Somerville - where dreams go to die. (Cambridge, Medford: to rent, house)

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by muffincake

Wow, Google has maps of roads that don't exist? Pretty cool! Can we just be honest -- when you look at what the highway map would've looked like with those canceled roads in place, the road system looks normal around Boston and it looks like other cities. Without them, it looks odd. You look at the maps now and something is missing. Route 2 especially makes no sense.

I understand not wanting communities to be changed or destroyed. But the community could've opposed pavement and cars altogether and kept horse and buggy. The traffic is absolutely horrible. It probably wastes tons of money for towns, cities and the state, it probably increases pollution significantly and god, maybe Boston would get a better rep as far as friendliness if the commute wasn't so stressful. The "NIMBY" people really need to shut up sometimes. Those highways would've been great for the region.

While the Boston region NIMBYed to death the Highways , NYC , Urban Jersey , & Philly did not. At first highways were great , but after a few decades there capacity had been topped and expanding them proved very expensive..... The Damage Highways caused to cities like NYC or Newark or Philly is just started to be repaired.. The Neighborhoods often became blighted , crime skyrocketed , the Health of the residents dropped and all because of Suburbanites wanting better access to the city. Traffic is bad up in the Boston region because the Transit system has not expanded to keep up with demand...same can be said in Philly and NJ.... As for the Future of Urban highways , there are no plans to build anymore new ones in the Northeast , Several will be placed underground or ripped up entirely...over the next 2 decades which will reconnect neighborhoods and improve quality of life.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by caphillsea77

I worked in Somerville for a year. I didn't like it. The worst thing about the place is its wall to wall old infrastructure. There are little to no PARKS in Somerville, or none large enough to be worthy of mentioning. The lack of greenspace makes the city very unattractive to me. Neighboring Cambidge and Medford have comparable density yet offer abundant parkland in those cities.

Originally Posted by massnative71

Again the simple answer is don't live there. The main thing about it is that it's actually one of the more expensive areas to live in the Boston area all things considered, as opposed to a place like Brockton or Lynn where people might be forced to because they can't afford anywhere else. Somerville obviously works for many people (and not so for many others, including myself and the OP). To each their own, that's why it's great to have choices. Don't cry a river because you made a bad one.

It also seems that the negative posts here more accurately describe E. Somerville, have any of you been to Davis Sq. lately? I can think of many worse places to be.

You are totally spinning this into something it is not. Where does cry a river even fit into this conversation? What does living in Somerville have anything to do with my point? I had to work there for a year and I didn't care for the city. I am just as entitled as you are to sharing my opinion on this website, and mine is not a favorable one of Somerville. Yes I've been to Davis Square, and yes its pretty nice. You still evaded the point that my original post had and was mostly pertaining to; Somerville has very little parkland. Nice greenspace makes a city a lot more desirable, even Lynn has some nice parks.

[eevee]

There's Foss park. Not the best rep on the planet, but it's gotten 100x better that I can see. According to wiki, there are 63 parks/gardens/etc. It's not JP or Roslindale, but Somerville has always struck me as being greener than the South End/Back Bay, Charlestown, and the North End

[bacarolle]

The only time I had an issue with parking was during the ****show snow emergencies. Other than that, I never had any issue finding on-street parking.

The intersection of RT 2 and Alewife Brook Parkway is in Cambridge, isn't it?

Traffic does suck in certain places, but if you know the area, you can avoid it.

Also, cycling and taking public transportation are much more fun and enjoyable than getting pissed in a car. My road rage has gone up exponentially since I started living in the Boston area.

I was born in Tempe AZ and lived there till I was 7...where all the roads are straight and all the houses look the same. It sucks in a different way.

