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Natick Downtown isn't trashy, but kind of a nothingness to it other than a handful of small businesses surrounding a lawn (common) area.
I live in Natick and I'd say the Framingham area that borders Natick is trashy.... houses ugly, cars parked all over the street, noisy people running motorcycles, blue collar looking. Nothing 'unsafe' but just not pretty.
"While living in Framingham I did discover that there is a network of longtime residents who seem to have a clannish insider attitude, and to turn a cold shoulder to those who move in from outside. I rented while in Framingham, and found that this cliquishness was very noticeable among a network of small-time local landlords who pretty much knew that they could mistreat their tenants any way they wanted and that the tenats had no recourse because the local government officials, who are part of that local-yokel network, would back up the landlords."
I have worked in downtown Framingham for four years and lived a few miles away on the border of Natick for about two years, and I could not agree with this more. The town has an extremely uncomfortable dichotomy between the old white "townies" whose families have lived there for generations, and anyone new, like young couples, students, and especially immigrants (God help you if you're Hispanic.)
Not only do I find the racism disturbing, but lack of education is really prevalent in both groups of people. The only major university in the city is Framingham State University, which is a so-so school. I have lived in many big cities with bad parts (like Worcester and Fitchburg) but I think one of the big differences is that those cities have high-profile, competitive academic institutions. So while the people passing through the schools may not be permanent residents, there are at least intelligent, ambitious people circulating through the community. This is not the case with Framingham - the college is not super competitive, and the people who frequent the places the city has to offer, frankly, tend not to be the best and brightest. This is a cruel generalization, but in my experience, it's true.
I found this was definitely true of my landlord, and my experiences match what the other person wrote very closely. My landlord was an uneducated, uninformed, misogynist *******. My wife and I are both highly educated, successful, hardworking people who were courteous and responsible tenants, but he had no qualms about bullying us when we did something he didn't like, like getting pets (which he agreed to during our lease interview, then flip-flopped on after we signed the lease) or throwing a party once a year. He would swear at us at the top of his lungs (I have NEVER been spoken to like that, before or since) and he seemed to have no fear of retribution, probably because his family lived in literally every building surrounding ours.
I'm not saying Framingham has no future or no potential, but the amount of effort needed to transform it into a more progressive, intelligent place is FAR more than I was willing to invest.
"While living in Framingham I did discover that there is a network of longtime residents who seem to have a clannish insider attitude, and to turn a cold shoulder to those who move in from outside. I rented while in Framingham, and found that this cliquishness was very noticeable among a network of small-time local landlords who pretty much knew that they could mistreat their tenants any way they wanted and that the tenats had no recourse because the local government officials, who are part of that local-yokel network, would back up the landlords."
I have worked in downtown Framingham for four years and lived a few miles away on the border of Natick for about two years, and I could not agree with this more. The town has an extremely uncomfortable dichotomy between the old white "townies" whose families have lived there for generations, and anyone new, like young couples, students, and especially immigrants (God help you if you're Hispanic.)
Not only do I find the racism disturbing, but lack of education is really prevalent in both groups of people. The only major university in the city is Framingham State University, which is a so-so school. I have lived in many big cities with bad parts (like Worcester and Fitchburg) but I think one of the big differences is that those cities have high-profile, competitive academic institutions. So while the people passing through the schools may not be permanent residents, there are at least intelligent, ambitious people circulating through the community. This is not the case with Framingham - the college is not super competitive, and the people who frequent the places the city has to offer, frankly, tend not to be the best and brightest. This is a cruel generalization, but in my experience, it's true.
I found this was definitely true of my landlord, and my experiences match what the other person wrote very closely. My landlord was an uneducated, uninformed, misogynist *******. My wife and I are both highly educated, successful, hardworking people who were courteous and responsible tenants, but he had no qualms about bullying us when we did something he didn't like, like getting pets (which he agreed to during our lease interview, then flip-flopped on after we signed the lease) or throwing a party once a year. He would swear at us at the top of his lungs (I have NEVER been spoken to like that, before or since) and he seemed to have no fear of retribution, probably because his family lived in literally every building surrounding ours.
I'm not saying Framingham has no future or no potential, but the amount of effort needed to transform it into a more progressive, intelligent place is FAR more than I was willing to invest.
I don't know about those groups, but my husband and I felt quite welcomed when we moved to North Framingham (past saxonville towards the sudbury line). My neighbors from all sides came over to introduce themselves. One even gave me a lilly to plant. Also, as far as education goes, Framingham is the 3rd geekiest town in the US. There's a good percentage of us here who are well educated.
“Science and Engineering Indicators 2010,” the NSF ranked the top 20 cities in the United States by the percentage of workers with jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. .... In third place is Framingham, Mass., where 16.6% of workers are science and math geeks."
Natick downtown has and is going through a revival and continues to get better, with more businesses and residents, especially young families, re-discovering it. There is currently an active town committee dedicated to improving it.
Framingham divides into more areas than just North and South. NorthWest features Callaghan State Park, historic stately homes, gentleperson farms and twisting roads, most connected to Sudbury. NorthEast (Nobscott and Saxonville) has Garden of the Woods, a nice Y, the future relocation of the Framingham library from downtown, ranch style, cape and some Victorian homes. Nobscott has sidewalks and is more 60s suburban. Saxonville has converted mills, is slightly more rural and similar to Wayland than Nobscott. SouthWest has newer homes and the country club. SouthEast, downtown is the only urban part. SouthEast, Framingham State (now University) area has many pretty historic homes and is much safer than many places. The campus recently was funded with significant improvements. The Route 9 has all the shopping anyone would want and many large apartment complexes.
