Lol. Real estate prices in Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Medford, etc have nothing to do with the schools. Housing is expensive because people want to live in Boston, or at least with subway access to Boston.

Housing in Manhattan and San Francisco are also very expensive, but they're definitely not home to their State's best school systems...

They were the ones who ruled out paint less dent removal :( and the cost to remove it the regular way is a little steep. So I wanted to check with a few more places

Mikes Auto Body in Malden

Boston Rindge and Latin? Another poster mentioned that BPS has some stellar schools, but that is through lottery. It's surprising that people would pay such a premium only on a chance that the children could attend a "good" school.

Because the home price is driven by childless people who want to live in hip areas.

Uh-oh better call Maaco!

The prices are high because there’s a ton of demand for homes around Boston near where people work. School ratings are important for people at very specific points in their lives, and while good schools might make some areas more expensive, the places you’ve listed would be expensive even if no public schools were available .

Yes. The answer is all of the above and probably more. How this impacts public schools still remains to be seen a little - give it a few more years. "Gentrifcation" isn't new, but schools are slow to change.

Some urban schools, not just exam schools or magnets, can be excellent though poorly rated due to the inability to properly track students K-12. We're talking about a more mobile population. Some kids move from Eastie to Chelsea and back again while in High School, and those are not the same municipalities. I have personal experience with CHS and students can really thrive there, but scores reflect the transient nature of the population and high percentage of ELL students. Scores aren't everything. Scores don't show how well those students have actually progressed while at CHS. If you really want to know how good "the schools" are, track students who have been in the system K through 12 or at least most of it.

Also, look for turnover. If there's a new principal or superintendent every other year, regardless of what kind of school it is, rule that place out. It has problems.

I live in a gateway city and we are exploring two options right now for kindergarten. 1. Public school. 2. Secular private school. There will be no charters or religiously affiliated schools in our short list.

Because of the proximity to Boston proper for work…

This is a question in the right direction: I haven't looked carefully, but I don't think spending per student accounts for the difference.

The typical correlation is expensive houses (relative to area) -> affluent parents -> better school performance. This holds true pretty well in most school districts around Boston, but not in a few.

I suppose, as another poster proposed, it is the location bonus that raises the prices, but I'm impressed that a location bonus would be so strong.

Another poster mentioned that some Boston schools are stellar. I know there is a lottery to get in, but I suppose if you have the right connections the lottery isn't so random.

I suppose the GLX increased prices in Somerville, but it's not like they were low to begin with

A lot of people who can afford to buy a house in a nice area of Boston will put their kids into private school so BPS not being good won't impact their decision.

Two of the four places you listed are in the school district with the #1 school in the state.

You listed 2 neighborhoods of Boston and 2 cities that border it. Idk why you would be shocked houses are expensive there.

... or maybe it's an indication that schools are poorly rated for reasons other than their town's available funds to pay for said schools?

What's their per-student spending look like?

This is because there are more people looking for homes than there are homes.

You must not live here if you’re surprised. It’s an expensive city. Anywhere in close commuting distance is expensive.

Charlestown and East Boston are all part of the same district. BPS may not be highly rated as a whole but it does have a couple of the best public schools in the country, if your kid can get into them. Prices are high everywhere though, so unless you are fine with a long commute or don’t work in the city, people are willing to pay $$$.

[removed]

Thank you for the tip. I haven’t been there in a while.

Literally falling apart

Jesus how bad is it? Haven’t been to Back Bay station in a while

Even then! I work in low threshold housing. Business casual scares some of my clients lol.

Unless you deal with customers/clients, dress codes are such a bullshit thing

Stretching out your leg to try to avoid it increases the likelihood you'll fall.

I would just take the wet feet and always have two or three extra pairs of socks in my backpack.