Living Here

Lawrence, MA- 2015 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Prize Winner!

Lawrence was chosen in October 2015 as one of 8 national award winners (340 cities applied) celebrating our city’s “Culture of Health”, with our family medicine residency one of the featured components and main contributing factors to our city’s selection!

Living Here

Lawrence, known as the “City of Immigrants”, is located in the northeastern corner of Massachusetts, in the picturesque Merrimack River Valley. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a total population of 76,377. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and North Andover to the southeast. 73.8% of the population is Hispanic or Latino, mainly from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. According to the U.S. census, the Latino population in Lawrence grew by 300% from 1980 to 1990. Lawrence is described as having a compact, inner-city, blue-collar population.

Lawrence’s rich industrial history, marked by a strike in 1912 that formed the basis for child labor laws in the United States, has earned the city’s Downtown Historic District recognition as a National Historic Landmark. The mills continue to draw mainly unskilled, immigrant labor, although the textile companies have long since moved South. Other ethnic groups still strong in Lawrence include French Canadian, Italian, Irish, Vietnamese and Lebanese.

As a true American tapestry, Lawrence has been affected by the most recent recession. There is widespread poverty and unemployment, particularly among the Latino population, producing a number of socio-economic problems that impact on healthcare. Nevertheless, the energy and aspirations of this group brings great hope to community efforts.

• For a wonderful introduction to the history of Lawrence’s early immigrant experience, see the PBS documentary “Fruits of Thy Labor” (11 mins,30 secs) click here
• City of Lawrence website: click here
• Lawrence History Center click here
• Lawrence, City of Possibilities click here
• Rewriting the Script in Lawrence click here

WHERE WE LIVE

You can live in any type of setting you’d like, within a 30 minute/mile radius of Lawrence, MA. This includes Boston, which is only 30 minutes south of us; rural areas; the seacoast; suburbs, and of course right here in Lawrence.

Once you decide Lawrence is where you’d like to be for your Residency, just let us know what type of living you’re looking for and we’ll be happy to lead you in the right direction!