Best and good Boston's neighborhoods?

[E_7]

Hello CAFers,

As a Catholic, in what neighborhood in Boston would you recommend a Catholic brother/sister in Christ (married or single) to live in? And why? And, as a Catholic, what neighborhood in Boston would you NOT recommend to a Catholic brother/sister in Christ (married or single) to live in? And why?

I’ve heard that South End of Boston are the most LGBT population. I’ve never been there, so I really don’t know, neither about their lifestyle.

Thank you in advance,
Elizabeth

 

[Kelfa28]

How “in Boston” are we talking about?

Are we talking directly within the city or is their a mile radius you are willing to venture out into?

If so, how far?

Boston has lots and lots of Catholic Churches. I’m from the south coast of Ma (New Bedford-Fall River area) which also has loads of Churches.

Boston is quite expensive…especially for the nicer areas. South Boston has good areas and bad areas.
Cities like Braintree, Quincy and Weymouth are very close to the city and have nice areas. They can still be on the expensive side.

I’m not too familiar with the parishes west of Boston (Cambridge and heading out to Natick) but I know that there isn’t much going on directly south of Boston.
Towns from Hingham to Plymouth tend to be far more “high Church” like Methodist, Episcopalian and Lutheran…you might find a token Catholic Church in each town…but the communities are certainly not Catholic.

Boston has a thriving Catholic community…the number of active parishes speak for itself.
Same with my neck of the woods…New Bedford has loads of active parishes and Catholic schools.

I will say this…Boston definitely has some of the prettiest and most awe inspiring Cathedrals in the Country…you won’t have to travel too far to find them. The Cathedral of the Holy Cross (downtown Boston, Washington St) and Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Mission Hill, right next to the Longwood Hospital complex) are the prettiest…IMHO.

I’m a little bit biased…St Anthony’s of Padua in New Bedford rivals them both.

 

[Mangaartist]

Fenway! Park, gardens, museums, wild geese, oh and did I mention 24/7 Eucharistic Adoration? (and TLM every Sunday if that’s something you’re interested in). I’m clearly biased because I love living here, but DH and I get to roll out of bed at 6:40 and make it to 7am daily Mass, have two large food stores within walking distance, and see geese every morning =)

Edit: Fenway is very much inside Boston. Good for a couple, single person, or maybe with a child, but not somewhere to live with a large family.

 

[E_7]

How “in Boston” are we talking about?

Fenway! Park, gardens, museums, wild geese, oh and did I mention 24/7 Eucharistic Adoration? (and TLM every Sunday if that’s something you’re interested in). I’m clearly biased because I love living here, but DH and I get to roll out of bed at 6:40 and make it to 7am daily Mass, have two large food stores within walking distance, and see geese every morning =)

Edit: Fenway is very much inside Boston. Good for a couple, single person, or maybe with a child, but not somewhere to live with a large family.

Ah yes, thank you. I was thinking near Back Bay, maybe. Fenway is only 6 minutes away from Back Bay, I believe. That could be a good place.

Where do you see less immorality in Boston? I have this general scary image of United States being so liberal that it is hard to be convinced of a good place to live without my family being badly influenced by others. You know what I mean?

 

[ndeparis88]

Well it’s pretty liberal here in Massachusetts. Methuen is a great place north of Boston, being Catholic in Methuen is just how things go you know even if you don’t like it. The parishes are awesome, and we are blessed up here. I don’t know if we will be for long. It’s a working class neighborhood, pretty close knit. Italians and Lebanese mainly. Actually the whole Merrimack Valley has a lot of Catholic-ness about it. As far as Boston goes, well good luck. You have to pick a place with ethnic enclaves, Boston wold be a lot more Catholic if the Irish would start acting like Irish, Boston is the greenest city of them all, and yet it’s so secular. There are many Catholic churches in Boston, but those are places in the end. I feel the archdiocese is really making strides to keep the identity. Cardinal Sean is great. Not sure south of Boston, I live in the Merrimack Valley, and there is a whole host(no pun intended) of catholic churches. St.Pats, St. Monicas, St. Gregorys in Andover, loads of em. I was out in western mass near the New york border and oddly enough even though small the churches in the lenox area are mostly Catholic. Plus there are SO Many Catholic schools ll over the place north south east and west of Boston. I think whats more important is the community, and you can tell which communities are Catholic or not. Just look at Lawrence and the towns around it.

