Best towns and/or neighborhoods (Boston, Brookline: for sale, apartments, house)

[sez]

I guess I was not clear... I really don't know much about Lexington or Winchester other than the location and the scores which is why I'd like to hear first hand.
Looked at homes in concord but didn't like the area. I need elementary right now but only one more year, so the middle school is more important.
We are moving from Florida, they do a lot of busy work and hours of homework that really doesn't amount to much of anything. They have no art program at all, no history other than a week of local history and the kids are constantly reminding and drilled on the importance of scoring high on the standard tests. There is not a love of learning but a love of scoring an A rating.
Any help is appreciated.

[momincity]

Elisemarie, were you able to find what you are looking for? Your list seems to be exact to ours... would love to know. We are going through this right now!

[elisemarie]

momincity -

Please share what you've found in your search b/c we are still stumped! We seem to keep coming back to 1)Belmont 2)Winchester 3)Lexington. We have a problem with each of them (Belmont - lots of traffic as it's become a cut-through town; Winchester - we're very worried about the snob factor plus it's a little less convenient to get to all major highways vs Belmont; Lexington - I actually went to elementary school there and I loved it then but I hear that it too may have become a little bit "elitist".

We keep trying to shorten our short list and boil it down to our top criteria since no place will ever fit our list of wants and needs 100%. We want 1)great public schools from K-12 with easy access to private schools if that's what turns out to be best for our kids 2) highly walkable (sidewalks, street lights and town center) and 3) a "down-to-earth" town where you don't feel like it's a fashion show at the playground. (I'm afraid to go back and look to see if we actually even shortened our criteria from the first time I posted!)

Where are you in the search and what have you found?

[burbsbound]

elisemarie -
I went to high school in wellesley (long time ago) and even back then winchester and lexington were known to have good schools. I don't think you'd go wrong with either town. I personally liked Winchester's town center better, and the library there is beautiful (visited that area last month as we are also considering those two towns). There is also a bakery there (La Patisserie) that has been open a very long time and has such delicious things I'm gaining weight just thinking about them.

Please let me know what you end up doing, we might end up in the same town!

[elisemarie]

burbsbound -

What towns have you narrowed your search down to?

[burbsbound]

Our list currently looks something like this:

• Newton (great schools, easy commute, tons of commute options: subway, rail, or drive, easy to move to if we want to rent first while we research which neighborhood we like. Cons: we heard the schools are overcrowded and they focus a lot on special ed. student support, which leaves others a little bit lost)
• Lexington (also great schools, great town center. Cons: no commuter rail or subway, would have to drive to another town very early in the morning)
• Winchester (great schools, two commuter rail stops, beautiful town center. Cons: no rentals to speak of, which is a bad for us because we want to rent first so we don't rush into a neighborhood we might not like)
• Wellesley (reasonable schools, commuter rail, nice town center. Cons: I grew up there, a little snotty overall)

We visited Belmont and wasn't too impressed with the commercial area, it didn't have the "charm" the other towns did. Weston was too far out and too spread out for me. Ditto Dover & Sherborn & Concord.

How about your list? has it changed to be shorter? longer?

[badluck]

you should look at Lynn...its the new Chelsea. Simply breathtaking.

[brightdoglover]

Ah, sarcasm.

I think any school system that is famed for excellence (and is likely to be in a pricy community) could be called "elitist." I don't know if that's a relevant complaint.

I work in Belmont. People there seem very involved in schools and education, there's great public transport, it borders Cambridge, and I frankly don't see it as a drive-through town. If I had kids and was concerned about schools, I'd live there in a minute. No, its commercial areas aren't completely a Main Street/New England fantasy, but neither are Wellesley or Newton. They are certainly decent and walkable town centers with plenty of desirable businesses.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Ah, sarcasm.

I think any school system that is famed for excellence (and is likely to be in a pricy community) could be called "elitist." I don't know if that's a relevant complaint.

I work in Belmont. People there seem very involved in schools and education, there's great public transport, it borders Cambridge, and I frankly don't see it as a drive-through town. If I had kids and was concerned about schools, I'd live there in a minute. No, its commercial areas aren't completely a Main Street/New England fantasy, but neither are Wellesley or Newton. They are certainly decent and walkable town centers with plenty of desirable businesses.

Second this. My girlfriend lives in Belmont closer to Cambridge. I think the Belmont St. corridor leaves a lot to be desired aesthetically, though it's perfectly functional, but Belmont Center is quite nice. Many of the residential streets of the town are beautiful.

[Srilatha_r]

Hi, like EliseMarie, Momincity, and Burbsbound, I'm also looking for a place with easy commute facilities, good schools, kids activities and less snooty

I live in Cary, North Carolina (moved here 2 years back from San Francisco - Bay Area). This is a great town with great people and very child friendly - quite boring for adults though

I saw Weston and Newton in Mass and they scared me - Newton because of the congestion and both towns because of the snob factor..

What freaked me out most of all were old homes with old plumbing..

I decided to simplify my requirements a bit. Instead of being locked into a boring suburb with good public schools, I'm only considering private schools for my daughter - she will be in 6th grade the following school year. I'm not buying right now - I will live and learn then decide to but. Commute facilities and recreation and cultural activities are important. I will not make in a snow bound place where I will have to drive everywhere. I have heard nice reports of Brookline and Winchester. So I'm focusing on those two places for now.

I would appreciate hearing further updates on your searches. I'm only moving in the summer after the current school year - so hopefully that gives me some time.

Regards,
Srilatha