So, in the continuing saga of the S&I family, we are moving to Massachusetts.
A little back story: we lived in Beirut for 6 years, until we got trapped there last summer during the war and, after enjoying 10 days of constant bombing courtesy of Lebanon’s Neighbor to the South, we were evacuated by the US Navy. Needing an income but not willing to return to Beirut quite yet, I took a visiting gig in Hong Kong which goes through this summer. But a permanent solution was needed, and moving back to Lebanon still seemed like possibly not an entirely good idea. So I applied for permanent positions elsewhere, and received an offer from a college in northern Massachusetts. Good school, will allow me to retain my current rank, etc.–all in all, just the thing that was needed.
My wife and I are thinking that living in Boston (or at least on the Boston subway grid) would make life more interesting than living in a small town in northern MA would. So we are looking at Quincy, MA. It has subway access, it is on a commuter train line (the Old Colony Line, if it matters) that runs to the town where I will be teaching, is just south of Boston (thereby minimizing my commute time), has real estate which does not seem to be totally outrageous in price, and seems in many respects to be a nice place. So, Beantown (and vicinity) Dopers, tell me about Quincy. Nice place? Good schools? Good cultural, recreational and dining opportunities? Would you want to live there? Tell all, and don’t be shy (and don’t pull any punches, either).
I grew up in Quincy! Nice town. here are some details:
-big town, many (varied) neighborhoods. north Quincy (access to Boston via MBTA RED Line Trains) has become heavily chinese over the past 20 years (a consequence of Boston tearing down Chinatown). Wollaston has a very nice beach (now clean and nice). Montclair is uppper-class, and the old downtown was moribund for years, now is coming back nicely.
The plusses:
-excellent school system, close to Boston, good doctors and hospitals. Low crime rate , almost all crime involves burglaries, wery little assaults, etc. Historic (birthplace of 3 presidents)
The dowmside; OLD city, housing is old ( about 50% of houses more than 80 years old. Congested roads, and taxes are rising.
However, if you live in Wollaston, you have access to a nice beach in the summer, with a fine view. If you have to commute to work though, be prepared for lots of traffic.
It’s got the Adams’ family houses (the presidents, not the creepy TV family), which is a plus in my mind. Definitely worth visiting, and I’m sure the tourist dollars help the local economy. There are two Adams households – John Adams’ first one and his later, larger residence with its separate, stone, fireproof library (which I envy).
Quincy also has the site of an abortive attempt to build the first ironworks in the colonies. But the site wasn’t optimal, and they moved the ironworks to where I live in Saugus, which now has the historic site. But a concrete marker in Quincy marks the site of that first attempt.
I haven’t been there in years, but, as I recall, Quincy has an actual downtown with a variety of stores. Not all New England towns do – even those close to Boston. You can also catch the Red Line right in Quincy and ride it into the city — that’s definitely a plus.
Well, I signed up (as a guest) specifically to respond to this post. I grew up in New England, but eventually moved away for employment. Thankfully I have returned home. When looking for somewhere to live, I ended up in Quincy.
Here are some good things about Quincy:
Easy access to the “T”. The Red Line stops right in the middle of downtown Quincy at the Quincy Center Station and again just about a mile outside of downtown at the Quincy Adams Station. Both stops are pretty convenient and accessible to the express way.
A proposed revitalization of downtown is in the works. The recently elected governor earmarked about $5 million to help revitalize downtown Quincy. While there are some nice stores and restaurants, there are sections of downtown which need some help. Hopefully this money will be released soon and put to good use.
There is a nice historical presence in the area. First, Quincy is home to the Adams homes (trolleys run from April 19th - November 1) from downtown to both of the Adams homes. John Adams and John Quincy Adams are interned in a church that is the center of the downtown district. Wollaston and North Quincy are also on the Red Line and just north of Quincy.
If not commuting by train, the drive to downtown Boston should take about 20 minutes – depending on traffic which can be bad.
From what I hear, the school district is pretty decent. Quincy College is also right downtown. While it is a community college, it does have a decent reputation.
Here are some bad things about Quincy:
As mentioned, there are some not so nice sections of downtown. You don’t need to worry about crime, but there are sections that are in need of repair.
State/local taxes are pretty high, but this is common in all areas of the Commonwealth.
Traffic in Quincy can be heavy given the limited traffic flow through the streets and neighborhoods.
Housing is limited and expensive. As someone else mentioned, a lot of the housing is older homes; but, there are some new apartment complexs in downtown quincy that offer a central location.
Anyway, I could easily recommend moving to Quincy!
Ummm, you DO know that Boston’s North and South commuter rail lines are NOT connected, right?
I grew up in Quincy, and it is ok, but if you will be working north of Boston, you want to live north of Boston. Anything else will end up being a commuting nightmare that would have you looking forward to falling bombs.
And that $15,000,000,000 car wash they put in? Doesn’t help trafic a bit :smack:
I skimmed the OP and missed the point about the job being North of Boston. That’s a MAJOR point.
I would NEVER take a house where I had to commute Across Boston twice a day. That’s insane (although I had one co-worker who did it). Just getting into Boston is bad enough.
I can attest that there are plenty of towns North of Boston that are fascinating. The subway grid extends up to Melrose, which also has a very nice downtown and excellent schools. The bus system and the rail system extend even farther north and northwest.
I actually commute from Quincy to Charlestown every day via the T and it takes me roughly 35-40 minutes. Of course this depends on a connection to the Orange Line. Throwing in me iPod and ignoring my fellow commuters makes the commute quite easy. Driving would take a bit more time as commuting to the South Shore is pretty bad on I-93 S
ITATI?