 

[marymary1975]

Back Bay is a good area, but I agree Boston is extremely expensive and the reason why I don’t live in Boston is because I find it too liberal for me and I have a child so I wanted a more appropriate environment for her to grow up. I am in Hanover now and I have to say there is a Catholic Church on every corner and at least I find the people around here very religious. I did live too in the Merrimack valley Area in North Andover and is true, catholic communities are great up there too and lots of catholics schools. I work in Boston but I don’t think Boston is the ideal place to live if you want a religious community around you.

 

[E_7]

Well it’s pretty liberal here in Massachusetts. Methuen is a great place north of Boston, being Catholic in Methuen is just how things go you know even if you don’t like it. The parishes are awesome, and we are blessed up here. I don’t know if we will be for long. It’s a working class neighborhood, pretty close knit. Italians and Lebanese mainly. Actually the whole Merrimack Valley has a lot of Catholic-ness about it. As far as Boston goes, well good luck. You have to pick a place with ethnic enclaves, Boston wold be a lot more Catholic if the Irish would start acting like Irish, Boston is the greenest city of them all, and yet it’s so secular. There are many Catholic churches in Boston, but those are places in the end. I feel the archdiocese is really making strides to keep the identity. Cardinal Sean is great. Not sure south of Boston, I live in the Merrimack Valley, and there is a whole host(no pun intended) of catholic churches. St.Pats, St. Monicas, St. Gregorys in Andover, loads of em. I was out in western mass near the New york border and oddly enough even though small the churches in the lenox area are mostly Catholic. Plus there are SO Many Catholic schools ll over the place north south east and west of Boston. I think whats more important is the community, and you can tell which communities are Catholic or not. Just look at Lawrence and the towns around it.

I work in Boston but I don’t think Boston is the ideal place to live if you want a religious community around you.

I thought so.

 

[Mangaartist]

Ah yes, thank you. I was thinking near Back Bay, maybe. Fenway is only 6 minutes away from Back Bay, I believe. That could be a good place.

Where do you see less immorality in Boston? I have this general scary image of United States being so liberal that it is hard to be convinced of a good place to live without my family being badly influenced by others. You know what I mean?

Back Bay is nice too, though more traffic and likely more expensive. While you won’t have the “everyone around me is Catholic” feeling in most of Boston, some parishes are really good at encouraging community. St. Clement’s has a Young Adults group that I perceive to be pretty popular. Plus downtown Boston has a lot of daily Mass and confession opportunities (e.g. in the St. Francis chapel in the Prudential Center) and perpetual Adoration at St. Clement’s.

About Boston’s liberalness: Sometimes it can get pretty annoying, but I’m probably getting some of the worst of it because I go to college. Even at my college though, there is a large Catholic population, we fill the chapel for three Masses every Sunday =) I would definitely be more intimidated by the thought of living somewhere where mostly everyone was Protestant. In Boston there are lots of Catholics if you look for them. I’ve definitely found more practicing Catholics here than at home (I’m from an Eastern European country with many nominal Catholics, but few actually practice).
DH and I are considering moving for grad school, and I’m somewhat looking forward to being somewhere more conservative than Massachusetts is. At the same time, I love the Catholic community I’ve found in Boston, and if we do move I’ll miss it so much. I guess I’m just trying to tell you that while your fears are based in reality, it’s not a bad place to be. For me right now, it’s the most awesome place to be, and I think you’ll also be able to make the most of it.

