Moving to Boston

[Trumpette]

Hello

DH has been offered a job in Boston, our kids are eleven and eight and I am a bit overwhelmed by it all!

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks sorry for the short post but I am in shock! TIA x

I grew up in Boston-it's a terrific city and you will love it. It has beautiful architecture, a terrific public transportation system, and the people there have a wonderful dry sense of humor which you may find familiar coming from the UK.

Housing is costly, but will probably not shock you too much. There are lots of surrounding towns with commuter trains that connect into Boston.

Do you have any particular questions about the area?

I live in Boston. It is a great city - very easy, beautiful, lots of history. Fab symphony, Tanglewood during the summer, good culture, lots o broadway shows come, Nutcracker every christmas.

You probably won't want to live in Boston itself but in one of the nearby towns or cities. A lot will depend on where your husband is working.

The biggest issue in deciding where to live will be school districts. Once you rent or buy a house in a district, your children are entitled to be enrolled in the schools - no big hassle about wait lists or anything, the only lottery is in Boston itself. They will go to the local school with all the neighbourhood kids. So you will want to pick by school district. Brookline is brilliant as are towns like Arlington, Winchester, Weston, Wellesley, Andover, North Andover, Lexington, Concord (god Concord is lovely - you would feel like you are living in a currer and ives print).

A lot of town/city spirit is based in the schools too so once your children are in school, it will be easier for you to connect to the community and make friends.

If you want your children to continue in the UK system there is a British International School. Fees will be high.

In the US system, your chiildren would be going in to grades 3 and 6 I think.

Make sure he gets excellent health care as part of his package of benefits.

Ask your husband to check out where his colleagues in Boston live.

Thanks for your replies, I am wondering about schooling really in the first instance!

All info is helpful! Just a bit over whelmed xxxx

As Canyou mentioned, you will not have to compete or scramble for publicly-funded school spots. Your kids will automatically have a place in the school in whatever town in which you reside. Some people do send their kids to private school, but I lived in a suburb and most of even the wealthiest families in my town chose to send their kids to public school.

I think once you know what your husband's salary might be, you will then be able to narrow down your geographical options.

I would add Newton to the list of towns to explore. Brookline is very walkable, very urban, and right up against the Boston border.

I am not sure I would endorse sending kids to the public schools in Boston should you choose to live in the city, but I am guessing you will choose to live in one of the surrounding towns.

Depending on how long you might live there, you could look for a public school system that has an IB program which approximates a European education. When American students are in high school, ages 13-17, they can also challenge themselves by taking Honors or Advanced Placement courses in areas of particular interest to them. That would not necessarily approximate the studies UK students do for the GCSE or A-levels, but certainly provide a good experience for a motivated student.

Thanks for the replies, I guess once we move with husbands job I cannot imagine coming back as his job would remain US Based, this is one of my concerns abut moving but there is nothing that can be done about that!

My daughter is currently at a Grammar school and
I suppose I would want something that could mean they could go to a
British Uni if possible in the future.

It is reassuring that there is no scramble for school places, that would be refreshing!

I think it is a common belief among people in the UK that a young person schooled in the US would be underprepared for attending a university in the UK, but I think this is an insulting misconception. The only thing I might investigate would be if a UK university would accept the college admission tests taken in the US (the general SAT and the SAT subject tests, and/or the ACT) or if my child might have to prep for the typical A levels.

Oh, I am not saying that you believe that, btw, just that it is implied on Mumsnet quite often that students in the US get a less vigorous education than in the UK. The education is different in style, and sometimes scope and tempo, but it is not inferior.

I have a close friend who moved here, to the US, as a result of her husband's work, when her children were small, and now that they are both at University here, I see her struggling a bit with the fact that they are settled here and if she returns to the UK to be near her parents she will be living in a different country from her children. That's tough.

If a UK university education experience is desirable... One thing to watch is eligibility for fees for higher education... even British nationals have to have been resident in the UK for the three years prior to the start of their degree to qualify for a) tuition fees at the UK/EU rate (at £9k, still considerably cheaper than that for international students) and b) Student Loan help to pay those fees and supply loans for living costs.

So a British Higher Education becomes a much higher, and more upfront cost, by moving overseas. On the other hand, US higher education (which is very expensive, although contains a greater range of subsidies for eligible students) is more tangible...

I am so pleased I posted on here as it has been really helpful to hear opinions and suggestions. There are so many things to think of!

Thank you, any more posts are greatly appreciated...

My dsis lives in Brookline, just a short T ride from the city. Gorgeous, lively place and the schools are fantastic and very international (MIT/ teaching hospitals/pharmaceutical companies being a big draw.) We were there in October and loved it - Cape Cod, Cape Anne, Martha's vineyard just a stone's throw away at weekends. fabulous.

Trumpette, any updates on the move?

No updates on the move at the moment, we are waiting for the full details of the offer and seeing what our options are.

Any other experiences would be most welcome!

Thanks to those who have replied!