Gay friendly north shore? (Boston, Lowell: house prices, neighborhoods, school district)

[whiteberry]

Hi,

We are a same sex couple thinking of relocating to the north shore of Boston. We have a child, so we are looking for good school systems as well. We were thinking of Topsfield and Wenham/Hamilton. Can anyone who knows these towns provide some insight please? (Thank you).

[neilio]

Hey there,,, My partner & I live in Essex which is close to Rowley. I grew up in Rowley which has Pine Grove School. Rowley is close to Newburyport and the NH border. Nice small towns and very gay friendly.

[goyguy]

Rockport is probably the "friendliest" of the North Shore towns, and its schools are better than average but not on par with Hamilton/Wenham and Masconomet (the regional district which encompasses Topsfield and more economical Middleton.) Every time I take a day trip up there, I lose count of the "coded" flags and bumper stickers - rectangular rainbow, equal sign, etc. Having a large historic-preservation area and a reputation for being an art colony will do that for a town.

BTW the uproar over Gloucester High is overblown - teenagers have always exaggerated issues, and never more so than when a microphone's turned on. Even so, the educational quality in that city isn't all that great and there isn't much in the way of neighborhoods between "sketchy" and affluent.

Wenham and Hamilton are, along with Topsfield and Boxford, the "horsy set" communities of the North Shore. The Myopia Hunt Club in Hamilton is world-renowned in polo circles. The RSD (regional school district) is top-tier in terms of college placement and standardized test scores. But, as benign a portion of the party that it is for the most part, Republicans are well represented thereabouts relative to the state. There and in neighboring Beverly, elected officials from the GOP aren't exactly making headlines for their social tolerance. A state rep out of the area was one of the noisier anti-marriage voices when there was a real threat of that equality statute's being put up for popular vote. Wenham also happens to be the home of Gordon College and Gordon-Conwell Seminary, part of a Christian Right Ivy League of sorts.

My vote would be for either Rockport (#1) or Newburyport (#2), both served by commuter rail, relatively affordable, and tangibly more open to BLGT citizens than their neighboring cities and towns.

[massorcal]

Newburyport is not Northampton-by-the sea. Nor are its neighbor towns. I have seldom seen such closety places anywhere. The only gay flag I've seen on any car in this area is MINE.
My partner is attending Northern Essex Community College and homophobic slurs are common. At their GSA meetings I've attended a couple - no gay male faculty member will show up, only the lesbians.
I have 3 hearsay accounts of bashings taking place at the mythically gay Thirsty Whale in NBPT. I believe it because they were awfully rude to us.

I have to drive to Lowell or Chelmsford or Boston/Cambridge to attend gay 12 step meetings because the ones around here are not acceptable for a gay man, at least this gay man.

I am within a millimeter or two of regretting leaving San Francisco...I truly thought this would be better. I have great growing up memories, and I missed the seasons, but in a state like Mass I NEVER expected to encounter largish pockets of totally invisible or non-existent gay life.

[massorcal]

Contact the greater Boston chapter of PFLAG. They can give you a better bead on where you would find guidance and support for yourselves and your kids. Also, check the MCAS scores on schools in the state.

You obviously want more than a good school. You want your kids to be a supportive environment having same sex parents.

[bmak57]

Georgetown has a good school system, reasonable house prices. Not much in town though other than a few pizza shops. We are a hetero couple but have gay friends of both sexes that live nearby. I think people in the area are pretty tolerant. I haven't heard of any gay bashing, and I think most people we know are quite proud of the fact that Mass has made gay marriage legal. Best of luck in your new location wherever you choose.