What's Attleboro like? (Boston, Plymouth, Randolph: crime rate, house, elementary schools)

[scarletfire]

Can anyone tell me good and bad features of Attleboro? Also, what is the commute like to Boston? Seems like it would be pretty nasty from looking at Mapquest.

[CaseyB]

Attleboro has some nice older homes and some areas are actually sort of rural. There is a train station in the center and another on the South Attleboro/Pawtucket border. The center is run down although I guess there is a revitalization project planned for the area.
Right now, it is mostly empty stores and looks decrepit - especially at night.

The schools are not good, especially the high school. However, Bishop Feehan is there and there are some private elementary schools.

I guess South Attleboro would be the worst, although there are lots of drug arrests near the center.

To drive instead of take the train, I'd guess a little under an hour with no traffic via 95. Regular commuting hours would be a headache, no doubt.

[Boomerang]

Good: it's better than Pawtucket and East Providence. Housing is cheaper and taxes are lower, but there's obviously a reason for that. West of 95 you're close to the mega-shopping strip on Route 1. There are 2 commuter rail train stations; one downtown, one in South Attleboro. Commuting by car to Boston is a haul, but IMO the commute on 95 from south to north is better than the reverse (less traffic) and better than 24, much better than route 3, but you must leave a) very early in the morning, like no later than 6:00 am, or b) after the initial rush, say after 9:00. You can get to 128 in about 30 minutes. The return trip is busier. Weird but true.

Bad: it's not as nice as almost every other area nearby. Personally I wouldn't even consider living farther south than North Attleboro. Crime has been slowly creeping its way up from RI (several Attleboro businesses were threatened by Rhode Island "protection racket" guys a few years back; criminals from RI are frequently involved in burglaries and attacks in Attleboro; and now there's a rash of home break-ins going on). Just check out the Sun Chronicle newspaper online and you'll get the drift.

[findingmesomeday]

Scarletfire, I know you live in a very nice town now, if I'm remembering correctly. Any reason you'd want to move to Attleboro?

[LeavingMA]

Attleboro is alright, but there are nicer towns nearby. North Attleboro is much better and the commute from Boston during rush hour would be bad.

[scarletfire]

Thanks everyone!

NC, A friend of mine whose girlfriend is moving here asked me about the town and I don't know that area very well so told her I'd post here and get the real scoop. I looked up the town at boston.com/realestate/communities/ and it sounded like the crime rate was low but I guess not! Thanks for the cautions everyone. This info is very helpful!

[DreamworksSKG]

Attleboro isn't bad...its a typical small town in new England, close to Providence and you can commute to Boston via the Commuter rail (in South Attleboro)

You could also work in Providence and live in attleboro too.

-Jeff
Winchester, MA

Several trains a day run to and from South Station in Boston via the Providence Line,. and connect with the "T" Subway

[tamiznluv]

Scarlett, my husband semi lives in Attleboro in our "other house" because of work, while I live down at the beach here in Plymouth! Who has the better? It actually took me over a year to not want to move back to Attleboro. I like that city. We haven't experienced any home invasions or robberies and Pawtucket, R.I. is just down the street. I liked living there. Of course we had moved from Randolph. Not much could be worse, except for Dorchester, Roxbury or those towns around Boston. It was a whole lot quieter than Randolph, that's for sure! Meaning cruisers going 24/7. If something happened and I had to sell this house and go back to Attleboro, I would, with no problems. Oh, except they love to dig up the streets there for whatever reason! All in all, it isn't too bad of a place to live. IMO

[findingmesomeday]

Originally Posted by scarletfire

Thanks everyone!

NC, A friend of mine whose girlfriend is moving here asked me about the town and I don't know that area very well so told her I'd post here and get the real scoop. I looked up the town at boston.com/realestate/communities/ and it sounded like the crime rate was low but I guess not! Thanks for the cautions everyone. This info is very helpful!

I've not heard great things about the town. Bishop Feehan HS is there and we know several people whose kids attend there or who work there themselves and while they say the school is great, the town is rough. Many rank N. Attleboro as nicer.