What about Blackstone? (Boston, Worcester, Franklin: middle-class, sex offenders, crime)

[AandD]

I'm fairly sold on Sharon or Wrentham at this point, but Blackstone caught my eye. The Crime index for both it and Plainville were WAYYY above other towns in that area. Blackstone was at 151 and Plainville was at 201(!), while most others ranged from a low of 28 (Franklin)to a high of 66 (Wrentham). (Blackstone also had the highest number of sex offenders of any of the towns I looked at.) What about these two towns make them such outliers?

I realize Blackstone/Millville are very rural areas. That doesn't bother me in the least, as we'd be close to bigger towns.

My questions about Blackstone:
Do the schools offer before/after school care?
Are there day cares in the area?
What type of kids sports are available?
Are the people as stand-offish as the majority of the area, or is it a more open area?
Is it considered a wealthy area, or middle-class?
Are newcomers to the area something in the realm of the norm, or will a new family moving to the area cause a big stir?
Weekend activities?
Will the roads be less traveled and therefore more treacherous in snow conditions?

Thanks!

[Charliekeet]

I have to say, I also can't wait to hear from others who may be familiar with the town what the deal is with those crime stats, and what the towns are like ... but if you're looking for a house, and have kids, why even keep looking at a town with an anomalous number of offenders?

[AandD]

Originally Posted by Charliekeet

I have to say, I also can't wait to hear from others who may be familiar with the town what the deal is with those crime stats, and what the towns are like ... but if you're looking for a house, and have kids, why even keep looking at a town with an anomalous number of offenders?

Well Charlie, because I'm wondering if the numbers are telling the truth. The researcher in me is interested in what makes a little town of 9,000 people such an outlier. Can't really blame proximity to border of RI (such as we would blame a border with Mexico down here). Could possibly blame proximity to major arteries, but other towns along the same routes aren't suffering the same fate.

And because in the grand scheme of things, I come from a city with 1 sex offender for every SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SEVEN people and a crime index of 478 (US national average is 321). Seen in that light, a CI of 151 and ratio of 3014:1 sex offenders doesn't seem nearly as scary.

Sonya

[1979]

I would bet the same house in Sharon which would sell for approximately 500K, would sell for about 375K in Wrentham, and about 290K in Blackstone. Usually, the closer you go to Boston, the more expensive.

[Charliekeet]

Originally Posted by AandD

Well Charlie, because I'm wondering if the numbers are telling the truth. The researcher in me is interested in what makes a little town of 9,000 people such an outlier. Can't really blame proximity to border of RI (such as we would blame a border with Mexico down here). Could possibly blame proximity to major arteries, but other towns along the same routes aren't suffering the same fate.

And because in the grand scheme of things, I come from a city with 1 sex offender for every SIX HUNDRED AND SEVENTY SEVEN people and a crime index of 478 (US national average is 321). Seen in that light, a CI of 151 and ratio of 3014:1 sex offenders doesn't seem nearly as scary.

Sonya

I see - everything's relative, certainly. It's a good question- I really am wondering myself. Maybe everyone gets out of nearby state facilities and decides to settle in Blackstone?

[cko026]

Originally Posted by Charliekeet

I see - everything's relative, certainly. It's a good question- I really am wondering myself. Maybe everyone gets out of nearby state facilities and decides to settle in Blackstone?

Right across the border of Blackstone/Millville is Woonsocket, RI. Woonsocket is one of the many tragic mill towns of New England. It used to be a bustling center of industry and a center of French-Canadian immigration, but when the mills closed, Woonsocket and nearby Pawtucket quickly turned into the armpits of Rhode Island.

That said, Blackstone is not a bad place to live in. It's a very rural, blue-collar town close to similar towns in Worcester and Norfolk counties.