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.
Someone mentioned on here that Acton is diverse. Is the Acton diversity mainly due to the influx of Indian/Asian population? Where would I find a higher percentage of Europeans moving in or currently living: Acton, Concord, Natick, Melrose, Needham, Swampscott, Andover or Newburyport?
We are considering relocating to MA soon. Budget is currently set at 650K.
Schools are a top priority.
I am interested in Acton due to the value the town seems to provide, but have found that we were unable to "penetrate" certain community groups which were mainly Indian (past experience, different state).
I am also very interested in Concord because of all that surrounds the town which is what we are looking for (activities, parks, train, walkable, central location).
The children are in elementary school, I would like to quickly befriend moms who are not too suspicious of newcomers, but happy to have casual get togethers, playdates, coffee without an elaborate "get-to-know-you" procedure which in my previous experience took longer than I could care for! My son is very good friends with a few boys from school, but I found it nearly impossible to connect with others outside of school. We probably won't participate in typical group sports, so that's why I am inquiring here because I know it will be hard for me to predict which town would have the easy going feel I am looking for.
We are ready to have fun in MA and make great friends! Please help me to narrow down my town choices.
Last edited by paperpile; 05-16-2014 at 05:13 PM..
I'm in Brookline. Large European influx here in Coolidge Corner, and great schools. 650 can get you a nice 2 bed condo in Coolidge Corner, but there isn't much on the mkt right now and many are coming in with cash. Makes it hard to compete for a decent place.
I think you will find what you seek in already mentioned Brookline, Arlington, Cambridge, Belmont, Watertown.
You might add Reading and Andover as well (although not as cosmopolitan as other bunch, both are relatively less expensive).
Further away from Boston and into suburbs, harder to make fast friends. You need to look for the areas where people are not in the car all the time, and where you will have opportunity to socialize in semi-urban environment where kids still play on the local playgrounds and walk/bike to schools, shop in local shops etc.
Look for denser areas with sidewalks. Your budget will not be sufficient for single family in all of the areas mentioned but you can get very decent townhome or condo. Cambridge and Brookline are the most expensive. Belmont is not far behind, and then Arlington and Watertown are catching up with the rest. Arlington being one the most sought after areas lately. Watertown is still relatively cheap as its schools are not as strong as Belmont's for example.
All towns have large contingent of interesting people/educated people from all over the world, including Europe.
If you desire more cosmopolitan community you will have to make some sort of compromise between amenities and space you can afford.
I'm not sure what you mean by European influx. Do you mean people moving to the US from France and Germany etc or are you expressing a preference for people of a European background?
By and large the greatest diversity particularly in terms of newcomers is closest to the city and particularly to the universities just because people come from all over the world to attend and/or teach at them. Out of your list none of those seem particularly international but I may be misunderstanding what you are looking for.
What is it particularly you like about Concord and Acton? Are you interested in Acton as a more affordable compromise?
Wherever you go I have to tell you that if you want to meet moms without a long "get to know you" procedure you're going to have to move out west or something. Urban east-coasters are more guarded in general and entire blogs have been written about how hard it is for new moms to meet each other. If you browse the Massachusetts board you'll find a few posts about difficulty meeting new people around here. Many people particularly out in the suburbs already know everybody they want to know. Not saying to give up hope, you'll definitely meet people, but it takes a while, you're not going to become best buds immediately with a mom you meet at the playground. I wouldn't blame that on any one town or ethnicity, it's a regional thing, so I wouldn't write off Acton or any other town because of that.
Actually, the more I think about it, I've rarely met any mom friends at the playground in any place I've lived, although sometimes running into someone I've met elsewhere at the playground will strengthen a budding friendship. Most of the mom friends I've made have been through groups, clubs, and other activities and/or proximity (we live in the same neighborhood). Usually friendships have worked out best when there has been an overlap - once you start running into the same people over and over you get to know them better.
I know this is supposed to be about towns and diversity, not parenting and friendship, but I'd suggest once you move to wherever to go to activities at your local library, visit community organizations and parks, join a book club, have your kids join school or local activities or classes (art or computers or scouts or something else if you're not into sports). If you are religious at all joining a church/temple or any faith-based organization can be a great place to meet people quickly. And volunteer in your child's class or weekend fundraisers, join the PTO, become a teacher/leader of a group - it's a lot of work but you get to know so many people and because you're helping those people often want to get to know you better (if only so you'll help again!) It's also a great way to meet both kids and parents at once.
Having lived in metro boston with a child I can give you the lowdown on the burbs I frequented. Despite being at the playground and water parks daily and in the same preschool for 2 years I was only able to make 2 mom friends. One I met on the street strollering and one I scored at the playground in Arlington Heights. We frequented playgrounds in Weston, Wellesley, Somerville, Cambridge , Waltham, Arlington, Belmont, Sudbury, Melrose and Newton. During the day only Arlington, Sudbury and Melrose had any stay-at-home-moms on the scene. Melrose mom's tended to be insular and seem to all know one another already, Sudbury moms tended to be very open to meeting new people but most knew one another. The Arlington moms did not know one another but seemed easy to engage with and open to knew relationships. This makes sense since Arlington probably has the most transient populationof the three. Most of the other town's playgrounds were either empty or populated with nannies.
I know these are not exactly where you are looking but it is very very difficult to create a social group in Boston and starting somewhere like Arlington or Sudbury would make it much easier than Wellesley or Weston for example.
I know many Europeans from countries such as Denmark and Sweden, fewer Southern Europeans. Because at one time Acton and Concord were farming communities, there has always been a long established Scandinavian and some German culture. I think because it is easy to commute to MIT and Harvard from here. There are some Ukrainians. Others are employed in the engineering companies around 495 and 128. There are also families with roots back all the way to the colonial period.
Someone mentioned on here that Acton is diverse. Is the Acton diversity mainly due to the influx of Indian/Asian population? Where would I find a higher percentage of Europeans moving in or currently living: Acton, Concord, Natick, Melrose, Needham, Swampscott, Andover or Newburyport?
We are considering relocating to MA soon. Budget is currently set at 650K.
Schools are a top priority.
I am interested in Acton due to the value the town seems to provide, but have found that we were unable to "penetrate" certain community groups which were mainly Indian (past experience, different state).
I am also very interested in Concord because of all that surrounds the town which is what we are looking for (activities, parks, train, walkable, central location).
The children are in elementary school, I would like to quickly befriend moms who are not too suspicious of newcomers, but happy to have casual get togethers, playdates, coffee without an elaborate "get-to-know-you" procedure which in my previous experience took longer than I could care for! My son is very good friends with a few boys from school, but I found it nearly impossible to connect with others outside of school. We probably won't participate in typical group sports, so that's why I am inquiring here because I know it will be hard for me to predict which town would have the easy going feel I am looking for.
We are ready to have fun in MA and make great friends! Please help me to narrow down my town choices.
You will need an easy $900,000 to get a decent house in Acton, Concord, Needham. $1,000, 000 there is nothing.
School will be big factor that will contribute to social circle expanding and very quickly, especially if you can get engaged with PTO or sports.
We were very lucky to be able to meet many people on playgrounds in Cambridge and Belmont (Belmont has sizable SAHM and even STHD population.) Arlington is also very friendly.
All three have very transient population and Brookline is the same. I forgot to add Newton, which is also very family and kid friendly town that draws people from all over the place.
Unfortunately housing cost in all these places is a big issue, so some compromise on location, size, condition will be needed.
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.