 

[E_7]

Back Bay is nice too, though more traffic and likely more expensive. While you won’t have the “everyone around me is Catholic” feeling in most of Boston, some parishes are really good at encouraging community. St. Clement’s has a Young Adults group that I perceive to be pretty popular. Plus downtown Boston has a lot of daily Mass and confession opportunities (e.g. in the St. Francis chapel in the Prudential Center) and perpetual Adoration at St. Clement’s.

About Boston’s liberalness: Sometimes it can get pretty annoying, but I’m probably getting some of the worst of it because I go to college.

Thank you, Mangaartist. Yesterday I contacted the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Boston and I got a reply from a Fr. and he recommended St. Clement Shrine and St. Francis Chapel (inside a mall, how curious).

 

[Mangaartist]

Thank you, Mangaartist. Yesterday I contacted the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Boston and I got a reply from a Fr. and he recommended St. Clement Shrine and St. Francis Chapel (inside a mall, how curious).

We’re all big fans of the Oblates around here =) At first I also thought it was weird to have a chapel in a mall, but it looks like a successful evangelization project. They have confession there most of the day every day, and two daily Masses during lunchtime. They also gave out hotdogs to people a couple days ago on the Red Sox opening night, and encouraged them to step inside for a couple minutes for Adoration.

 

[marymary1975]

Thank you, Mangaartist. Yesterday I contacted the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Boston and I got a reply from a Fr. and he recommended St. Clement Shrine and St. Francis Chapel (inside a mall, how curious).

That sounds like the one in the Hynes Convention Center!!! It is a convention center connected to a mall and to the Sheraton. I took the bar there and everybody taking the bar would go there to pray, even non catholic

 

[dixieagle]

We’re all big fans of the Oblates around here =) At first I also thought it was weird to have a chapel in a mall, but it looks like a successful evangelization project. They have confession there most of the day every day, and two daily Masses during lunchtime. They also gave out hotdogs to people a couple days ago on the Red Sox opening night, and encouraged them to step inside for a couple minutes for Adoration.

Here is a link to the chapel website:

stfrancischapel.org/en/

I’ve been to Mass there a number of times when in Boston. It is a wonderful oasis in the middle of the city.

I lived in Dorchester when I was very little, when it was an Irish enclave. I remember walking to St. Mark’s Parish with my parents. Immaculate Conception Parish in Weymouth is where I received my First Eucharist and was confirmed (by Cardinal Cushing.) At that time, everyone was Italian or Irish, and I was astonished when I first met someone who wasn’t Catholic - practically unheard of then (late 50s to early 70s.)

There has recently been an announcement of parish reorganization in the Archdiocese of Boston, forming parish “collaboratives” to address the priest shortage, financial problems, and a decrease in Mass attendance:

boston.com/metrodesk/2013/01/10/archdiocese-boston-unveils-details-first-wave-parish-reorganization/FyVlyBrkRaAz8rpx8pC8yO/story.html

Boston has a proud Catholic heritage; sadly, many Catholics have been co-opted by the secular culture, with Catholic politicians often the worst offenders (think “Kennedy”) but there are plenty of faithful, practicing Catholics and good, vibrant parishes.

 

[Gyrfalcon1993]

There are some really nice areas on the west side of Boston, including the suburbs like Newton. Nearby St. Ignatius near BC is still an active parish with every age group represented.

Of course the price of housing is the only downside; I live in Brighton and it’s really high. But I feel housing in Boston is expensive just about everywhere minus a few areas.

 

[E_7]

Aww thank you everyone! It shows how much you care for others! I’m not over-worried anymore, I went to a Spiritual Retreat and God made me change the perspective on that. As long as you have that strong will of fighting to do well and avoid occasion of sin, and be faithful, among many other things, you can live anywhere. It’s in me to raise a strong family with strong moral and catholic values, so they can fight the evil of the world with a huge smile and imitating Christ.

Thank you all,
Elizabeth