[Urban Peasant]

I went to Tufts for graduate school and recall passing by many empty parking spaces on the side streets near the campus. No one but local residents dare to park on those streets because Somerville cracks down HARD on drivers of vehicles without local parking permits. Even on Sunday when the permit rule isn't in effect I could find enough street parking to even park in a spot without having to back into it. I don't get where this lack of parking space in Somerville idea comes from especially if you are a resident with a valid permit for the zone you live in. Now for visitors on weekdays and Saturdays, that's a different story.

[Pear Martini]

Originally Posted by massnative71

I'm specifically talking about the people it ATTRACTS, not necessarily the natives. Just because the heat can be unbearable doesn't mean those moving there are conditioned for extreme weather. They see it as a land of sunshine and partying and laze. Those I run into there are often AC bound for half the year, they don't seem very recourceful at all (kind of like how we have plenty of cold wimps up here despite our winters).

I don't know it just seems that when people move down there they are running away from something, and are in for a rude awakening when they get there. Too much TV perhaps.

When I lived in South Florida I recall it attracting many wealthy Europeans, hard working immigrants from spanish speaking countries and Eastern Europe and FAR more entrepreneurs than Boston.

Too much TV? Who watches TV when its beach season 365 days a year and last call is at 5am?

[TAM88]

Originally Posted by muffincake

Wow, Google has maps of roads that don't exist? Pretty cool! Can we just be honest -- when you look at what the highway map would've looked like with those canceled roads in place, the road system looks normal around Boston and it looks like other cities. Without them, it looks odd. You look at the maps now and something is missing. Route 2 especially makes no sense.

I understand not wanting communities to be changed or destroyed. But the community could've opposed pavement and cars altogether and kept horse and buggy. The traffic is absolutely horrible. It probably wastes tons of money for towns, cities and the state, it probably increases pollution significantly and god, maybe Boston would get a better rep as far as friendliness if the commute wasn't so stressful. The "NIMBY" people really need to shut up sometimes. Those highways would've been great for the region.

I am glad that most of the proposed highways were eliminated. They would have torn through neighborhoods and plus, we already have enough highways. You can build and build highways, they will just keep filling up and destroying the fabric of a city and a metro area. Thankfully Boston has a solid transit system, which is a lot better than most U.S. cities can say.

Originally Posted by Pear Martini

When I lived in South Florida I recall it attracting many wealthy Europeans, hard working immigrants from spanish speaking countries and Eastern Europe and FAR more entrepreneurs than Boston.

Too much TV? Who watches TV when its beach season 365 days a year and last call is at 5am?

You honestly believe that South Florida attracts more start ups and entrepreneurs than Boston and the metro area does? Wealthy Europeans like Miami because they can get a second home for dirt cheap compared to more tropical and upscale areas in the world.

[dragonborn]

Originally Posted by TAM88

I am glad that most of the proposed highways were eliminated. They would have torn through neighborhoods and plus, we already have enough highways. You can build and build highways, they will just keep filling up and destroying the fabric of a city and a metro area. Thankfully Boston has a solid transit system, which is a lot better than most U.S. cities can say.

You honestly believe that South Florida attracts more start ups and entrepreneurs than Boston and the metro area does? Wealthy Europeans like Miami because they can get a second home for dirt cheap compared to more tropical and upscale areas in the world.

Miami certainly isn't dirt cheap and the second home thing is only the partial truth. Miami is the US's gateway to Latin America. It has tons of international firms and a lot of Europeans live there permanently. I am European and lived there for several years. I worked with French, fellow British and Italian and Russian people in Miami. You would be surprised as to how much of a melting pot it is, but it's different to other US cities and highly misunderstood by a lot of bashers on forums.

[Cliff Clavin]

S Florida simply doesn't attract the venture capital that the Boston metro does.

[dragonborn]

Originally Posted by Cliff Clavin

S Florida simply doesn't attract the venture capital that the Boston metro does.

No, just great food, a killer skyline, beautiful beaches and bags of ethnic flavoir.

Oh, I happen to like Somerville too. There's a real buzz to the place and it's cycle friendly. I would live there.