Actually, I will be working south of Boston (in Easton, MA), so that’s why I want to live in/near South Boston and on the southern commuter line. Sorry about the miscommunication.
Ok, that makes more sense. Just to let you know, the commuter rail stops in Stoughton–our beloved [NOT] new moonbat Gov. Patrick is annouceing today that he wants to extend the Stoughton rail line through Easton to Fall River and New Bedford, so don’t count on trains for 5 to 7 years, if he manages to raise our taxes to find money to pay for it.
Easton is a very nice area. But for the love of Og, stay away from Brockton.
Brockton would be a good site for a Neutron Bomb test.
Boston-area doper chiming in! I actually live north of the city in a sleepy little town called Marblehead (which is lovely, by the way). There have been a couple of really good points made about the actual factuals of living in Boston. First and foremost, the commuter rails north and south of the city do not (indeed) connect, and the actual distance from north station to south station is (I’m estimating here) probably a 15-minute walk in the best possible conditions, or a 15-minute trip down into the bowels of public transportation and back out again.
So, presuming public transportation isn’t really a viable means of actual transportation, you might need a car and risk your life driving in our crumbling tunnels and over our deadly I-93 overpasses.
Or find a home north of the city. If you don’t mind revealing it, I’m curious which college you’re going to be working at. Marblehead is handy to Salem State College (where I’m working on a Business Degree in International Management) Endicott College (my wife is Alumni - excellent, expensive school), there’s Gordon College, a ton of little Liberal Arts Colleges, and of course Community Colleges up the wazoo (so to speak).
Not to mention the world-class colleges and universities in town. Whew. How can I live in a place with so many great schools and be so dum?
Well, the MTA site says the Old Colony line starts at South Station, stops at Quincy station, and also has a stop in Brockton. (Okay, that’s the inbound schedule, but you get the idea.) From Brockton I can catch a bus to Stonehill College (which, to answer **Winston Smith’s ** question, is where I’ll be working). Nobody who works there seems to actually live in Easton or Brockton, and like I said, I think living closer to Boston would be better. I don’t want to try driving in MA winter weather (I’m from Texas; we suck at snow driving), so I want to be able to take public transportation to work. Besides, we don’t want to have to own two cars. Ergo, the importance of living on the Old Colony line, which is the line that actually goes near Stonehill, according to the MTA site.
I’m sorry I confused everyone by saying I would be working in northern MA. I blame temporary insanity.
Quincy’s nice, but a little down at heel for my tastes in many parts compared to some of the towns around it. I’m considering a move back to Boston and I’m looking seriously at Braintree, right next door and still connected to the T.
I’m an academic–down at the heel is the best we can do. Besides, I’m not sure I could live somewhere called ‘Braintree.’ The mental images it calls to mind…
It would be, especially in that part of the state. Lots of quiet exurban and rural areas in that part of MA. Brockton leaves quite a bit to be desired, but they have a great annual fair.
Lessee, looking at Mapquest…
Mansfield has a big outdoor amphitheater concert venue (used to be called Great Woods but has some corpo-name now), and Foxboro is where the Patriots play, and their stadium is used for concerts as well.
Sharon is very nice* as is Canton. Nearby Stoughton has a Commuter Rail Station, but it’s not as well connected to Easton as Brockton Station is, through The Brockton Area Regional Transit Authority (not part of the MBTA). Bus Route 9 goes from Brockton to Stonehill College, as can be seen in the lower left hand corner of this map. It looks like you’d have to take two other BAT busses (14 then 4) from Stoughton Station to connect with Bus 9 to Stonehill.
If you are getting the impression you will be working in the boonies, you are correct.
*Keep in mind I haven’t lived in the Boston area for a decade, so YMMV.
scotandrsn is correct – Easton is pretty much in the “boonie” section of the general south of Boston area. It’s not directly off Rte. 24 (the main highway that travels through the area). Lots of side roads you’d have to take if you were driving. Plus there’s the traffic you’d be encountering during rush hours, particularly from the Quincy/Milton/Braintree end. The Braintree Split (where Rtes. 128 and Rte. 3 separate) is a commuter’s nightmare :eek:
AFAIK there’s no public transportation between Quincy and Easton. If you were living in Quincy, I suppose you could hop on the 230 bus at Quincy Center station, ride it to the end in Brockton, and then hop the commuter rail to Stonehill. To me, it sounds like more trouble than it’s worth. I know I wouldn’t want to do it.
BTW, what everyone’s said thus far about Quincy is spot on. I’ve lived in the general area most of my life. Quincy’s biggest issue right now is the jump in property taxes. There are a lot of people looking to “get out of Dodge”. It’s also a very old city with some neighborhoods best avoided like most cities. There are also some very nice areas, like Wollaston and Montclair.
If I were you, I’d keep Quincy on the back burner and look for someplace closer to Easton. Omitting Brockton (which, incidentially, has a couple of decent areas, mostly on the Holbrook/Abington lines), there’s Randolph, Stoughton, Canton (a bit pricey, btw), Sharon (ditto), Mansfield, and the Bridgewaters. Possibly Abington too, although I think it’d be a bit out of your way.
John Adams and John Quincy Adams are interned in a church
So those adams guys have been interned since 1815? What crime did they commit?
Oh-you meanted INTERRED? Drat-I was hoping to talk to them!
ahhhh, the adams presidential library. whoa, those adams boys sure knew how to build a library. it is awesome, and i envy it as well; 2 stories of solid wall to wall books.
be sure to get to fenway once in a while. baseball is finestkind there.
Besides, I’m not sure I could live somewhere called ‘Braintree.’ The mental images it calls to mind…
