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Pros & Cons - 10/12/2006
As a 3.5 yr resident of Hopedale, I wanted to provide some feedback to anyone considering relocation to this area. First, like everything else is MA, it is expensive when compared to most regions of the country. However, it is less expensive than living close to Boston, yet the city is still accessible. Second, the school system is, in my opinion, marginal, largely due to its small size. The Jr and Sr. high schools are one and the same facility, and the course selection is limited, as is the ability to provide advanced placement or similar courses. The school administrators mean well, but when the average grade size is only 75 or so, the options are limited. Plus, it is cursed with the educational liberalism that hurts the entire state, which shows up in a variety of ways. (Such as an elementary math program that virtually all the parents hate, but can't change, as the school can't afford to abandon it.) Third, of all things, the city water is the worst of any place we have lived. We routinely get some kind of sediment or dirt in our clothes, via the water feed to the washing machine. Also, the water sometimes has a bit of an odor and/or taste, and it is very hard. (The worst toilet bowl stains we've ever seen.) Fourth, being small and remote from the city, it is safe. Finally, the friendliness of the people has been "mixed", with some being quite open to outsiders (neither my wife nor I are from the state), with others being very unfriendly. (90% of our friends and neighbors are from the Boston area originally, or have lived somewhere in the area for many years.) My conclusion is that this is probably a pretty good place for "locals" who are trying to isolate themselves from the cost, crime and congestion of the city, but I wouldn't recommend it to outsiders. The bigger question is why anyone who had options would want to live in Massachusetts, apart from family connections obviously.
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