Potential move to Randolph... what about our imaginary kids and school? (Boston: sex offenders, violent crime)

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by MassNative2891

Relative high? Housing values just started to recover from the paranoia of a couple years ago. People have been coming from out of state in droves and locals have been selling to move to places like Brockton and Holbrook.

I am not claiming to know the market well in Randolph, but all buyers face higher interest rates and higher prices everywhere this year. Tighter inventory is also a problem, and makes FTHB even more prone to pay asking price or above the asking just to get in.

Randolph might not have same issues, but that is another thing to consider as well. Will you be able to sell well in five years from now? Will you have enough equity to upgrade into better school district if you want to?

I was advising against rushing. Buying location is smarter than buying cheaper house (usually). But, that is something it is up to OP to decide.

[MassNative2891]

Originally Posted by kingeorge

I am not claiming to know the market well in Randolph, but all buyers face higher interest rates and higher prices everywhere this year. Tighter inventory is also a problem, and makes FTHB even more prone to pay asking price or above the asking just to get in.

Randolph might not have same issues, but that is another thing to consider as well. Will you be able to sell well in five years from now? Will you have enough equity to upgrade into better school district if you want to?

I was advising against rushing. Buying location is smarter than buying cheaper house (usually). But, that is something it is up to OP to decide.

You're right, prices are just climbing all over the state. It's great for people who own right now, but it's terrible for Millenials who are fighting to get a foot into the market.

I do think Randolph has another huge jump left in the housing prices though. As an actual resident, I'll tell you that public schools are by far the worst thing about the town. The charter school is good, and so are the regional schools (Norfolk Aggie & BHR).

They gave a facelift to my neighborhood last year and look to do the same to the Deer Park neighborhood this year (Canton St. to Canton Line). We saw a huge jump on our housing value initially and it's been slowly climbing ever since.

Like I said before though, typically Randolph residents are people who would have sent their kids to private school around the Bos-Cam-Quincy area. OP doesn't seem big on that though.

As far as upgrading to a different town for the school system, I know folks who've done it. They moved to the nearby towns/cities of Brockton, Holbrook, Avon, Stoughton, Braintree, and Canton. People want to stay close to Randolph since a lot of us have several family members and friends in town (and surrounding areas). They also were able to find good homes in those aforementioned towns about the same size or larger (in the case of Brockton).

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by MassNative2891

You're right, prices are just climbing all over the state. It's great for people who own right now, but it's terrible for Millenials who are fighting to get a foot into the market.

I do think Randolph has another huge jump left in the housing prices though. As an actual resident, I'll tell you that public schools are by far the worst thing about the town. The charter school is good, and so are the regional schools (Norfolk Aggie & BHR).

They gave a facelift to my neighborhood last year and look to do the same to the Deer Park neighborhood this year (Canton St. to Canton Line). We saw a huge jump on our housing value initially and it's been slowly climbing ever since.

Like I said before though, typically Randolph residents are people who would have sent their kids to private school around the Bos-Cam-Quincy area. OP doesn't seem big on that though.

As far as upgrading to a different town for the school system, I know folks who've done it. They moved to the nearby towns/cities of Brockton, Holbrook, Avon, Stoughton, Braintree, and Canton. People want to stay close to Randolph since a lot of us have several family members and friends in town (and surrounding areas). They also were able to find good homes in those aforementioned towns about the same size or larger (in the case of Brockton).

I am happy to hear it is getting better. Location is actually very good and it would make sense for values to climb rather than stagnate.

Prices and COL are pretty high around here, and anyone just out of college or with student loans will need family help/windfall/extremely well paying job in order to settle in Eastern MA for good. I am cheering from the sidelines for younger people and couples to stay in MA and thrive.

[raggedsweater]

Thanks everyone for all your responses so far. I do look forward to learning more about Randolph. Hopefully I'm able to seek out ways to get involved in the community and help improve things before writing off the area. I don't mind getting my hands dirty.

For clarification, the home we're just weeks from closing on is in a new subdivision created just next to JFK Elementary off of Mill Street. It's 3 minutes from the Holbrook/Randolph station -- just another plus for us to go with the home. Otherwise, it's rare to find new construction this close to Boston and also have half an acre lot size.

It's not that I'm opposed to send any future children to private school. I'm just not sure if it'll be a financially viable option when the time comes. I tend to believe that with the same money we'd use to send them to private school, we could have invested in a house in a good public school system. I grew up in public schools myself and I think there are plenty of benefits there.

[tribechamy]

Originally Posted by MassNative2891

I do think Randolph has another huge jump left in the housing prices though. As an actual resident, I'll tell you that public schools are by far the worst thing about the town. The charter school is good, and so are the regional schools (Norfolk Aggie & BHR).
...
Like I said before though, typically Randolph residents are people who would have sent their kids to private school around the Bos-Cam-Quincy area. OP doesn't seem big on that though.

