Framingham vs Walpole

[gtompkins]

Hello, I grew up in Framingham. It can feel like two different towns. The northern half above rt. 9 is a nice, safe suburb with mostly middle class and wealthy families. The north side is sometimes called South Sudbury as a joke. The south side is more urban and this is where a lot of Framingham's reputation comes from. It is reasonably safe, but there are occasional violent crimes that will make the news (usually deep in the neighborhoods). Many north siders look down on the south side and never go there.

I knew a few people who went to the Catholic schools, they seem okay. The high school, Marian, is on the south side, but in a safe area by the police station. The public high school is actually rated higher than Marian, but it is much larger with a student population of over 2,000. Both schools are diverse as Marian gives generous scholarships to lower income residents. I knew one student from Marian who transferred to Framingham High and she struggled with the increased difficulty of FHS. I would only recommend Marian for people who want a smaller school population or need a religious institution.

The prices on the north side are skyrocketing as more people get pushed out of the eastern boston suburbs. The south side will likely be significantly gentrified in the next 10 years. I could easily see a 650k house being worth 800-900k by 2025.

[ryanms3030]

Originally Posted by gtompkins

Hello, I grew up in Framingham. It can feel like two different towns. The northern half above rt. 9 is a nice, safe suburb with mostly middle class and wealthy families. The north side is sometimes called South Sudbury as a joke. The south side is more urban and this is where a lot of Framingham's reputation comes from. It is reasonably safe, but there are occasional violent crimes that will make the news (usually deep in the neighborhoods). Many north siders look down on the south side and never go there.

I knew a few people who went to the Catholic schools, they seem okay. The high school, Marian, is on the south side, but in a safe area by the police station. The public high school is actually rated higher than Marian, but it is much larger with a student population of over 2,000. Both schools are diverse as Marian gives generous scholarships to lower income residents. I knew one student from Marian who transferred to Framingham High and she struggled with the increased difficulty of FHS. I would only recommend Marian for people who want a smaller school population or need a religious institution.

The prices on the north side are skyrocketing as more people get pushed out of the eastern boston suburbs. The south side will likely be significantly gentrified in the next 10 years. I could easily see a 650k house being worth 800-900k by 2025.

I also grew up in the "south Sudbury" part of Framingham. I haven't lived in Framingham in over 15 years and shocked to see my former elementary school (Brophy) rated 3/10 on greatschools and many of reviews say it's like 75% esl students now. When I was growing it it was about 98% white kids and I felt like it was a pretty good school. Seems like the north side has changed a bit since I left. The southside was alway rough but I knew people growing up who lived in decent family oriented neighborhoods there in the 80's and 90's but from what I hear it's also gone downhill a bit

[gtompkins]

Originally Posted by ryanms3030

I also grew up in the "south Sudbury" part of Framingham. I haven't lived in Framingham in over 15 years and shocked to see my former elementary school (Brophy) rated 3/10 on greatschools and many of reviews say it's like 75% esl students now. When I was growing it it was about 98% white kids and I felt like it was a pretty good school. Seems like the north side has changed a bit since I left. The southside was alway rough but I knew people growing up who lived in decent family oriented neighborhoods there in the 80's and 90's but from what I hear it's also gone downhill a bit

Yes, Brophy is one of the worst elementary schools in the town now. I can't speak for the school's 75% ESL rate but I believe the highschool is around 30%. Almost all of the ESL students live on the south side, even though a lot of them go to north side schools. Other schools, like potter road have good ratings.

The north side is essentially the same as it was 10 years ago, and if anything it is getting more gentrified. They are building luxury condos on top of the old Nobscot plaza by the abandoned church. They are also looking to build more mansions by the woodsy Edmands rd. area.

[Arya Stark]

Walpole. IF for nothing else the Franklin Commuter rail line is much more reliable than the Worcester (framingham) one.

[BostNative]

CaseyB,

Very hard to find a 5 bed in Walpole for under $650,000. Beautiful town but if your looking for Catholic Schools may I suggest Norwood? Very quaint town, property prices are still very good and good size lots. If you use the back roads the commute isn't that bad but again that depends on the time of day your traveling.

[BostNative]

Forgot to mention the commuter rail is in Norwood also