New Yorker looking for potential move to MA. Need advice. (Boston: public schools, gated)

[zambiehearts]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

And for all of those accusing him of wanting to be around white people check your own neighborhood first. I’m guessing none of you live in mattapan, Roxbury, Dorchester or Hyde park. Stop being so hypocritical.

I generally try to avoid these topics and am mostly an observer here but I remember the first time I moved to Boston I moved in with a friend in Roxbury (I am mixed race) and I was genuinely shocked at how segregated Boston was in general (this includes a lot of suburbs). None of this is a coincidence and ya, a lot of these parents wouldn’t send their kids to school with kids growing up in those neighborhoods either. People all over choose neighborhoods for specific reasons. They might not explicitly say it is because of race but it is often implicitly related to race, even if that is because of zoning, regulations, legacies, etc.

[Bridge781]

It seems like on this forum people claim they want to live in a diverse neighborhood but no one actually does. People on here think Milton is a diverse town.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

It seems like on this forum people claim they want to live in a diverse neighborhood but no one actually does. People on here think Milton is a diverse town.

It's relative. Milton is ~15% Black/African American and ~7% Asian ... both are higher than the state average. It's not NYC, but relative to other 'burbs it is diverse.

[Bridge781]

Yes Milton might be more diverse than hingham or norwell for example but that makes sense that it would be since it’s bordered by Dorchester, hyde park and mattapan. There is a section of Milton near mattapan that has a good number of black families living there. It’s been that way for years. So yes if you move to Milton and send your kids to Milton public schools they will be going to school with a higher percentage of black kids than what you would find in many other towns. I don’t think I’d call Milton diverse though just because of this. If anything Milton can come across as somewhat segregated since the black families only live in this particular neighborhood often referred to as miltapan. I say this is someone who grew up in Milton and parents still live there.

[mdovell]

Well I live in downtown springfield and it's pretty diverse. People might be here for different reasons. Medical, education, public work, casino etc. but it's pretty diverse. It's nice that I (still) walk to different restaurants. I miss the festivals covid be damned.

With respect to segregation there can be such things a ethnic neighborhoods. I mean if a GIS map shows a concentration of Asians in Chinatown is it *THAT* surprising? Obviously from a legal perspective everyone can live anywhere. The book the Color of Law examines things like public housing. It was originally work force housing and not so much poorer ends. Sometimes when immigrants come over they gravitate towards people like themselves that already have a foothold. Cambodians in Lowell, Dominicans in Lawrence, Portuguese in Fall River and New Bedford. Language barriers blend a bit which is why you see Cape Verdians. If people are religious then can tend to go to where there are religious centers. In western mass many were/are Catholic so that meant the churches stayed fuller longer.

Now if you take a place and they aren't religious, they didn't have historical districts and hardly invite anything of a cultural event then yeah it can become all the same.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by mdovell

With respect to segregation there can be such things a ethnic neighborhoods. I mean if a GIS map shows a concentration of Asians in Chinatown is it *THAT* surprising? Obviously from a legal perspective everyone can live anywhere. The book the Color of Law examines things like public housing. It was originally work force housing and not so much poorer ends. Sometimes when immigrants come over they gravitate towards people like themselves that already have a foothold. Cambodians in Lowell, Dominicans in Lawrence, Portuguese in Fall River and New Bedford. Language barriers blend a bit which is why you see Cape Verdians. If people are religious then can tend to go to where there are religious centers. In western mass many were/are Catholic so that meant the churches stayed fuller longer.

Segregation among immigrants is a completely different topic than racial segregation among Americans.

A Korean immigrant is not going to move to a chinatown because they are both asians. Same as an Italian would have not moved to an Irish neighborhood in the past.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

Sooo this is again where I get frustrated with this forum. I’ve seen sooooo many posts from people of certain ethnicities come on here and say, hey where can I find a neighborhood with other indian, Chinese or black people. No one ever says a thing and just helps the person. Maybe this guy took it a bit far calling out the third world country thing but if he was living I a a neighborhood where he was witnessing crime frequently by illegals who happen to be from 3rd world countries I can see where he’s had enough. I’ve been there. Many people don’t want to live in a neighborhood where illegal activity is happening. Not a big deal y’all.

Ok. While I personally wished none looked for a place to live based on their race there is a huge difference between saying "I want a neighborhood with people that look like me" vs "I want a neighborhood whiteout people that don't look like me".

To many people feel weird to stick out and being the only black (for example) person in a white town definitely makes you stick out. If you have kids, your kids may be at higher risk of being outcasts, just because they are different. It doesn't even have to be a "real" racist problem. Bully will always look for people to bully and if your kids are different that can be a good enough reason to bully them.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Ok. While I personally wished none looked for a place to live based on their race there is a huge difference between saying "I want a neighborhood with people that look like me" vs "I want a neighborhood whiteout people that don't look like me".

To many people feel weird to stick out and being the only black (for example) person in a white town definitely makes you stick out. If you have kids, your kids may be at higher risk of being outcasts, just because they are different. It doesn't even have to be a "real" racist problem. Bully will always look for people to bully and if your kids are different that can be a good enough reason to bully them.

Yes. He wasn't saying "Hey, I'm an Irishman and I'd like to find a community with other Irish folk so we can, you know, do Irish stuff"... it was the fear and loathing of people who weren't racially and politically the same and this intense desire to avoid them that made me say wow!

[massnative71]

"Growing up, we had many Irish and/or Italian/Jewish neighborhoods where people shared similar values."


Or maybe he just misses that sense of community or solidarity, that was once present in these old ethnic neighborhoods. It doesn't necessarily equate to racism. People are so damned thin skinned, and quick to judge and label.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Boston isn't really a rich city. Just because someone male a salary there doesn't mean they live there. Crime has increased significantly in the past year as more that used to work are telecommuting and that tilts the average.

I wouldn't say liberal and smart are the same thing. It's expensive because of restrictions. 30,000 city employees must live in Boston, prevailing wages, zoning restrictions for new homes, lack of transit in some areas.

Post covid rents are dropping. September should be interesting. Kids go back or not? Boston wants a hybrid. Heck tens of thousands left Cambridge

I’d day it’s a “rich”City now, for most. I would not have said the same prior to 2015. Definitely not 2010 and back. Good points you made.