Newton is lovely and wonderful. Literally the only issue with Newton is it is expensive AF.

Fair enough. I live in Watertown and really like it, but I’m childless and had no idea the schools weren’t very good.

Yeah it’s a really nice place, but it is expensive.

The median income in $164,000 and the average home price last year was 1.3m.

However if you can afford it it’s lovely!

Schools. The rest of the schools on that list are pretty good though. If they didn’t have kids watertown would be great!

Yes I think they have their own personalities and I also think some are a lot more residential and less walkable (or vice versa). Like Chestnut Hill has an entire highway running through and a whole mall and other villages might have like one or two restaurants.

Needham is a great alternative to Newton, for families, schools, and convenience. Just moved out from JP 2/2 enlarging family for the schools.

There’s a commuter rail, but it’s a bit infrequent, so we do have to seive

Weston is walkable?

Just out of curiosity, wrong with Watertown?

If you’re looking at newton. Weston is probably better for you. More suburbs

Newton sounds like it would meet your needs!

I went to college in Newton, and would often walk to Newton Center. Lots of shops and restaurants, very village-y feel but quite accessible to Boston on the D line, or via the Mass Pike or Route 9. Great place to raise a family. I’d love to move back there, but I’m a public school counselor, so that’s a no go for reasons already beaten to death on this thread lol.

I’m on the North Shore now, which has its own charms, plus the beach, but it’s not Newton.

If you don’t like traffic, you won’t like newton. Milton would be a better pic. Plus less snobby.

I am from Newton. As far as the Massachusetts area goes, it is about the nicest place to live except for Beacon Hill or Back Bay. Newton is a pretty, safe area which is outside of the city but close enough so that you can commute to Boston for work, school, the theater, etc. Moreover, Newton itself has plenty of shops, restaurants, and theaters which will give you fun things to do after hours despite it being in the suburbs.

That said, I do not come from a well-off background so from my own experience the degree of affluence in Newton may be alienating when initially moving there. It is expensive as well. However, if you can afford it and are looking for a nice place near Boston to raise children, it is a fine place to live.

The D branch is easily the best of the Green Line branches though as it is a dedicated track and doesn't have to stop at traffic lights or due to traffic. It is also the easiest branch to access Longwood from, it's only a 20-25 minute ride on the D branch from Newton Centre to the Longwood stop.

I agree commuting around the Boston area is generally not the best, but that particular commute is honestly quite easy. But I can see what you mean that if they can afford Newton Centre why not just go to Brookline anyways and be even closer. It depends what OP wants though, Newton is a little more suburban than Brookline is overall, though how dense each is really depends on where you are in each town.

Newton is better described as a collection of a half dozen villages each with a different vibe and co$t. It is polynuclear in a way that many other suburbs are not. Amenities in one are not found in another. Transit and walkability is also highly varied. Used to live there as a renter but could not afford to purchase there.

Since we’re tossing out towns, Jamaica Plain and Roslindale might be interesting for you. Even closer to Boston downtown proper than Newton.

Which villages are considered middle class?

Love the Fenway example; that kind of stuff is super helpful

It's a condition that harms the health of the individual, and there's a treatment that helps improve the health of the individual

It's that simple

Seems to me like it’s another layer of the entitlement complex in this country. I wanna be something else and you need to enable it to happen. What if i wanna be 6’9 and black? Is this a clinical condition if i get depressed because I’m 6’1 and white? I think you would just say I’m mentally ill. Getting hormone replacement or reassignment surgery changes neither your sex or your gender. We exist behind our eyes so identify as whatever you wish, but physically altering your body is just superficial window dressing that belongs in the same category as face lifts and breast augmentation. IMO

Fayetteville!

Do the villages have their own “personality”? Like some more / less affluent, more / less diverse?

Ye$$$$.

"Gender" is a bit of an umbrella term

Things like gender roles/norms/expectations are social constructs

Gender identity is to the best of our knowledge an innate aspect of someone's neurology

When one's gender identity and sex don't align, that can cause clinically significant distress in the form of gender dysphoria that's treated by aligning them as much as possible/necessary

Acton has the best schools; however it might not be as urban as you’d like