Moving to Concord or Lincoln - advice sought! (Boston, Cambridge: houses, landscaping)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My family is considering a move to Concord or Lincoln with our five-year-old child. We will be commuting (though not at rush hour) to Medford and Cambridge. We don't know the area well, and would appreciate any thoughts and advice on Concord and Lincoln--especially about the quality of the elementary schools, as well as the communities and feel of the towns. Thank you!
Personally I like Concord better. It feels like a town (actually feels like 2 towns centered around each train station), whereas Lincoln is just a bunch of houses dotted along rural routes. When I was house shopping I decided I didn't like Lincoln because it was too spread out. Also there's only 2 public schools - 1 elementary and 1 middle. Kids get bused to Sudbury for high school. Even if you happen to have a neighbor who has a similar-aged kid, there's a good chance they go to private school, not the Lincoln School.
Any reason you've decided on these two towns in particular? Your budget partly determines if there are better towns in the area.
Lincoln has larger lots than Concord, but both are pretty rural. These two towns both vote very liberal, even when compared with the rest of the state. A lot of people with advanced degrees who buy hybrids live in these towns, as well as other towns in that area. Both very nice with good schools. Again, it would mostly come down to budget and whether you like the "feel" of these towns. Other towns in the area Include Bedford, Arlington, Lexington, Acton, and Andover.
Both towns have great school systems. I'd give Lincoln a bit of an edge in the commute department but it is all relative to exactly where you work and where in each town you live. Although both are old New England towns, Lincoln, to me has more of a rural, old money feel. The houses seem more spread out and although there are plenty of million dollar homes, the landscaping always seems to have more of a wild or rustic look than a manicured lawn look. Many of the people seem similar (millionaires who are wearing a 20 year old LL Bean sweaters). There are only the two schools plus a couple of private schools and preschools in Lincoln. Concord has more in terms of retail compared to Lincoln and more that you can potentially walk to. Both are lovely family friendly towns but Concord seems more vibrant than Lincoln for a young family. Either way, you can't go wrong.
Why Lincoln or Concord with a Cambridge and Medford commute? Somewhere inside 128 like Winchester would be a heck of a lot easier. Equally good schools. Trivial drive to Medford. Many alternate driving routes to Cambridge. Several options to get to Cambridge by public transportation: 10 minute drive to Alewife Station and the Red Line. MBTA Bus Route 350 to Alewife if the parking lot is full. Or a 20 minute Commuter Rail ride to North Station, 2 stops on the Green Line, and the Red Line to Cambridge. It's also an easy and deterministic drive to Logan Airport via Route 16 and Chelsea.
Why Lincoln or Concord with a Cambridge and Medford commute? Somewhere inside 128 like Winchester would be a heck of a lot easier. Equally good schools. Trivial drive to Medford. Many alternate driving routes to Cambridge. Several options to get to Cambridge by public transportation: 10 minute drive to Alewife Station and the Red Line. MBTA Bus Route 350 to Alewife if the parking lot is full. Or a 20 minute Commuter Rail ride to North Station, 2 stops on the Green Line, and the Red Line to Cambridge. It's also an easy and deterministic drive to Logan Airport via Route 16 and Chelsea.
Because Winchester with its small lots isn't everyone's cup of tea. Even though its further out, housing is equally expensive outside 128 in towns like Concord and Lincoln because there are enough people who want good schools, privacy AND nature. When they eat a meal they want to look out their window and see the woods, not a fence or neighbor's bathroom window.
Both are great towns. Concord has quite a bit more life to it - Concord Center and West Concord are both busy villages with shops, eateries and train stations on the Fitchburg Line, which connects you to Porter Square in Cambridge and the Red Line as well as North Station and the Orange and Green Lines on the MBTA. Concord has a small arts scene, a symphony, choral groups and a significant presence of local authors that dates back a couple of centuries. Lincoln is a smaller town. It's a bit closer to Boston but has a sleepier feel. There's a train station in South Lincoln on the same line as the Concord stations and a small shopping center adjacent to it with a grocery store, a post office and a sandwich shop, among a few other basic amenities. Lincoln Center, up the road at the flower pot, is barely a blip, but it's scenic and has a cool gift shop at the Old Town Hall Exchange and a beautiful library. Both towns have fairly well-educated and well-to-do populations with a left-wing bent overall; I'd say Lincoln has a slightly funkier and more low-key crowd based on my knowledge of the area from years ago - I grew up nearby and know both towns well, but there have likely been some changes. There is still some farmland in both towns and links in Lincoln to food-related social justice projects in Boston. I cannot speak to the relative qualities of the schools, but I feel like you cannot go wrong. I'd give Concord a slight edge at the high school level but only because Lincoln-Sudbury always felt like a disjointed district to me - those two towns barely touch one another, and most kids I knew from Lincoln opted to go to private school. Again, that was twenty years ago, so things could have changed. At any rate, hope this is helpful. Good luck!
They are both lovely towns with overall nice but sometimes condescending, self-righteous people with little to no sense of humor. There are many trust funders who follow non-profit pursuits and philanthropy at arms distance. Lincoln leans more crunchy and Concord center more preppy. Concord center is very busy with bicycle touring groups and hundreds of out-of-town tourists seeking a slice of the transcendentalist historic sites (Alcott home, Walden's Pond). West Concord is a bit more casual and entrepreneurial. The more fun, less tourist oriented businesses are there. A new development in West Concord is the new co-office space the Bradford Mill wheelhouse. Concord center does have most of the community center type buildings located there.
If you move to Concord, you get a free Volvo wagon with a Cousteau Society sticker.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
