Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 11-19-2013, 08:20 PM
 
1 posts, read 3,458 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

I am looking in the central Massachusetts area to buy my first home. I have really liked the couple of houses that I have seen in Oxford/North Oxford, but am a little curious as to why the prices are a little lower than the surrounding towns (excluding Webster). Any input on the town of Oxford?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-19-2013, 10:57 PM
 
Location: Charlton, MA
1,395 posts, read 5,069,681 times
Reputation: 855
Oxford is a nice little town and it has a great grocery store within it's borders - Market Basket. I would assume that the housing prices are a little more affordable in Oxford because it's schools aren't as highly regarded as say Charlton, Sturbridge, Auburn, etc. If you're not concerned about the schools or have children I wouldn't hestiate to purchase a home there. It's a nice town. Price could also be affected by proximity to railroad tracks that run through the center of town, 395, etc.

Just my two cents. Hopefully someone else will chime in with theirs.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-20-2013, 08:02 AM
 
Location: San Antonio
4,422 posts, read 6,215,848 times
Reputation: 5429
KellyCrash has hit the nail on the head. It's a nice, safe town just 10-15 minutes from downtown Worcester. The town is not as viable as Charlton, Sutton, Sturbridge, Holden, etc. because of the schools. Granted they're better than Webster and Southbridge, but there's just nothing outstanding about them. Also, the tax rate per $1000 is a little high compared to what you get for it, which is basically nothing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-27-2015, 01:13 PM
 
2 posts, read 3,115 times
Reputation: 10
I am looking into the area but have three small children. Could someone elaborate on the schools? And the area (how safe, parks, etc??) I'm also open to school choice in another town.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-30-2015, 01:25 PM
 
187 posts, read 215,237 times
Reputation: 224
I cannot elaborate on the schools but the Walmart was robbed not too long ago...(Guys from Worcester robbed the Walmart in Oxford, Target in Millbury and I think 3 stores in Worcester)...some spillover issues from Worcester...
My good friend lives in Oxford and grew up there, she loves it there and her husband thinks it is okay. They do not have any kids. From what I hear schools are not the best.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-30-2015, 03:22 PM
 
Location: Charlton, MA
1,395 posts, read 5,069,681 times
Reputation: 855
Nothing wrong with Oxford. My post about it is still relevant. Unfortunately, not a lot of people in Oxford are here on the board. I live in neighboring Charlton. Our schools are a bit better here. Oxford has more commercial development than my town. I have friends and family in Oxford. The schools are okay. The area is completely safe. We go to the park in Oxford quite a bit. They are actually building a sprayground there soon. Might be of interest to those with little kids. The Oxford Community Center seems to have quite a bit of programming with classes and whatnot. They can be found on Facebook. They set up their FB page where you have to request to be their friend. Kind of weird but I only mention it so that if you go looking you know you found the right one. I also do my grocery shopping in Oxford. They have an awesome children's room at the library there. I used to take my kids there to check out books and play.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-31-2015, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Central MA
23 posts, read 20,139 times
Reputation: 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kgill123 View Post
I am looking into the area but have three small children. Could someone elaborate on the schools? And the area (how safe, parks, etc??) I'm also open to school choice in another town.
Shrewsbury has great schools and sports programs for children. Rent and homes are in the higher end compared to Oxford. It's very centrally located.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-31-2015, 08:55 AM
 
3,808 posts, read 3,102,853 times
Reputation: 3332
Quote:
Originally Posted by HUNOOSH View Post
Shrewsbury has great schools and sports programs for children. Rent and homes are in the higher end compared to Oxford. It's very centrally located.
Correct. Where is OP trying to commute to? I assume south of Worcester, which will limit their options ...

Depending on the commute, OP can consider Shrewsbury (east of Worcester) or the Wachusett towns north of Worcester, such as Holden, Paxton, and Sterling. All of these towns have better school systems than Oxford or Charlton. In general, the towns north and east of Worcester tend to be more affluent with higher performing school school systems. West and south of Worcester has been, historically, more working class and less affluent ... as reflected in the home prices.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-02-2015, 04:45 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
4,422 posts, read 6,215,848 times
Reputation: 5429
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shrewsburried View Post
Correct. Where is OP trying to commute to? I assume south of Worcester, which will limit their options ...

Depending on the commute, OP can consider Shrewsbury (east of Worcester) or the Wachusett towns north of Worcester, such as Holden, Paxton, and Sterling. All of these towns have better school systems than Oxford or Charlton. In general, the towns north and east of Worcester tend to be more affluent with higher performing school school systems. West and south of Worcester has been, historically, more working class and less affluent ... as reflected in the home prices.
That generalization holds much more truth in the east-west direction, not necessarily north-south. Certainly Sturbridge, Charlton, and Sutton are much more desirable than Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, Templeton, Winchendon, just to name a few.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-03-2015, 07:07 AM
 
3,808 posts, read 3,102,853 times
Reputation: 3332
Quote:
Originally Posted by thenewtexan View Post
That generalization holds much more truth in the east-west direction, not necessarily north-south. Certainly Sturbridge, Charlton, and Sutton are much more desirable than Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner, Templeton, Winchendon, just to name a few.
Agreed; however, I was really limiting the scope of my comment to Worcester-centric commuter towns. While one can easily commute to the Worcester area from Leominster (or the other northern county towns named), they really are part of the greater-Fitchburg culture/economy. This doesn't remove Clinton and West Boyston, both of which are certainly Worcester-centric and should be avoided if schools are a concern.

I'll agree - Sturbridge and Sutton are both top-tier central MA towns. Having family in Charlton, I'm not convinced the school system is particularly good, at least when compared to some of the more exceptional school systems nearby ... this likely explains the depressed RE prices in town compared to Sutton or Sturbridge.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top