Moderate towns with 95 (Newton, Arlington, Woburn: appointed, for sale, private school)

[CaseyB]

There's a guy who rides up and down Rte. 1, close to Gillette Stadium with a huge FJB sign mounted on his bike. This guy is probably going to cause an accident.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by ca1337

The title has a typo, I meant "within I-95"

I currently live (renting) in Arlington with little kids going to public school and I find the ambiance very politically charged (extremely left-leaning). I'm a moderate, neither right nor left.

I'm looking to buy property and put down roots but the political climate here has me rethinking it. I'm looking for a more inclusive area with diversity of thoughts and public schools with an even-handed curriculum.

We have friends in Winchester and it looks a bit more moderate. Is this a correct assessment? Any other towns in the area like it? Maybe Lexington?

I wouldn't call Winchester more moderate but Billerica, Stoneham (unless that's recently changed) and Woburn are. If you're looking for upper class snobbish towns in the Boston area, they won't be moderate. Towrd the south Sharon was once moderate, not sure about now. Metro West toward Worcester (Karen Polito territory) is generally more moderate, but the viability of living out there depends on where you work.

[jayrandom]

Don't look at Presidential elections if you want to discern which towns are deep blue vs. moderate in Massachusetts. National politics do not align well with local politics. It is much more helpful to look at the 2014 gubernatorial election (2018 was a landslide, so less useful).

Mostly inside 128, Dedham, Saugus, Winchester, Woburn, and Wakefield. I can attest that at least Dedham isn't overbearingly progressive. It's not Trump country by any means and reliably elects Democrats in state races, but you won't be run out of town on a rail for putting up a Diehl sign.

[bricka]

towns that voted for trump in 2016 inside of 495:

North of Boston: Saugus, Lynnfield, Middleton, Tewksbury, Billerica
South of Boston: Hanover, Whitman, Hanson, Bridgewater, Pembroke, Halifax, Kingston, Plympton

the only town that voted for trump in 2016 inside 128 was Saugus.

[ca1337]

OP here. As some of you guessed it's not about the neighbors. BTW politically I'm dead center myself and a millenial. It's more about the school system and everything else that revolves around bringing up kids. I'll give you a couple of examples of the vibe here in E. Arlington.

All mentions of Halloween have been erased and little kids were NOT allowed to dress up to school under any circumstances. This point was apparently of great importance as we received multiple school messages leading up to the day. I asked why in an Arlington FB group and was told unanimously about inclusion and respect towards families who are against Halloween. The day after Halloween the kids crafted "Fall Pumpkins".

Most mornings, the area around the elementary school reeks of pot. That's just not the kind of place I want to raise my kids in. Some of the commenters have mentioned that a lot of the people living here are students and that could explain it. I haven't really noticed students and I walk through a neighborhood comprised of multi-million dollar condos/houses where families live.

And lastly I feel that most of the other parents seem very exclusionary (opposite to what they preach). We emailed everybody multiple times trying to makes friends and got crickets in response. Yet the friendly PTO e-mailed us asking for donations for "Winter Holiday gifts".

I see these elements as litmus tests that, taken individually might seem benign, but they usually belong in a wider pattern that will become apparent over time.

I'm not saying Winchester is massively better but apparently the Muraco school still has a Halloween parade, so there might be some normality left there? Commuting to Cambridge so I can't be too far away and I value well-ranked school districts. Still figuring this out.

[FCMA]

Nowhere in MA is true Trump country except some corners like Lakeville, Hardwick, and Blandford. If we end up in a Trump dictatorship that won’t be our fault at least. I like that MA retains a relatively rational, intelligent contingent of Republicans like Baker. We have less of the profoundly mentally ill red state minority types empowered by the electoral college and gerrymandered districts, who want to control our lives but whose views and despicable but morbidly amusing conspiracies will never represent much more than 1/3 of public opinion nationwide. MA’s right learners are thankfully more moderate overall.

I do appreciate my neighborhood Q people. They are to be commended for keeping the faith that the dem deviants will be arrested and perhaps executed on live TV soon when Trump is reinstated after next Tuesday. Some even still have Trump 2020 signs in the yard with the “Pence” blacked out like true patriots.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by ca1337

All mentions of Halloween have been erased and little kids were NOT allowed to dress up to school under any circumstances. This point was apparently of great importance as we received multiple school messages leading up to the day. I asked why in an Arlington FB group and was told unanimously about inclusion and respect towards families who are against Halloween. The day after Halloween the kids crafted "Fall Pumpkins".

Interesting. I've only run into that in Conservative Christian enclaves. One place I lived (Western KY, thankfully briefly) had Heavenween instead.

[htfdcolt]

Originally Posted by ca1337

I'm not saying Winchester is massively better but apparently the Muraco school still has a Halloween parade, so there might be some normality left there? Commuting to Cambridge so I can't be too far away and I value well-ranked school districts. Still figuring this out.

Well, shoot, our town (Woburn) had a big Halloween parade this past Sunday! And when it came down to a council vote recently on allowing cannabis stores to open within city limits, there was a lot of heated debate against it. Then again, you're also looking for "well ranked" school districts, so this may not be the fit either.

[Jacconn]

I think people underestimate here on this board how progressively-left Arlington has shifted in the last few years. So many young families who left Cambridge/Somerville but brought those politics with them and value a highly progressive environment. The OP is spot on, it really does change the vibe of the town, particularly for those with kids in the school system. I world not want to live in Arlington with 2 young kids for exactly the same reason. Winchester is a lot more traditional. Halloween is celebrated heavily in the schools. There’s a town tree lighting with Santa. I don’t smell pot around. People campaigned heavily to open schools/remove mask mandates (this was fraught - for sure - but it shows that most people wanted masks gone, whereas it wasn’t as debated as heavily in Arlington).

If I were OP I would not buy in Arlington either.

[Boston_Burbs]

Note to the OP, I think, regardless of politics, if you were to move to a more traditional New England town, alot of these issues would go away. Arlington like said above, seems to be moving toward an extension of Cambridge. Outside of politics, IMO you loose a level of involvement with these larger towns. Plus, you start to wonder how many of the residents now even grew up in New England.

For Example, Carlisle is as blue as they come but I bet you would have more "traditional" New England town activities and events that come with an expectation of civility among residents.

Cambridge, Sommerville, and now Arlington come off as more "California" liberal. I bet even Concord would be a more normal fit.