Metrowest crime (and Ashland, MA in particular) (Boston, Framingham: real estate, houses)

[DecisionsDecisions]

Hi all. First timer!

My wife and I been reading a lot of the posts, and thanks to all for some -GREAT- information on Eastern Massachusetts/Boston. AWESOME stuff for us out-of-towners.

We are considering a move to MA soon and have spent the summer months narrowing our choices down to a handful of towns.

After a ton of online research, looking at prices, schools, commutes, crime data, and taking trips up north, riding through pretty much all of Middlesex county within (or near) Rt 495, Mass Pike, and Route 128, and checking out houses, we reached a point where we are/were looking hard at Ashland, MA.

Then, out of the blue this weekend, there was a knifing incident in downtown Ashland, with news reports indicating that it might be gang-initiation-related (though police are supposedly trying to determine if it's gang-related, or just a couple teenage wanna-be's).

All of a sudden, we are deflated! We're questioning ourselves and all the hard work we put into our search.

For those of you more familiar with the area, do you think this is indicative of a trend? Or is it an aberration (random event)? Is it related to overflow from other communities?

We understand that nowhere is "perfect" (and my wife and I have lived in less-than-desirable places in the past)... But with two small children, we are looking for a place to grow roots, and we think/thought we had it.

Can anyone else talk us down off the ledge? Or are we right to be concerned about this event?

[scarletfire]

My gosh I've never heard of gang activity there. Downtown Framingham yes, but Ashland, not to my knowledge.

[scarletfire]

Oh, forgot to mention, here's a helpful resource for crime stats:

Boston.com
Click on real estate
Click on Communities
Enter town name and scroll down to see crime stats

Boston Magazine also has had some data on this in the past as well.

[NY'er lost in MA]

By no means am I trying to lessen the value of what occurred, but this has got to be the most random and awful event I have heard of. The Bloods? This kid- Dias has been watching too many 80's movies about L.A. or something. Even the Framingham Police Chief said this was shocking because there are not members of the Bloods gang in this area.

When I drive through town, Ashland is about as rural and suburban as it gets. But- it seems like he was just a bad apple. I truly believe this was an isolated event. Our neighborhood has a watch (cul de sac) if so much as the ice cream truck (which actually comes daily) shows up at the wrong time, they are up in arms. The sense of community is very strong here.

I wouldn't cross Ashland off your list just yet- it's a great place and since moving, we have loved it here.

We used to live in Salem, MA which has an astronomical crime rate compared to Ashland, but that was originating from the downtown area. We lived it the outskirts of Salem, so in some way the statistics can fool you. We never saw anything even remotely suspicious (except on Halloween)

And to be honest- Ashland is a pretty sleepy town. If there even were a gang- they would stick out like sore thumbs.

Classic example of a youth that went down the wrong path.

[DecisionsDecisions]

Thanks for the responses!

After reading further news reports, it does seem like the general sentiment is that it's isolated. And the crime data does seem to bear it out (that's why we were so shocked to hear about it, after seeing the stats and after visiting the town), in the sense that the numbers are generally low, like many other surrounding communities in that area.

It's good to hear that it's "shocking" to others as well (and it's not just the police and real estate agents trying to play it down and fudge its importance).

[scarlettfire, thanks for the link. It's always good to have another source of data.]

[Parsec]

Here's a blog about Ashland:
www.Lies-In-Ashland.com
It's not updated that often, but I think that has to do w/the fact that there's nothing going on to write about.

[DecisionsDecisions]

Originally Posted by Parsec

Here's a blog about Ashland:
www.Lies-In-Ashland.com
It's not updated that often, but I think that has to do w/the fact that there's nothing going on to write about.

interesting