Southie - east v. west (Boston: real estate, apartments, condo)

[kpk106]

Hey all,

Curious about South Boston. I've heard some not great things about the west side of Southie, but it seems to me that a lot of the apartments on that side come with off-street parking and seem fairly nice.

Aside from the D street projects, what seems to the problem over that way?

How are the areas closer to Andrew Square and Broadway T stop?

Thanks for the help.

[HowGoesIt]

Personally, I like the west side a little better. It's a little more grittier and cheaper. The areas around Broadway and Andrew T-stop can get pretty shady late at night. I think it's an area that is up and coming. There are already a few new condo complexes in the area.

I think there are 3 large housing projects in Southie, they are D-street, Old Colony, and Mary Ellen McCormick.

[Bostonian08]

Southie divides neatly into two worlds at Dorchester St. The east side, AKA "upper" or "the Point" historically has been and largely still is the abode of the "lace curtain Irish" - IOW, the ones with money. Along West Broadway, aka "lower", is what it sounds like and has been for at least quite a while - the poorer section of Southie. But as HowGoesIt just said, it is most definitely on the rise.

A little grittier but coming up fast. I think the grittiness will be gone completely in ten years, maybe twenty, maybe never though. It sure looks to me like prime real estate to be developed. Really the biggest issues removed from the projects in my experience is it's kinda dirty, there's a few hole in the walls serving street drunks. You will see homeless about and the teenage kids in the neighborhood do get a bit rowdy at the local Burger King using too many expletives around small children, but that's really about it. There's a police station right across from BK and the Irish cops rarely let things get out of control there except of course their unique parking paradigm.

I personally like The Pointe better myself. Castle Island Park is a beautiful place.

[hiddenboston]

The differences between the east and west side definitely aren't as big anymore. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the Lower End (the west side) had some pretty scary sections, but it has gotten a lot better. And now with all the development around the Broadway T stop, parts of the Lower End are probably going to become almost trendy.

If it were me, I'd consider either the area around City Point (some nice housing, a little quieter, great ocean views) or perhaps Dorchester Heights, which has extensive views of the surrounding area and some really nice houses.