Living in Athol MA (Boston, Peabody: low income, real estate, apartment)

[wme]

Hello everyone,
Kindly looking for any and all information on Athol MA. We found a perfect apartment to fit our needs although we don't know much about the area. Crime...schools...entertainment...shopping etc. All the details you would want to be aware of before moving. I've done a bit of research but i want opinions as well or experiences from others. Thank you all in advance! Happy spring...

Also any cities or towns surrounding that you can suggest. I work in Barre so I would like to find a good town near by. Starting a family as well so we really do have to take that into consideration. Thanks again!

[Humphrey]

Athol seems like a decent town, albeit run down in places like a lot of mill cities in this area. Athol/Orange seems to be more of it's own area than Gardner/Twin Cities because it is more geographically isolated from the Greater Boston area. I don't really visit there much but there is some development going on around route 2 with North Quabbin Commons and a new Market Basket just went in. Not sure about entertainment but the Blind Pig on exchange street is supposed to be alright.

I live in Gardner and like it a lot. It's a former mill town which is transitioning from a furniture manufacturing center to more of a bedroom community. The west side of town is nice and there are quite a few professionals living here for the cheap housing and highway access. The east side of town is more run down - although there seem to be quite a few McMansion developments in the woods out that way which might be decent and affordable. Downtown has some gems like the Ale House and Priscilla's but is also blighted by a couple of buildings with bad owners - the former cinema and the Maki block. They have good events down there though like Octoberfest and a sidewalk sale. Heard mixed things about the school system which might be a concern.

[Peabody99]

I have never heard of anything positive about Athol. A friend of mine grew up in Winchendon and says the whole area is not good, crime, bad schools, low income, etc. Not sure how true it is...

[FCMA]

Athol is depressed but strangely appealing. First it's affordable. Second you have access to a truly beautiful hinterland, wilderness as far as MA goes, if you like the outdoors. People can be truly friendly here, very un-New England like. It can be a bit dull since the downtown is kind of an empty shell, no movie theater or bowling alley or stuff like that, and there isn't any shopping to speak of in the sense of malls and chain stores. The Blind Pig is a wonderful gem of a restaurant/pub, the other eatery gem is Johnson's sugar house restaurant in Orange. If you're a carnivore, you can buy fantastic fresh meat at Adams Farm slaughterhouse retail store, which does the processing for most of the grass-fed, locally-raised meat in the whole state. Sadly, the one local bookstore (Bruce's Browser) is closing, the only local bookshop in the 60-mile stretch between Acton and Greenfield (this is televised sports country not particularly intellectual surface values here in N Central MA). There are nice local community events like the River Rat canoe Race, First Night in Orange, and groups like the Athol Nature Club.

Downsides are the schools (probably), poor local economy means long commutes for most and visible poverty in some areas, little entertainment or shopping in town. For that latter purpose you have many options, none of which are exactly close, but not terribly far either - Keene, Brattleboro, Greenfield, Amherst, and Leominster are all about equi-distant, all about
30 minutes to 40 tops from Athol. Gardner is 15-20.

Phillipston, Petersham, and New Salem are all nice tiny towns nearby to the east and south worth a look for a commute to Barre, but usually not much in way of rentals available.

[Humphrey]

Originally Posted by Peabody99

I have never heard of anything positive about Athol. A friend of mine grew up in Winchendon and says the whole area is not good, crime, bad schools, low income, etc. Not sure how true it is...

There's an element of truth to that; although if you've lived in any kind of urban area you'd find the crime around here pretty laughable to be honest (it's the same addicts getting arrested on Timpany Boulevard time after time and the odd burglary). Most criminals from Gaardner and Winchentucky seem to commute to the Twin Cities.

Low income and bad test results go together (kids with a lot going on at home do badly). Schools can't fix social problems. I do have a friend who has put a bunch of kids through the Gardner school system at multiple age groups and they have all done well.

A lot of the local employment - furniture factories, Simplex, L. S. Starrett have been downsizing or have shut down which is why certain areas are run down. There has been an influx of middle class people (like me I guess) who are squeezed out of the Greater Boston area due to house prices and general lack of affordability and that is slowly making a difference. As you say it's a area with issues but it's not as all pervasive as your friend's comment makes out. With all the access to nature, scenery and down to earth people it's a really great area to live in if you can make it work employment wise.

[tovarisch]

Check out Red Apple Farm, next door in Phillipston. Really nice full-service family-friendly pick-your-own place (full disclosure: owned by my third cousin!).

[wme]

Thank you all for your input I truly appreciate it. I believe this might be the best apartment situation to raise a baby. But when it's time for schooling we are moving again. Work is very close for both of us , so major plus there! Thanks again!!

[FCMA]

Barre and Quabbin Regional is one of the most choiced-into districts in MA. Keep that in mind - you too can keep living in a horrific socially inappropriate milltown full of awfulness and opiate addiction yet send your kids off to bucolic Barre. That's what parents of means in Athol, Ware, Palmer, and Gardner have been doing for a while now.

[TS808]

Athol has the best combination of natural beauty, commerce, low crime, and affordable real estate in the state. If you have a job within commuting distance, you'll be sittin' pretty. I don't know why Gardner is even being brought up here. If you want culture, head the other way to Amherst/Northampton. Dumb-dumbs like me only go to Boston for concerts, sporting events, and commercial flights.

In the last 30 years, I know of more people who have been killed by a falling tree in Athol (2) than by the hand of another human. There might have been a couple more murders, but then again, there might have been a few more death-by-pine incidents as well.

Anyway, if you want to reduce your chance of getting murdered to almost zilch while being surrounded by natural beauty, Athol is the place for you.

[Humphrey]

Originally Posted by TS808

I don't know why Gardner is even being brought up here

OP was asking about surrounding towns etc. Gardner might not count depending on your definition but it's the next decent sized place east along route 2 and I know a fair few Athol people that hang out here.