In Durham, Maine I'd say the answer is "somewhat." Maine had a major school consolidation about 15 years ago that put Durham and Pownal with Freeport which is a wealthy coastal town. This caused a housing boom for families that wanted "Freeport schools for less $$$". As a result, housing prices have increased dramatically and put us more in line with other Portland suburbs that are in good school districts. The end result is that you can drive down one of the main roads in town and see older houses/trailers/etc next to brand new subdivisions full of $500,000+ houses. Most of the latter are occupied by people that moved here from either other parts of Southern Maine or from other states. The former are mostly occupied by residents who have been here for a long time. There isn't really a "good part of town" or "bad part of town", but the difference between the neighborhood subdivisions and the houses that are sitting on the main roads is stark.