churning out hundreds of M.eds every year and you get a lot of highly educated competition.

Education is not an easy field nowadays. For beginner teachers, the pay is most likely going to be horrible, class sizes are going to be huge, and more likely you'll get the worst students (don't think you're going to teach that senior Advanced Placement or honors class that fast!) because seniority is very much observed in many school districts. Persevere long enough and then you might actually have a chance at a solid career but let me warn you that many school districts are using loopholes to fight back school unions who demand high pay and generous pensions by making the life of many teachers a living hell, especially in big city districts, so that many teachers quit or get cut before they are eligible for the highest wages and the pension. You have to watch out for so-called "experts" (usually high paid private consultants to the school administration) trying to sell the latest teaching technique which might not work the way you'd like it to. You also have to watch out for administrators out to make a big name for themselves at the expense of everyone else. Urban education is now more of a mix of politics and pedagogy than pure pedagogy these days. I'm not dissuading anyone from becoming a public school teacher in an urban district because there are many perks and benefits to it and I have many former colleagues that love what they are doing.You just have to learn to play your cards the right way, don't offend the wrong people in power, know what is expected of you as an employee of the respective school and district, and don't go off thinking you can save the world by becoming a public school teacher as so many bright minds have done in the past.

[dapeaz]

Thanks for the insight. All I can do, I suppose, is apply when eligible and hope for the best. I'd love to live in Boston and have for about a year, but I suppose I should consider expanding my search past Proper and its immediately surrounding cities.

[Pear Martini]

You would fit right in in Allston, Brighton, or maybe Brookline.

Are you guys planning on having a car? If so, Brookline may be out of your budget because you have to rent a spot and that will probably end up going over your budget.

Allston and Brighton are full of young professionals and students. Avg 1 bedroom is $1600, Avg 2 bd??? I have no idea. Parking is free on the street and its pretty safe.


I recommend Brighton because Allston has more undergrads, public drunkeness, and crime. Its safe but its important to be street smart. The main crimes in Allston are robberies, people getting mugged, and sexual assaults. The areas where a lot of this happens is Pratt Street and up near where Joshua Tree bar used to be.


Brighton is slightly further from downtown than Allston but is quieter and has more young professionals.