Stoneham,MA for leaving?

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by thenewtexan

My stomach still hurts from laughing at this.

Ha, glad I'm not the only one.

[Mrobert4]

Stoneham is a hidden gem. I've been living there for the last 12 years. Here’s what I like about it:
- inside of Rte 128, only 9 miles from downtown Boston
- near Rte 93 and 128 so convenient to lots of places.
- quick trip to New Hampshire (if you're a skier or hiker)
- 20 minutes to Northshore Mall and Burlington Mall (if you like malls)
- in my neighborhood I can walk to bank, post office, grocery store, restaurants, hardware store
- walking distance to Middlesex Fells Reservation
- Stoneham Theatre
- it's affordable
- reasonable taxes
- nice people
- LA Fitness in Stoneham is huge and cheap. Has child care too.
- surrounding towns are nice but a lot more expensive expensive.
- Bike path to be completed next year

[sarahmccoy]

Stoneham is not a very poor town. As previous posters said, real estate agents can't make many comments about the neighborhood etc, but it is definately not a poor town.

[Mark. Stevens]

Stoneham's' area is 6.66 square miles and that is all you need to know to make an intelligent choice about this town. This "opioid epidemic" (which has become an issue lately) has been ongoing since about 1970 in Stoneham. Here is Stoneham in the early 1970's.....the Stoneham Theatre was showing "Behind the Green Door" & "Deep Throat" as a daily matinee, the town was "the drug store of the North Shore" If you needed a "hot piece" it (a stolen firearm [usually with obliterated numbers] was easily gotten in town, once you found the right people. While weapons are no longer the primary export of Stoneham, narcotics are as easily found today as they were fifty years ago. Overdose deaths are still one of the leading causes of death of folks under thirty years of age in town. Some things just don't change in Stoneham! Suicides in town have been a problem for generations, and while it may be swept under the rug, this town has had more than its share. My father, a couple of uncles and my grandfather all died at their own hands. More than a few friends are also on this list. The town of Stoneham has seven cities and towns which border it: Reading, Wakefield, Woburn, Winchester, Medford, Malden & Melrose. Every one of these have nicer: Library's, City/Town Halls and private residences. While this town was "Incorporated" in 1725, the "replica" police box (seriously? A "replica" box where a police officer controlled traffic lights, during heavy traffic periods, years ago!) in the square proudly announces "Established 1725"!!! Good old Stoneham, where High St. should be Broadway & Broadway should be High St. I'll end this by stating that Stoneham was once in the "Guinness Book of World Records"....for most gas stations per square mile!

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Mark. Stevens

Stoneham's' area is 6.66 square miles and that is all you need to know to make an intelligent choice about this town. This "opioid epidemic" (which has become an issue lately) has been ongoing since about 1970 in Stoneham. Here is Stoneham in the early 1970's.....the Stoneham Theatre was showing "Behind the Green Door" & "Deep Throat" as a daily matinee, the town was "the drug store of the North Shore" If you needed a "hot piece" it (a stolen firearm [usually with obliterated numbers] was easily gotten in town, once you found the right people. While weapons are no longer the primary export of Stoneham, narcotics are as easily found today as they were fifty years ago. Overdose deaths are still one of the leading causes of death of folks under thirty years of age in town. Some things just don't change in Stoneham! Suicides in town have been a problem for generations, and while it may be swept under the rug, this town has had more than its share. My father, a couple of uncles and my grandfather all died at their own hands. More than a few friends are also on this list. The town of Stoneham has seven cities and towns which border it: Reading, Wakefield, Woburn, Winchester, Medford, Malden & Melrose. Every one of these have nicer: Library's, City/Town Halls and private residences. While this town was "Incorporated" in 1725, the "replica" police box (seriously? A "replica" box where a police officer controlled traffic lights, during heavy traffic periods, years ago!) in the square proudly announces "Established 1725"!!! Good old Stoneham, where High St. should be Broadway & Broadway should be High St. I'll end this by stating that Stoneham was once in the "Guinness Book of World Records"....for most gas stations per square mile!

Aren't narcotics and things like car accidents the leading cause of death pretty much everywhere for people under 30?

And that's a great double feature. They don't make em like they used to.

[hken]

A lot depends on your time horizon. Back in the day you couldn't pay me to live in Somerville and now my sister's small little fixer-upper near Davis Square is worth as much as homes in the high-end burbs. Things change.

A house on the market for a long time basically means it's overpriced relative to what people want in that market but may not necessarily be a bad home for you. I backed out last minute on a house on market for close to a year due to a change in my situation. Looking back, that house would have been fine to live in, but I could see it being a problem to sell since it's a little unique.

Stoneham's not a bad town...it just strikes me as a town that attracts buyers who grew up there or close by as it's not one of the up-n-coming towns or a name brand top school town. I think you can raise kids fine there and if the commute works for you then that's good.

[OutdoorLover]

I don't know a lot about Stoneham, but just because a house has been on the market awhile is no guarantee it's a bad house. My next door neighbor on a street I used to live on had his house on the market for 18 months in a desirable town. The problem was he had it overpriced, but there was zero wrong with his house.

Regarding price, some owners are just too optimistic about what their house is worth. But, most of them will come down in time if it doesn't sell, and if you're watching when the price drops significantly, it may become desirable at the new price.