Like Swampscott, but somewhere else?

[NS-GR]

We lived in Swampscott for many years and I think that Swampscott is a very beautiful town with good schools. In my opinion South Shore is much better/family-friendly than the North Shore and especially if you want to travel to CT often, I would say there is no reason to go to Swampscott, because it might not worth the extra time… These are some things that you might want to know about Swampscott:
-It is generally difficult to get to. It takes about 25+ minutes to get to a major highway.
-1A is the only reasonable driving route to Boston and it travels through very industrial areas or residential areas with rundown feeling.
-Some families find it too much that the school system follows Christian and Jewish holidays (too many days off school sometime, especially in the fall, so families need to make arrangements. Great if you want to have many long weekends to travel to CT though!)
-However, strong religious diversity is a great plus for the area. It has several synagogues and churches and this is remarkable for a town with only 13K people. Some folks, however, may not like that in some neighborhoods (and especially in Marblehead) Xmas or even Halloween may be toned down for religious reasons.
-Most people in the area complain about the high taxes of the town.
-Others do not like the very close proximity to Lynn and Salem (and even Chelsea and East Boston) because they are considered to be areas with higher crime.
-As everywhere else, some of the old houses in the historic district need a lot of work. In addition, people generally do not like the small yards. The streets in the historic district are very busy. Kids cannot really play outside without supervision (compared to other neighborhoods of the town).
-Flooding issues are common in Swampscott roads, especially on 1A.
-You mentioned Lynnway drive, which is so beautiful. Ironically, people from Swampscott do not like to stroll there (again because of Lynn). I never understood this, but it is true. They would prefer to go to one of the beaches of Swampscott, but not really walk or jog along Lynnway.
-Many folks in Swampscott think that they are in a wealthy suburb. They are not. Swampscott (and Marblehead) are average suburbs.
-Many families that used to live in Swampscott for many generations have left for other areas. This may be good though, as certainly it is not a town with a townie feeling.
--We liked Swampscott because it is truly quite diverse. For example, it has a very strong percentage of families of Russian descent. Many families from Lynn move to Swamoscott for better and safer schools etc.
-The schools are ok, but not anything extraordinary that you cannot find elsewhere in Mass.
So, the bottom line is that you have to do a lot of research before you decide to plant roots somewhere. Some of the things that are great for others may not be good for you and your family.

[tysmith95]

Swampscott and Marblehead average suburbs? Not at all. Marblehead is probably the wealthiest surburb on the North Shore other then Manchester. The per capita income is over 58k as of 2013. Far above average.

Swampscott isn't as wealthy as Marblehead (with a per capita income of 48k). Still it definitely has it's wealthy parts, and is a great town overall. It's equivalent to places like Westford, Arlington, Chelmsford, Scituate, Reading, etc if you're comparing wealth. Above average but not terribly wealthy towns.

I'd consider a place like Saugus or Peabody to be average middle class suburbs, while a place like Swampscott I'd lable as an above average upper middle class suburb.

[NS-GR]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

Swampscott and Marblehead average suburbs? Not at all. Marblehead is probably the wealthiest surburb on the North Shore other then Manchester. The per capita income is over 58k as of 2013. Far above average.

Swampscott isn't as wealthy as Marblehead (with a per capita income of 48k). Still it definitely has it's wealthy parts, and is a great town overall. It's equivalent to places like Westford, Arlington, Chelmsford, Scituate, Reading, etc if you're comparing wealth. Above average but not terribly wealthy towns.

I'd consider a place like Saugus or Peabody to be average middle class suburbs, while a place like Swampscott I'd lable as an above average upper middle class suburb.

On paper, they might be slightly above average in terms of wealth, but they do not project the feeling of the wealthy town some of their residents think they live in.
Technically, I think that the per capita income is basically calculated by dividing an aggregate measure of income by population, no? So, I should be right to assume that the few very wealthy families, along the Marblehead neck especially drive this metric up?
Swampscott essentially has two parts: one that looks like the upgrade version of Lynn and the other that is similar to Marblehead.
Overall, I am sure that both Swampscott and Marblehead are a good fit if one likes what they can offer.