Like Natick, Framingham is home to many intelligent and successful people who work at nearby businesses such as TJX, Bose, Staples and MathWorks, HQ'd in these two towns.
I rarely visit metrowest these days but I do have a close friend who bought a ranch in North Framingham a couple of years ago. He and his wife have had only good things to say about the community.
i would avoid downtown framingham and around the train tracks. Theres many gangs downtown including, Latin Kings, Bloods, Deuces and KST. Police recently made a huge drug bust and arrested 30 gang members. Avoid Beaver apartments/ street and Kendall Street (kendall street thugs is a huge gang)
Your best bet is Wellesley or Needham. Natick is safe also but downtown is also trashy. There was a shooting and stabbing between two local gangs a couple of years back and the high school is full of druggies
Framingham 'gangs' might think they are running some sort of thuggish empire but it is hardly one compared to anything that might go on in Boston or Worcester.
Crime happens in communities across the State. In affluent communities as well. ie Sudbury, Wayland, Hopkinton...to name a few.
Framingham has a wide spectrum of education and per capita income but in no way shape or form could even be considered highly populated with criminals.
Kendall Street 'gang' can hardly lay claim to thuggery. Please.
I don't think the individual posting on this forum is scoping out homes on 2nd Street. Or trying to rent on Beaver Street.
To that end, check out the Nobscot area of Framingham! Or even Saxonville! Recent major infrastructure upgrades and a new public library on its way! Great open space for recreation, close to the MA Pike, plenty of standard retail shopping...from the very high end to lower end. Lots of chains.
But check out a couple local awesome places to eat like, Gianni's Pizza (cash only), Subs and More (Saxonville) and Terra Brasillis (Downtown!!!).
Framingham is a great deal for the money...and the neighboring communities are all very nice and offer their own variety of retail, recreational and entertainment opportunities!
Don't ever move to Framingham, especially don't have children here. I am speaking from personal experience. If you have high hopes for your children it would be an incredible injustice to move here and send your kids into the public school system in Framingham. There is a small and I mean small section of Framingham that is "nice" Most of Framingham is very run down, especially areas on the North side, like Saxonville. The North side is heavily blue collar and some loose white collar types. It ranges from, at best, and less common, upper middle class, but mostly middle and lower middle. The South side poses a bigger threat where the crime level is higher; theft, prostitutes, drugs, abuse of all kinds, etc. Framingham is a crime ridden town period.
Unfortunately people don't care and move here anyway. You might argue the crime isn't as high as a city like Mattapan a burrow outside of Boston but crime in Framingham is very consistent. It's very very easy in Framingham for your children to get involved with the wrong crowd. If your child is vulnerable in any way or has a disability of any kind it would be a very dangerous place to raise your child because those children and prey in any town but especially in this town and especially in a public school system like Framingham. If you have higher hopes or goals for your children, if you are pro-education, pro - a "better life than the one you had" don't raise your children here.
Growing up here I experienced so many bad things. Drugs were so easy to get, there were dregs on every street corner and on every other block, my childhood friend was molested and raped, high school friends died of drug overdoses and were even murdered. A lot of kids just fell through the cracks of the public high school here, it's big and it's diverse. The same kids raised somewhere else would have had a better chance. Most recently there have been multiple deaths of former classmates that have died of drug overdoses and suicides all from Framingham. It was so easy to make friends with troubled kids because, well, many are troubled here. Who wouldn't be?
In my opinion if you can't afford kids, and you can't afford a nicer area you shouldn't be having children. It's an extremely selfish thing to do if you have to settle on a town like Framingham.
With all due respect you are totally misrepresenting the facts. While it's nice that you had/have friendly neighbors. The people working in the science or technology field here in Framingham do not necessarily live here and were not necessarily educated here. As far as education goes, Framingham, MA has a terrible school system and the two have nothing to do with each other. That list was done by Forbes in 2011 regarding the level of education of the worker and ranked the top 20 cities in the US by percentage of workers with jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which has nothing to with the educational system of the town, which ironically, happens to be terrible.
"The city hosts the corporate headquarters of the consumer electronics maker Bose and the office supply chain Staples, and a sizable Genzyme research center." Many of the workers are foreign-born including from China and India. "More than 40% of all university-educated foreign-born workers had their highest degree from a foreign institution. I presume if they were educated in the US they were educated at institutions like Harvard and MIT. The founder of Bose was educated at MIT. Also note, that these companies: The Bose corporation and Staples corporation are on the town line of Framingham located near the major highways. The neighboring town of Southborough has a much different demographic. I am making an educated guess that many of these workers live with their families and educate their children in private schools outside of the Framingham area.
I have to disagree with your claim that the educational system of the town is "terrible." Quick research online shows that US news rates the Framingham school system 36th best in the state and 760th nationally. Boston Magazine rated it 28th in academic performance. Also per US News, 96 % of students grade "proficient" in english and 89% in math, ostensibly per MA's soon-to-be defunct MCAS state assessment system.
It's not Phillips Andover, OK, and there are better schools in the area. In fact, I would say Framingham largely suffers from being in proximity to many of the best schools in the area, like Dover-Sherborn, Wellesley, Wayland, Lincoln-Sudbury, etc. But, it's an above-average school system by every rating system used by anyone in the area, save for this guy with a bone to pick above.
Why is there a tendency to describe Framingham only in reference to its Downtown? It is well-established that the downtown area is sketchy and ugly, but it's like 10-20% of the town.
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