would you buy a house in Walpole,MA given that there is a big correction facility in Walpole? (Boston: real estate, houses)

[divinechild]

Hi!!!
My husband and I are moving to Boston with our 2 kids-4year old and 2 year old.Looking into buying houses.I was concerned about the Walpole area because of the presence of a big correction facility there??Is it advisable to buy a house there??It has good school rankings.I would even like to check if it has a good ethnic mix.

What are the factors to consider while looking into houses there??Thanks for your help and time

[CaseyB]

The prison is in South Walpole, near the Norfolk town line. It's not a problem, really.

[pennyone]

My younger cousin was looking at a house in Walpole just a year ago and was wondering the same thing. She decided to look in Canton and Sharon, two neighboring towns without any correctional facility and with equally good if not better schools. She ultimately chose Sharon over Walpole and Canton.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by pennyone

My younger cousin was looking at a house in Walpole just a year ago and was wondering the same thing. She decided to look in Canton and Sharon, two neighboring towns without any correctional facility and with equally good if not better schools. She ultimately chose Sharon over Walpole and Canton.

This is a story I've heard over and over. Whether the prison is harmless or not, most people if given the choice would rather not live in a town that has a prison. It's a NIMBY issue.

Prison aside, Walpole is a nice place to live. As mentioned, Canton and Sharon are also nice places to live and do not have a prison.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

This is a story I've heard over and over. Whether the prison is harmless or not, most people if given the choice would rather not live in a town that has a prison. It's a NIMBY issue.

Prison aside, Walpole is a nice place to live. As mentioned, Canton and Sharon are also nice places to live and do not have a prison.

That issue has appeared previously on this thread but in reality it's pretty much a non-issue. Norfolk has a prison, Bridgwewater has a prison, even Concord does. I never hear it as a concern on here when the town of Concord comes up. Yes I understand Walpole has had a particular notoriety, but it is no longer the worst now that the Souza-Baranowski Super-Max opened in Shirley. Walpole is only a "Max".

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by massnative71

That issue has appeared previously on this thread but in reality it's pretty much a non-issue. Norfolk has a prison, Bridgwewater has a prison, even Concord does. I never hear it as a concern on here when the town of Concord comes up. Yes I understand Walpole has had a particular notoriety, but it is no longer the worst now that the Souza-Baranowski Super-Max opened in Shirley. Walpole is only a "Max".

All the towns you compare with Walpole have medium or medium/minimum security prisons. I can certainly understand people feeling a bit more comfortable around a medium or med/min security prison vs a maximum security prison.

While a maximum security prison in reality is probably a non-issue, it does bring with it a perception. I'm not passing along my own personal opinion here only my experiences as a real estate agent. Over the years, I've dealt with a lot of people who are unsure where they want to settle and sometimes Walpole is on their list. They do some research on the internet about Walpole and find out there's a maximum security prison in town and then come to me and say "is there a prison in Walpole?" I say "yes" and immediately the pen comes out and the town is crossed off the list. It happens without fail probably 8 times out of 10.

Whether the prison is an issue or not (personally I'm not aware of any successful escapes or any other matter of concern surrounding the prison), a prison especially a max security one brings with it a certain perception (eeek! Scary people in there!) and in the end isn't perception really reality?

I have no doubt that if you stopped 10 people on the street and asked them "all other things being equal would you buy a house in a town with a prison or in a town without a prison?" all 10 people would answer "without a prison."

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

come to me and say "is there a prison in Walpole?" I say "yes" and immediately the pen comes out and the town is crossed off the list. It happens without fail probably 8 times out of 10.

8 out of 10 WOW! I'm shocked at that. You must deal primarily with outsiders. I've never heard of anyone in the area who would think twice about moving to Walpole for that reason, despite the prison's reputation.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by massnative71

8 out of 10 WOW! I'm shocked at that. You must deal primarily with outsiders. I've never heard of anyone in the area who would think twice about moving to Walpole for that reason, despite the prison's reputation.

I'm referring to people who may or may not currently live in MA, but likely are not living in or very near to Walpole. So, if by "outsiders" you mean people who don't currently live in Walpole then the answer is yes.

If you're already living in or near Walpole you know the prison is not a big deal. If you're coming from downtown, western MA, or maybe out of state likely a max security prison is just a big scary thing that you would prefer not to have in your town. If you're that person and you're looking at Sharon, Canton, and Walpole likely you're going to drop Walpole off the list. No one likes to live near a prison. It's just like the thread on here the other day about the superfund site in Concord. People hear superfind site and freak out. My experience is that people who don't have a vested interest in that town are just going to cross it off because they don't care that much about living there and are just as happy to find an alternative. More involved research might show that a superfund site or a prison is not going to have an impact on their lives if they bought in that town but the research never happens because it's already been crossed off.

Again . . . if you had a choice between living in a town with or without a prison, which would you choose?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

Again . . . if you had a choice between living in a town with or without a prison, which would you choose?

I would pick the town that's best for me.

Asking whether I'd pick Walpole with the prison or Walpole without the prison is meaningless because there is only one Walpole, MA if you get my drift.

Now hypothetically if I lived in Walpole and I had to decide if the prison were to shut down or not, I would probably say keep the prison. It brings in mitigation money from the state, so the loss of that would result in higher property taxes. It's a good deal, considering it has absolutely no impact on the life of any resident.

And by outsiders, I basically meant ones who are brand new to and have little or no knowledge of Walpole or the surrounding towns (ie. never been down Rte. 1/1A/27 etc., nor any family/friends in town or nearby). The fact that these people have "just found out on the internet" of the prison, suggests that they are from outside of Massachusetts. Everyone (in MA) has heard of "Walpole" as in the prison, but rarely does one associate it with the town. I grew up 10-15 miles from there and it was always considered a nice place. The town and prison were almost never used in the same sentence.

If one decided to move to Sharon instead because the schools are more highly ranked or Canton because it's closer to Boston, then that is completely justifiable. If they otherwise like Walpole the best but decided to pass it over just because of the prison, I would have told them they are crazy.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I'm referring to people who may or may not currently live in MA, but likely are not living in or very near to Walpole. So, if by "outsiders" you mean people who don't currently live in Walpole then the answer is yes.

If you're already living in or near Walpole you know the prison is not a big deal. If you're coming from downtown, western MA, or maybe out of state likely a max security prison is just a big scary thing that you would prefer not to have in your town. If you're that person and you're looking at Sharon, Canton, and Walpole likely you're going to drop Walpole off the list. No one likes to live near a prison. It's just like the thread on here the other day about the superfund site in Concord. People hear superfind site and freak out. My experience is that people who don't have a vested interest in that town are just going to cross it off because they don't care that much about living there and are just as happy to find an alternative. More involved research might show that a superfund site or a prison is not going to have an impact on their lives if they bought in that town but the research never happens because it's already been crossed off.

Again . . . if you had a choice between living in a town with or without a prison, which would you choose?

Have they mentioned if they are afraid of potential danger because of living in the same town where a prison is located or is it the stigma of living somewhere that is associated with a prison? Because if it's the former, the residents of Norfolk and some of the surrounding towns would be in greater danger if an escape occurred.