Boston Area - Cultural niche between blue and white collar? (Walmart, sell)

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by Parsec

I have no idea what Intellivision is

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellivision

We had Intellivision then we got the vastly improved () Intellivision II but it was hard to beat the Intellivoice add on. A video game that talked to you???? Get out of town!!!

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellivision

We had Intellivision then we got the vastly improved () Intellivision II but it was hard to beat the Intellivoice add on. A video game that talked to you???? Get out of town!!!

Looks like the same time frame as the 2 video game consoles I talked about. I guess my parents must've bought them used because I played with them in the mid 80's which is actually when the NES came out. I didn't get NES until 1988! I guess I was somewhat deprived, getting everything used 3-5 years after it came out.

[CaseyB]

Oh, I loved Intellivision. I used to play Burgertime on it every day.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Remember when they used to have those little photo shops in the middle of parking lots? My first video game console was an Intellivision.

Vaguely. I remember them so vaguely but more so an episode of Dexter laboratory where he and his mom go to one and it turned out to be done sort of undercover post for a cartoon villain.

My first console was simultaneous super Nintendo and Nintendo which my brother (born in 87) had handed down to him from some older cousin. The first console of my own was the saga Saturn which I got after he got a playstation 1 when I was 6 or 7.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Oh, I loved Intellivision. I used to play Burgertime on it every day.

I was more of a B17 Bomber fan.

[Rick Solie]

Back on topic--Nobodybody says:
"By the way, I moved to Natick a year ago and love it. This place is like a mix of all the things I was hoping
for. Great schools, great community-oriented town, nice access to Boston, mix of large scale commercial and small-town mom and pop things, and relatively affordable. This town has a broader range of real estate than others, which means you have blue and white collar people mixed together, which helps keep it down-to-earth I think. My neighborhood has a huge mix of economic and racial diversity, and everyone is friendly and gets along great."
I second all this for our town, Melrose, a great family town--it was and is for us for sure. Melrose is smaller, more compact, has much better connections to Boston than many of the towns mentioned, and may be more affordable. It's very middle-to upper middle-class; most use the public schools it seems. In all my years in the area I've rarely noticed the snobbery you describe, certainly not here, where on my short street some have degrees and some don't. And our boys never reported any peer pressure to apply to the Ivies even though Melrose High sends it's share (although I know from colleagues this exists elsewhere). It seems you might do well here; I'd check it out.

[FromEverywhereUSA]

Originally Posted by Rick Solie

Back on topic--Nobodybody says:
"By the way, I moved to Natick a year ago and love it. This place is like a mix of all the things I was hoping
for. Great schools, great community-oriented town, nice access to Boston, mix of large scale commercial and small-town mom and pop things, and relatively affordable. This town has a broader range of real estate than others, which means you have blue and white collar people mixed together, which helps keep it down-to-earth I think. My neighborhood has a huge mix of economic and racial diversity, and everyone is friendly and gets along great."

I second all this for our town, Melrose, a great family town--it was and is for us for sure. Melrose is smaller, more compact, has much better connections to Boston than many of the towns mentioned, and may be more affordable. It's very middle-to upper middle-class; most use the public schools it seems. In all my years in the area I've rarely noticed the snobbery you describe, certainly not here, where on my short street some have degrees and some don't. And our boys never reported any peer pressure to apply to the Ivies even though Melrose High sends it's share (although I know from colleagues this exists elsewhere). It seems you might do well here; I'd check it out.

Thanks, Melrose definitely sounds nice! The only problem I see is that my husband's job is near South Station in Boston, and I haven't yet been able to find an easy commute there from anywhere north of Arlington. Ideally, we'd love for him to be able to use public transportation, but if not, it would need to be a very easy drive, hopefully not too long. Thoughts?

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by FromEverywhereUSA

Thanks, Melrose definitely sounds nice! The only problem I see is that my husband's job is near South Station in Boston, and I haven't yet been able to find an easy commute there from anywhere north of Arlington. Ideally, we'd love for him to be able to use public transportation, but if not, it would need to be a very easy drive, hopefully not too long. Thoughts?

If he's ok driving a little, he could drive to Oak Grove which is in Malden but near Melrose, take the orange line to Downtown Crossing and then walk. The distance from DTX to South Station is short enough to make that the best option.

[Rick Solie]

The MBTA commuter rail line (Haverhill branch) has three stops in Melrose. It's in "Zone 1" so the fare will be as cheap as it gets. It's 22 minutes to North Station where you can catch either the Orange or Green Line to Downtown Crossing (I did it for years). You can then get within a short (10 minutes or less) walk to South Station or you can transfer to the Red Line for South Station. Or you could walk to South Station right from North Station, perhaps 20 minutes or less (I've done it many times). It depends where exactly your husband's job is. You could check the MBTA web site (MBTA.com) for details. Alternatively the Orange Line at Oak Grove Station is also very possible as the previous reply mentioned. FWIW, I commuted from Arlington for a few years and found it definitely no fun since you have to drive or take a long bus ride to get to the Red Line. And in Natick, although on the Commuter Rail, you'll have to deal with Route 9 from time to time, which I've never found a lot of fun. Others may disagree, of course. Please PM me if you want more of this "inside baseball" info about Melrose or the North Shore.

[FromEverywhereUSA]

Originally Posted by Rick Solie

The MBTA commuter rail line (Haverhill branch) has three stops in Melrose. It's in "Zone 1" so the fare will be as cheap as it gets. It's 22 minutes to North Station where you can catch either the Orange or Green Line to Downtown Crossing (I did it for years). You can then get within a short (10 minutes or less) walk to South Station or you can transfer to the Red Line for South Station. Or you could walk to South Station right from North Station, perhaps 20 minutes or less (I've done it many times). It depends where exactly your husband's job is. You could check the MBTA web site (MBTA.com) for details. Alternatively the Orange Line at Oak Grove Station is also very possible as the previous reply mentioned. FWIW, I commuted from Arlington for a few years and found it definitely no fun since you have to drive or take a long bus ride to get to the Red Line. And in Natick, although on the Commuter Rail, you'll have to deal with Route 9 from time to time, which I've never found a lot of fun. Others may disagree, of course. Please PM me if you want more of this "inside baseball" info about Melrose or the North Shore.

Thanks, I may message you a bit later.