As far as upgrading to a different town for the school system, I know folks who've done it. They moved to the nearby towns/cities of Brockton, Holbrook, Avon, Stoughton, Braintree, and Canton. People want to stay close to Randolph since a lot of us have several family members and friends in town (and surrounding areas). They also were able to find good homes in those aforementioned towns about the same size or larger (in the case of Brockton).

What particularly is it about the public schools that make you say they are the worst thing about the town? Especially if upgrading to a different town for the school system includes Holbrook and Avon (who I know are having some issues - I think merging was discussed?) Is it test scores in Randolph? Facilities? Staff? Administration? Something else? Genuinely curious where the reputation comes from.

[MassNative2891]

Originally Posted by tribechamy

What particularly is it about the public schools that make you say they are the worst thing about the town? Especially if upgrading to a different town for the school system includes Holbrook and Avon (who I know are having some issues - I think merging was discussed?) Is it test scores in Randolph? Facilities? Staff? Administration? Something else? Genuinely curious where the reputation comes from.

I personally say it’s an early childhood education problem coupled with insufficient resources (the right resources) and a bad student to teacher ratio (amongst the worst in the state).

In example, my cousin recently graduated from RHS. He was in the top ten of his class. However, he only attended RPS for High School. He went to a Christian School in Holbrook prior to RPS, which I think provided him with a good foundation. As a close relative, I can tell you that he did not try….at all. If he did try, it was the minimal effort. He’s in college now and he’s doing well but he realizes that RHS was just way too easy for him. Never really got challenged, but thankfully he has the brains to know he should improve his study habits and work ethic.

Amongst my peers, I’ve observed that the folks who went to Randolph schools since a tot; tend to do worse than us who transferred (In or Out). So I have to assume there are problems in educating the kids’ at the most basic level. I’m not the only person who is aware of this weird phenomenon. The school committee has been implementing reforms starting at the Pre-school/Kindergarten level and they’re hoping when these kids start testing, the results show.

The school district also takes on a lot of kids from BPS. Growing up, Boston Public had a terrible reputation and a lot of families left Boston to move to Randolph for better schools. I don’t know if it’s still happening since RPS got a lot worse since the early 2000s, but it was not uncommon to be in a class with majority Dot/Mattapan natives at RCMS. Randolph Public also takes on a good number of ELS students, which does not help with test scores (unless they are not included in the general statistics).

Avon and Holbrook schools (overall district) aren’t that much better, but their High Schools are leagues ahead of Randolph High. Avon Junior-Senior HS has a lottery program and parents do go after the slots every year. Blue Hills, the local Regional Voc Tech scores much better than RHS. A little known fact about BHR is that it is largely composed of Randolph students and to a lesser extent Holbrook students.

[MassNative2891]

Originally Posted by tribechamy

includes Holbrook and Avon (who I know are having some issues - I think merging was discussed?)

I think that's going to be great for both towns. They already share school teams. Their biggest issue is the lack of students I believe.

[MikePRU]

You said you are a first time home buyer so I'll share my experience with you not only as a real estate agent, but also as someone who is at an age where many of the people I know are now selling their first homes and are looking to upgrade/upsize.

Among my friends and clients, those that lived in a house long term (10+ years) are doing OK. They're at least breaking even or making some money on their home sale. Those that have lived in the house shorter term (5-7 years) typically bought at the peak of the bubble and are at best breaking even but some are losing a bit of money. So, buying something to live in for the long term sounds like a good financial decision.

The other, even larger factor seems to be location. Friends/clients that bought larger houses with more land in towns that are less sought after are not doing as well when selling (most actually lost money). Friends/clients who bought smaller homes on smaller lots in more sought after towns are almost all uniformly making money on the sale of their home. Some friends/clients bought condos instead of SFH as a compromise in order to get into a more sought after town and they are often doing better when selling as well.

My experience is . . . it's better to compromise on your house (to a point) to live in the most sought after town possible. If you're not willing to compromise on your house and instead buy in a less sought after location then just expect to live there for a long time.

[proudestmonkey]

I think you may be trading decent schools and a community you might enjoy for an affordable new house. If you're okay with possibly moving in 6+ years if you don't like the schools, no big deal, I guess. I live on the South Shore and moved to Boston from VA, where subdivisions and affordable new construction are common, but I would live in a smaller house built in the 1920's over a new construction house for community and schools any day. How does your wife commute to Everett?

[raggedsweater]

Wife drives to work. Her mornings usually don't start until 10 or 11, so morning traffic is fine. The commute home might be longer for her.

Why might I not enjoy the Randolph community?