Help convince me to move to the burbs – Sharon, MA

[Bosguy123]

A few things from my POV on a few different topics that have come up. I have family that lives in both Needham and Sharon, and have a good amount of experience in both of them and those seem to be in considerable comparison right now.

First, Taxes Needham's taxes are lower rates because of the commercial base in town, most people forget that everything west of the Charles belongs to Needham, so the Coke plant, and everything between Kendrick and Highland is Needham tax base, along with Muzi, Channel 5 U-Do-It etc, and the smaller industrial park on Reservoir as well up by Upper Falls.

Honestly though, taxes are mostly meaningless to this discussion, most people are going to have a tax bill that's about the same in either town, Sharon tax rate is 20.55, and Needham is 11.64, even with a higher rate in Sharon(40% for a round number), the house values are a lot lower. If we are comparing houses of equal value, then of course Needham is going to seem like the better deal, but the values aren't going to be the same values. A quick check on redfin for comparable houses in terms of Sq Ft(1800ish), 4Bed/3Bath, showed me a $375K in Sharon, and a $750K in Needham, both had taxes within a couple hundred of each other in the $8k range. Both in similar neighborhoods to each other. So unless you buy way more house than you need in Sharon, or buy way less house than you should in Needham, it's a mostly meaningless number to even focus on, much less argue about, when talking about selecting a place to live.

and in terms of place to go and things to do in Sharon, since you were asking, it's in Sharon, and Stoughton, and Easton, but Borderland State Park is a gem that so few people take the time to utilize and appreciate. I grew up near the rear entrance and loved it, can have a lot of mosquitoes in some areas, but all in all, awesome place to walk, hike, relax play disc golf, sled in winter, canoe, fish if you mind catching only lilypads, photography, ice skate, mountain bike and so many other things. I am not big on them in general, but the civil war re-enactments are always pretty cool.

and on a similar note to everyone, buying the parks pass for like $35($45non-res) to park at all State Parks in MA is a huge deal that people should really take advantage of, especially since it means you can park at state beaches like Horseneck, Nahant, Nantasket, Revere, salisbury, Skusset as well as some of the larger lakes like Cochituate, Hopkinton State Parks and not have to pay the daily rate.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by Bosguy123

and in terms of place to go and things to do in Sharon, since you were asking, it's in Sharon, and Stoughton, and Easton, but Borderland State Park is a gem that so few people take the time to utilize and appreciate. I grew up near the rear entrance and loved it, can have a lot of mosquitoes in some areas, but all in all, awesome place to walk, hike, relax play disc golf, sled in winter, canoe, fish if you mind catching only lilypads, photography, ice skate, mountain bike and so many other things. I am not big on them in general, but the civil war re-enactments are always pretty cool.

Sounds like paradise.

Originally Posted by Bosguy123

and on a similar note to everyone, buying the parks pass for like $35($45non-res) to park at all State Parks in MA is a huge deal that people should really take advantage of, especially since it means you can park at state beaches like Horseneck, Nahant, Nantasket, Revere, salisbury, Skusset as well as some of the larger lakes like Cochituate, Hopkinton State Parks and not have to pay the daily rate.

good tip!