Wellesley or Needham for family with 500k income (Newton, Brookline: for sale, real estate market)

[brightdoglover]

I think Wellesley is more likely to be "old money" and Needham somewhat newer, if that makes any difference.

The strip club conversation is most certainly from people who drove in from elsewhere to dine out. I doubt it's an indicator of Needham or anywhere nearby. Trashy but not alarming.

[bostongymjunkie]

Where did she say she heard the strip club comments inside a restaurant? She did mentioning hearing "a lot of young men and women bragging about strip clubs and drug use." I'd be curious to hear where she encountered these people?

[brightdoglover]

You're right about a restaurant, I read "outings" and thought "restaurant." Thank you for clarifying.

[bostongymjunkie]

Someone else had referenced a restaurant too, so I thought I was missing something.

[johngolf]

If choosing between Needham and Wellesley, I would chose Wellesley based on perception alone. That said, I would be perfectly happy living in Needham.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

I think Wellesley is more likely to be "old money" and Needham somewhat newer, if that makes any difference.

Wellesley is mostly "new money." If you want to find large amounts of people enjoying generational wealth look to Weston and Brookline.

Originally Posted by bostongymjunkie

Someone else had referenced a restaurant too, so I thought I was missing something.

That was me. OP said they're not used to hearing these conversations over dinner so I assumed they overheard this while at a restaurant. Either way, I spend more time in Needham than anyone on this forum and I've NEVER overheard such a conversation even once in my 14 years living in this town.

Originally Posted by johngolf

If choosing between Needham and Wellesley, I would chose Wellesley based on perception alone. That said, I would be perfectly happy living in Needham.

Personally, I have no interest in living in Wellesley. The snob factor is a total turn off for me. If I wanted to move someplace more expensive than Needham I'd rather live in Newton. IMO Newton has more to offer than Wellesley. Wellesley does not have a hugely different offering than Needham to justify the price except for the "name value" meaning you can tell people you live in Swellesley. Any town that dedicates one weekend a year to celebrating itself (The Wonderful Wellesley Weekend) is not someplace I'd want to live. Just me. I've helped plenty of people move there over the years.

[msRB311]

‘Any town that dedicates one weekend a year to celebrating itself (The Wonderful Wellesley Weekend) is not someplace I'd want to live. Just me. I've helped plenty of people move there over the years.’

Is that really all that unheard of? I mean Dorchester does still do the Dorchester day parade and people from Dorchester have a lot of pride about being from there. They’re not snobby.

I would be happy if my town had a fun weekend of celebrating itself lol.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by msRB311

‘Any town that dedicates one weekend a year to celebrating itself (The Wonderful Wellesley Weekend) is not someplace I'd want to live. Just me. I've helped plenty of people move there over the years.’

Is that really all that unheard of? I mean Dorchester does still do the Dorchester day parade and people from Dorchester have a lot of pride about being from there. They’re not snobby.

I would be happy if my town had a fun weekend of celebrating itself lol.

We sort of have one. There's a road race, a barbecue, and a celebration on the town common with booths from different organizations and people selling crafts and art works and that sort of stuff. I think lots of towns have that. Sort of a show your pride in the town type day.

[massnative71]

^Yeah I have trouble seeing an issue with town pride/spirit.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by massnative71

^Yeah I have trouble seeing an issue with town pride/spirit.

Having a celebration of a town in and of itself is fine. Swellesley celebrating itself is a different thing IMO.