Wisconsinite wanting to move to Salem area BUT... what’s it really like living there?

[SalamanderSmile]

There is nothing family friendly about greater Boston. Daycare is incredibly expensive, recreation programs are expensive, many schools have no bus service at all, full day kindergarten may or may not exist and may or may not be free, before and aftercare may not be offered or may be by lottery and will be expensive, summer camp/day camp can be incredibly expensive, going to a museum or even the sea shore involves exorbitant parking fees. You have to understand that whatever it is you want to do, there are a bajillion other people competing to do that same thing at the same time just due to the population density. The only thing that costs a normal amount is a YMCA membership if you are lucky enough to have a Y near you.

Salem itself is mostly middle-to-poor but with some nice amenities, a cute downtown and the commuter rail. It is a mix of nice and downtrodden. I would guess the population to be about 30% Dominican. The schools are not well regarded but have a decent spanish immersion program that helps to deal with the burden of a massive number of "english language learners" under the guise of being a program for native english speakers to learn spanish. It is a less expensive way of integrating the populations than providing intensive ELL intervention for the native spanish speakers.

One of the worst aspects of Salem (and a few other north shore towns) is the fact that there is only one way in and one way out. For a regular town this is bad enough but Salem is a tourist destination, especially at Halloween. This can lead to massive traffic headaches.

[MassVt]

We would have to know what section of Wisconsin you currently live in. If you're from any town/city not named Milwaukee or Madison, I think you may be in for a bit of culture shock. Sticker-price shock, too, in a very big way..

BTW, I once lived in Madison...

[frameofmind]

Originally Posted by seventythree

Hi Frameofmind

Were you driving for that long commute? Train should be very quick into the city...

10 mins to commuter rail station, 20-25 mins on train to boston, 10-15 for green line, 20 mins on green line to back bay, 15 min walk to office. roughly speaking.

sure, the commuter rail into the city was fairly easy, but it all depends on where you live and where you work, it can add up.

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by SalamanderSmile

There is nothing family friendly about greater Boston.

The schools in Massachusetts are ranked #1 in the nation.

And honestly the only part of salem that I would lable as poor would be the point. That and some of the apartment towers off of highland Ave (I believe some of those might be section 8 but I'm not sure. The rest is solidly middle class.

And there are some neighborhoods off of the Salem common that are downright beautiful. Basically a suburban Beacon Hill at a lower price point.

And I do think that Salem has some of the best nightlife in the Boston area outside of Boston/Cambridge. Still stinks that all of the places close at 1am instead of 2am though.

Salem does have a great restaurant scene too.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by SalamanderSmile

The only thing that costs a normal amount is a YMCA membership if you are lucky enough to have a Y near you.

A YMCA membership is expensive everywhere.

[ECPCVC]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

The schools in Massachusetts are ranked #1 in the nation.

And honestly the only part of salem that I would lable as poor would be the point. That and some of the apartment towers off of highland Ave (I believe some of those might be section 8 but I'm not sure. The rest is solidly middle class.

And there are some neighborhoods off of the Salem common that are downright beautiful. Basically a suburban Beacon Hill at a lower price point.

And I do think that Salem has some of the best nightlife in the Boston area outside of Boston/Cambridge. Still stinks that all of the places close at 1am instead of 2am though.

Salem does have a great restaurant scene too.

The stats say 60% of Salem high school students receive free/reduced lunch. It ranks 301 out of 348 HSs in MA for test scores. Yes, MA schools are great overall, but I would not move across the country to send my kids to Salem public schools.

[bohemka]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

The schools in Massachusetts are ranked #1 in the nation.

And honestly the only part of salem that I would lable as poor would be the point. That and some of the apartment towers off of highland Ave (I believe some of those might be section 8 but I'm not sure. The rest is solidly middle class.

And there are some neighborhoods off of the Salem common that are downright beautiful. Basically a suburban Beacon Hill at a lower price point.

And I do think that Salem has some of the best nightlife in the Boston area outside of Boston/Cambridge. Still stinks that all of the places close at 1am instead of 2am though.

Salem does have a great restaurant scene too.

I agree completely. Salem is a gem.