Boston "equivalents" of towns in NJ? (Worcester, Cambridge: sales, crime)

[wander_x]

Where around Boston do you draw comparisons with these places in NJ and why?
Do any have a similar "feel"/amenities/people?

*YES, Boston and towns in NJ are incredibly different places with their own pros/cons, histories, populations, and culture. They offer different things for different people at different times in their lives.

That being said, can you draw certain comparisons?

Morristown NJ = ?
Hoboken
New Brunswick
Newark
Cape May
Seaside Heights/LBI
Alpine
Ridgewood
Madison/Chatham/Summit
Montclair
Princeton

...or in the other direction:
Brookline MA = ?
Newton
Wellesley
Lexington/Concord
Cambridge
Hingham
Salem

Random groupings and towns, feel free to add your own, just interested to see what people may come up with for comparison.

[tysmith95]

Cambridge = Princeton, Princeton is much more suburban but it is a center for ivy league education.

Newark = Chelsea, both crime filled cities across the water with the slightest hint of gentrification.

[professeurpablo]

Although they're wealthier overall, Maplewood, South Orange, and Union are a bit like Malden, Medford, and Everett in their unusual combination of relatively suburban character (in varying degrees of course) and ethnic/racial diversity. I'd also say that Hoboken is a bit like South Boston - large young twenty-something population, many of whom work in finance, living in a densely-populated formerly working class enclave.

Obviously these are not perfect comparisons. It's tough to do this, but I tried!

[chicagoliz]

I don't think Cambridge is like Princeton much at all. Cambridge is much more urban. I think Princeton is more like Newton than like Cambridge. Newton is also a little bit like Ridgewood.

New Brunswick may be a bit like Somerville.

[jayrandom]

Princeton <> Cambridge. The only similarity is an Ivy League School. Philadelphia has an Ivy League school, Wellesley is a much better choice for Princeton, especially the boutique-y town center. They aren't really that similar, but much closer than Cambridge.

Most of my experience is with Central Jersey and I expect that North Jersey -> Boston is a more reasonable comparison to make.

Cape May -> Provincetown, mostly geography, but some similarities.
Trenton -> Worcester; both kind of run down and on the fringe geographically.

[such sweet thunder]

I moved from Somerville to Jersey City and thought they had a lot in common. Both had that mashup you get when you collide a working class neighborhood that has immigrant enclaves with precipitous gentrification. Honestly loved both. I think Somerville has mellowed out quit a bit more than Jersey City over the last five years though.

[GeoffD]

I'm trying to decide which city gets the dubious honor of being paired up with Camden.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I'm trying to decide which city gets the dubious honor of being paired up with Camden.

I'm not sure there is one. Boston is in a unique position in that there is SO much demand for housing in a relatively small area that any town that's within commuting distance is getting expensive and has people who want to live there and pay quite a bit of money to do so.

And Boston has water to its east, so the radius of commutable towns doesn't yield the same number as if you can go in all directions.

A lot of companies are leaving Philadelphia, whereas they are emerging in Boston. Camden has long been a bit of a puzzle to me -- it has great access to Philadelphia, and it has several institutional anchors that keep people there -- RWJ Hospital, Rutgers Law School, the state aquarium, a federal courthouse, etc. But the spark doesn't seem to ignite, and my guess is that it is because there are relatively affordable places that have just as convenient or almost as convenient access to Philly (including Philadelphia itself), so people don't need to live there.

There isn't a town near Boston that has that same ability for people to overlook it. (If that makes sense.)

[gf2020]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

There isn't a town near Boston that has that same ability for people to overlook it. (If that makes sense.)

That is an excellent observation and is the precise reason why close to Boston communities previously seen as "gritty" (like Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, Quincy) are all experiencing strong annual appreciation in sales prices. A rising tide lifts all boats.