Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife has an office in Boston, so she wanted to be "somewhat" close to Boston. Nashua was stretching it, Manchester was out (too far away). I liked Nashua personally and there are nice neighborhoods there. I liked the people there and there are some black people around, but obviously not as many as you'd find in Boston (I still get my haircut in Cambridge). The schools are hit and miss. There are some great elementary schools, but once you get to middle and high schools, the schools aren't as great.
We ended up in Windham. But we did consider Andover, Chelmsford, Westford, along with Nashua and Hollis.
Milton is expensive. Nice homes, though. But for a 4 bedroom, you're going to pay for it. We needed the space because my wife's mom pseudo lives with us, and we needed room for a home office (I am 100% remote now).
Hmm, that's interesting. Even in the Merrimack Valley you'll find more Black people in Lowell (of course) but nowadays there's apparently some middle-class black people in Dracut and Haverhill but still a small #.
I'm glad you're enjoying New Hampshire but I would've looked to Stoughton Holbrook or Randolph if you want something similar to Milton but blacker (20, 15% and 45% black but probably an undercount, and growing) and cheaper- just food for thought should you ever buy another home. New Hampshire does get some of the spillovers from both for people looking for cheaper digs. But yea it's few in number.
I voted for Wilmington, although I can see why more people voted for Philadelphia. I am not sure what I was thinking at the time.
Anyway, I just wanted to say there is a large middle class Black community in Queens, mostly on the South Shore (Jamaica, St Albans, Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Hollis, Queens Village, etc.) but also in a few other neighborhoods like East Elmhurst. But it is hard for me to recommend New York because it is so expensive.
Hmm, that's interesting. Even in the Merrimack Valley you'll find more Black people in Lowell (of course) but nowadays there's apparently some middle-class black people in Dracut and Haverhill but still a small #.
I'm glad you're enjoying New Hampshire but I would've looked to Stoughton Holbrook or Randolph if you want something similar to Milton but blacker (20, 15% and 45% black but probably an undercount, and growing) and cheaper- just food for thought should you ever buy another home. New Hampshire does get some of the spillovers from both for people looking for cheaper digs. But yea it's few in number.
Where'd you move from?
We had a place in Merrimack. I moved there when I was working in Billerica. You could get more house for your money in NH. And now that I work remote, I don't have to pay state income tax in NH, which is almost like a pay raise. Property taxes are more in NH, but it's all a wash because of the other taxes you pay in MA. I'm close to 93 and get to Somerville in 40 min in non peak hours.
I'm not that familiar with Randolph, but for us, we wanted great schools, which eliminated Randolph (and possibly Stoughton and Holbrook) from the discussion.
We had a place in Merrimack. I moved there when I was working in Billerica. You could get more house for your money in NH. And now that I work remote, I don't have to pay state income tax in NH, which is almost like a pay raise. Property taxes are more in NH, but it's all a wash because of the other taxes you pay in MA. I'm close to 93 and get to Somerville in 40 min in non peak hours.
I'm not that familiar with Randolph, but for us, we wanted great schools, which eliminated Randolph (and possibly Stoughton and Holbrook) from the discussion.
Yea Randolph Schools aren't great. Stoughton's are better but not great for the regioin.
Randolph is bottom 25% for the state. Holbrook is bottom half.
Stoughton is slightly above the state average in terms of quality. The students from there are solid, noticeably more so than Holbrook.
^What about towns like Avon, Dedham, Norwood and Canton?
They didn't really have any appeal to us. Once we looked at demographics, we realized that a lot of these towns aren't that different than some towns in NH. We didn't have friends or family or work in those areas, so there wasn't a compelling reason to consider them.
They didn't really have any appeal to us. Once we looked at demographics, we realized that a lot of these towns aren't that different than some towns in NH. We didn't have friends or family or work in those areas, so there wasn't a compelling reason to consider them.
??? it’s not true at all. Those towns are significantly more diverse than any town in New Hampshire. For instance Avon is a majority minority school district.
Avon schools aren’t good, but Cantons are very good, and Dedhams are good.
Here is a very interesting interview I watched/listened to in regards to charter schools in NY State and from around 3 minutes in, the interview states how black students in charter schools do better in state tests than students in the state as a whole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKF11zQxZY8
So, that may be something to consider for those looking into areas in NY State.
^Just to add, some schools may have more extracurriculars/sports than others, if they have them at all. So, say you are interested in a charter school that has a Football program, some have programs that are just on their own like say Albany's Green Tech or Rochester charters University Preparatory(for Young Men) and Vertus. Others like Syracuse Academy of Science or Rochester Prep and Rochester Academy combine with an area Catholic school program. Some charters like Buffalo's Health Sciences and WNY Maritime combine to form a team.
For some of the NYC charters, you can't find or there isn't information on such activities.
So, those are some things to possibly consider with charter options.
^Just to add, some schools may have more extracurriculars/sports than others, if they have them at all. So, say you are interested in a charter school that has a Football program, some have programs that are just on their own like say Albany's Green Tech or Rochester charters University Preparatory(for Young Men) and Vertus. Others like Syracuse Academy of Science or Rochester Prep and Rochester Academy combine with an area Catholic school program. Some charters like Buffalo's Health Sciences and WNY Maritime combine to form a team.
For some of the NYC charters, you can't find or there isn't information on such activities.
So, those are some things to possibly consider with charter options.
Some more to add about some of these schools, Green Tech is actually known for its Basketball program(lost to Mount Vernon in the state public championship at the highest class this past year and won it all several years ago), Rochester's UPrep and the Health Sciences/Maritime program out of Buffalo both won Sectional titles in Football for their class and Health Sciences, as well as Syracuse Academy of Science are also known for their Basketball programs(Women's and Men's for the latter school). UPrep has also had some good Basketball teams/players.
Other charters that come to mind are: Tapestry Charter in Buffalo has had good Women's Track athletes and Men's basketball teams/players. Utica Academy of Science has a good Men's Basketball program. Eugenio Maria de Hostos, a predominantly Hispanic school with a good sized black non Hispanic enrollment(23% as of 2021 info) in Rochester and Rochester Academy both had really good Men's Basketball teams this past year. Same for Buffalo's Charter school of Applied Technologies(CSAT). Rochester Academy also has a Women's Flag Football team, which was a new sport in NY this year. UPrep also has a good Track program, including having one of the best 4 X 100 relay teams in the state(won Division 2 state title and 2nd in the Federation(all schools in the state): https://mobile.twitter.com/upreptf .
Also, Green Tech, UPrep and Vertus are all male. I know there are all female charters in Albany and Rochester.
Wish I knew more about the NYC charters, but many perform very well academically(Eagle Academy of Young men comes to mind).
I know that there are newer charters in Yonkers(Charter School of Educational Excellence) and on Long Island(Academy Charter in Hempstead, Uniondale and now Wyandanch as of Fall 2022), both having sports teams.
So, that is a bit more added information.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 06-28-2022 at 03:14 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
