Thoughts on Wellesley (Boston, Worcester, Cambridge: middle-class, houses, neighborhoods)

[celtics33]

Been lurking here for a while, love the insight from people who have experienced all these places.

We are moving to Boston's suburbs soon, like the limited experiences that we have had in Wellesley and hear good things about the commute, schools, etc.

Anyone have feedback/opinions on the neighborhoods or school districts within Wellesley? Within reason, we could afford just about anywhere in town, but I admit we don't totally understand the different dynamics that drive the price differences we are seeing within Wellesley.

Thanks for your help.

[missionhill]

Since no one else has nibbled here, I'll say a few things about Wellesley, although what I know may be 30 to 50 years out of date (both parents grew up there, grandfather was a selectman there in the '20s.) It is certainly a nice town. The oldest part is around Wellesley Square, and at one time that area had the biggest, plushest estates (on Grove St and Washington Street) and some very modest streets where tradespeople lived. Wellesley Hills and Wellesley Farms were early 20th century commuter developments for upper-middle class types that relied on the suburban service of the Boston & Albany railroad, now the Framingham-Worcester commuter rail line. The Hills is still the most consistently upscale part of Wellesley, with very nice streets on both sides of the tracks. Most of the Grove St estates were subdivided into houselots or turned into schools (e.g., Dana Hall). Wellesley Sq is a bit more diverse than the Hills class-wise, even though the very wealthy types are mostly no longer there. Wellesley has teardown issues, especially around Wellesley Square where smaller houses (that a mere college professor could afford) within convenient walking distance of the village and Wellesley College are the targets. Years ago, some Wellesley people looked down on Oakland Street (too Catholic). They also looked down on Needham, and the background there is that Henry Fowle Durant (who founded the college) and Horatio Hollis Hunnewell (who's great estate overlooking Lake Waban is still there and resplendent) and other Brahmins led the move to separate what became Wellesley from the town of Needham of which it was a part. So people in Wellesley think they're better than Needham. Don't know whether Oakland st is still declasse. Weston Road is another area that's not as swell as the rest of the town. About school districts: you may know that New England towns run their own schools so technically a school district is no more or less than the town itself. I shouldn't think there was any difference among schools anywhere in Wellesley, but others may know better.

[CaseyB]

I'll add a little bit to that since I grew up there.

In general, Wellesley Hills is considered to be a more prestigious address. You would find little differences between the elementary schools, possibly the Upham school might be considered the nicest. I went to the Bates school. All the students go to the same middle and high school.

As far as lesser areas, I would say around Cedar Street, especially near Barton Road (housing project). Also, the area between Weston Road and Morse's Pond. And maybe the area between Weston Road and the Natick town line.

Hope this helps.

[joan2008]

So glad to know I may soon have a new neighbor in wellesley! We've lived here for 9 years and I have three children (4, 8, and 11). We are actually putting our house on the market next week and moving to another house in wellesley in the same elementary school district that we love so much. That said, all of the elementary school (there are 7) are on par with each other, only my kids would not want to leave their friends. Withe the seven elementary schools, you can kind of divide up the town into those 7 divisions. Upham is comprised of a lot of the Hills and is considered more upscale (though not by a lot, and not as much as it used to), Hunnewell (where we live so I am biased!!) it is a bit closer to town - walk to everything, you can have a lot of land, or a little, you get a smidge more diversity because the college professors kids usually go there; Schofield and Fiske are near the Falls part of town closer to Newton and seems to have a bit smaller lot size but I could be wrong; Bates area is closer to weston and has a large concentration of nice homes. I should mention that everyone is really friendly (in a nice way - not a stepford way) in every part of town. I have lots of friends all over and there is no difference that way. We choose to stay in the hunnewell area because we like the close proximity of our neighbors (the block I am leaving is more like family to me - but we are only going about 8 blocks away), the walk to town and school capability. Anyway - I gotta go get the kids, but let me know if you want more information. --joan

[goyguy]

In case you haven't caught on, C33, "diversity" in Wellesley is defined as "a few households bring home less than $200k a year." It's one of Greater Boston's WASP strongholds. This was alluded to in the reference to one neighborhood's being "too Catholic." Two other aspects of the town's superiority complex regarding Needham are classism (Needham, for the most part, is "merely" upper-middle-class) and unspoken anti-Semitic sentiment (the neighboring community has a relatively substantial Jewish population in contrast to the virtual if not complete absence of Jews in Wellesley.) My hometown in another part of the US shares many of these snobbish characteristics. A high school friend once hit the nail on the head in a conversation by describing the attitude of many of its townspeople as "walking around with their noses in the air as if to say, 'Look at us, we live in..., that makes us special and better than you.'"

Although Wellesley is hardly unique in being exclusive in bad ways, two of Boston's uglier racial incidents in recent times occurred there. A pro athlete - from the Celtics, no less - was chased, handcuffed, frisked, and interrogated by the local cops apparently because a "concerned citizen" had noticed a Black man walking into a bank and assumed a robbery was about to take place. All of this went down in the town center on a sunny afternoon. Because the town pats itself on the back for allowing a small number of non-Caucasian children to be educated there, as part of a regionwide program to bus kids to the suburbs, it's not unusual to see some faces "of color" in the schools. More unusual is the presence of AA's or Hispanics elsewhere, save for the tiny Barton Rd public-housing complex and a smattering of wealthy households who choose to reside in the town despite everything. What that brought on a couple of summers ago was this: An "enrichment program" for young children (good resume builder, you know) included a handful of Black kids from Boston. One day, after enriching had ended, the kids dispersed to either walk home or be picked up while a mini-van arrived to transport the urban participants. One 5-year-old AA boy stood around talking with some local buddies while those who "looked like him" boarded the mini-van. Despite his protestations that his mom was late to drive him home, program workers would hear nothing of it. They bodily "encouraged" him to ride with his city-dwelling classmates, the result being that a Black professional woman operating a "nice" vehicle arrived within minutes only to be told, "He's headed back to town (suburban code language for "Boston") with the others in the mini-van." Naturally, the mom went ballistic, and then had no choice but to travel to Roxbury to collect her child and bring him back to the family's Wellesley house.

Painting with a broad brush causes spots to be missed. I don't mean to cast aspersions on the entire citizenry of Wellesley, knowing for a fact that some sincere and good-hearted people reside there. (By the same token, Cambridge has its share if not more of hypocrites and racial profilers.) But the prevailing atmosphere of "superficial ignorant preppy country-club WASP" is what I and many others primarily associate with the town, both from casual observation and actual experience. This, however, may be precisely what C33 is seeking; only C33 can speak for C33.

[MovingForward]

Nothing wrong with being "WASP." Wellesley's a great town. Yeah, not much racial diversity. But that's hardly the fault of the people who live there.

[CaseyB]

There's a temple, several Catholic churches, a couple of parochial schools - it's not really that WASPY.

[findingmesomeday]

"Swellesley"

I like the new library. The duck pond is fun with little ones. And the downtown shopping area retains its allure.

[miamidad]

its a lovely town,,,one of the few i have observed in boston where women actually care how they look--

[capecodcathy]

Miamidad: I hear that's because they'll be stoned if they don't look good. It's all about keeping up with the Jones' (and the tags on their clothes).