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Cambridge is an very cool, unique city. It obviously has a strong connection with Boston, but it may (somehow) be one of the most overlooked border-cities in the country. Not only does it have all the amazing amenities which you just described, but could be likened to Berkeley and Silicon Valley combined and then thrown into 6 square miles.
Where the Bay has two fantastic institutions in Cal-Berkeley and Stanford, Cambridge has MIT and Harvard within walking distance of one another. Cambridge is also arguably the most impressive cluster of high tech/biotech in the world. There are major offices, headquarters and research centers for Genzyme, Biogen Idec, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Novartis AG, Akamai Technologies, Analog Devices, Google, Microsoft, Sanofi Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Raytheon, the Broad Institute and IBM, among many others. Again, that's in 6 square miles.
Someone said Cambridge is a college town...to a degree it is, because Harvard and MIT do rule the town. However to compare it to a college town like Berkeley wouldn't due Cambridge justice. The combined endowment of MIT and Harvard tops $42 billion, roughly equal to Albany's GDP. Along with the cluster of companies I mentioned , there's roughly 21 million square feet of office/lab space in Cambridge at this time, with another 5 or so million coming on line in the next four to five years. That's considerably larger than Atlanta's CBD. Cambridge is a powerhouse.
One thing that's worth noting, as well, is that due to Cambridge playing host to two major universities that draw students from all over the globe is that much of the population as well as its diversity (particularly from Asia) is transient, to a larger degree than what you'd see in Oakland. When we first moved to Cambridge, in our building, you had a Korean family across the hall, a French couple downstairs, an Indian guy (Ghandi's grandson actually) acorss from them, a Saudi family, Kenyans, Chinese, etc. The thing is, that all of them - including us - would live there for 1-6 years while someone attended Harvard as it was grad student family housing, and then? Well, we moved a couple miles to Huron Ave, and they moved back home...
Oakland has grown in the last decade due in part to the fact that it's cheaper to live there than in its regional anchor, and its dining, bar, music, and arts scenes have grown as well as a result of having much easier permitting practices than SF. When talking about Boston/Cambridge, that's not the case and hasn't been for some time: it costs as much and in many cases more to get a decent spot in Cambridge as it does to get a spot in a decent part of Boston. A flat in a triple decker in Harvard Square will set you back about the same as a flat in a brownstone in Back Bay.
From what I've seen in this thread, Cambridge probably beats Berkeley by a decent margin. IMO it's somewhere in-between Berkeley and Oakland as far as the criteria of this thread goes though.
For me, Oakland and Cambridge are on about equal footing in terms of how much I "like" either, for different reasons, and both are above Berkeley, which I do also love. Cambridge is, to me, like Berkeley x 500 (just to throw out an arbitrary number, please no one quote me on this!).
For me, Oakland and Cambridge are on about equal footing in terms of how much I "like" either, for different reasons, and both are above Berkeley, which I do also love. Cambridge is, to me, like Berkeley x 500 (just to throw out an arbitrary number, please no one quote me on this!).
hmm... that's about the same number I'd throw out for Oakland vs. Berkeley, so you may have a point haha
I would say Providence is the second city of Metro Boston but Cambridge is the premier suburb just as Berkeley is the premier suburb of the bay
Berkeley is not the "premier suburb" of the Bay Area - not even close. The premier suburb would be one of the Marin County cities just North of the Golden Gate or maybe even Palo Alto (although it's 30 miles south)
From what I've seen in this thread, Cambridge probably beats Berkeley by a decent margin. IMO it's somewhere in-between Berkeley and Oakland as far as the criteria of this thread goes though.
Yea I suppose in the sense of being an independent city, Oakland relies on San Francisco quite a bit less than Cambridge, which is an independent city but feels like an extension of Boston to a degree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 415_s2k
One thing that's worth noting, as well, is that due to Cambridge playing host to two major universities that draw students from all over the globe is that much of the population as well as its diversity (particularly from Asia) is transient, to a larger degree than what you'd see in Oakland. When we first moved to Cambridge, in our building, you had a Korean family across the hall, a French couple downstairs, an Indian guy (Ghandi's grandson actually) acorss from them, a Saudi family, Kenyans, Chinese, etc. The thing is, that all of them - including us - would live there for 1-6 years while someone attended Harvard as it was grad student family housing, and then? Well, we moved a couple miles to Huron Ave, and they moved back home...
Good point. I think the same could be said about Allston Brighton, but with more permanent immigrants than Cambridge. There's a decent number of Harvard students living in AB, but more from Boston College, Boston University, and Berklee too.
Quote:
Oakland has grown in the last decade due in part to the fact that it's cheaper to live there than in its regional anchor, and its dining, bar, music, and arts scenes have grown as well as a result of having much easier permitting practices than SF. When talking about Boston/Cambridge, that's not the case and hasn't been for some time: it costs as much and in many cases more to get a decent spot in Cambridge as it does to get a spot in a decent part of Boston. A flat in a triple decker in Harvard Square will set you back about the same as a flat in a brownstone in Back Bay.
Yea Cambridge is incredibly expensive. I'm not sure if you've kept up with what's going on there now that you're on the West Coast, but there's a ton of construction and development going on in Cambridge, especially down near Kendall Square. There's lots of new housing and labs under construction and/or breaking ground at the moment.
If you're interested in catching up on your old digs, here's a couple of threads about Cambridge Development and one specifically about NorthPoint, a $1B, 5 million square foot project which would replace rail yards in East Cambridge near Kendall Square.
To clarify, I was not saying you couldn't work, eat, drink, shop, etc. in Cambridge. I was saying there are a lot of things you can do in Oakland (go to the zoo, catch a professional sports game, etc.) that you cannot do in Cambridge, and these are for the most part things associated with independent cities. Oakland, SF and SJ all have their own zoos, sports stadiums, airports, etc. because they're all independent cities... Cambridge isn't really independent from Boston. Does it have its own entertainment? Absolutely, but then so does Berkeley, which is why I've been saying Berkeley's a better comparison.
Using those as a definition of a central city, Dearborn is the Center of the Detroit Metro, as it has the Pistons, the premiere Zoo in the metro and the Airport isn't in Detriot city limits.
Arts-Oakland has a symphony, art galleries, a major museum, dance, theater, live music venues, nightclubs, multicultural arts amenities-all of which are not appendages of a university by freestanding institutions associated with Oakland and not a school.
Urban-Oakland feels like a real city by itself compared to Cambridge. I dont know if that's what we're trying to get at but Oakland feels like a city, Cambridge not so much.
Downtown Environment-Oakland has more of a big city downtown whereas Cambridge has a downtown similar to Berkeley--and the employment stats posted by the OP only covers Downtown Oakland, not the whole city as there are other job centers like the waterfront, like the Upper Broadway area(all the hospitals), like the airport area as well as the industrial areas in East and West Oakland.
Diversity(sorry hard to do, Colleges)-Oakland by far.
Transit-I dont know but Oakland has a subway system, a bus system, an international airport, is the terminus for 3 transcontinental railways, is a international seaport and is the nexus for the SF MSAs freeway network.
If Cambridge can beat all that Id be surprised.
Independent Identity-Oakland.
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Originally Posted by Nineties Flava
From what I've seen in this thread, Cambridge probably beats Berkeley by a decent margin.
Berkeley is more desirable to me as I prefer the Hills and waterfront as well as the residential architecture--more West Coast. The food scene is Berkeley is just flat out in another world compared to Cambridge.
Cambridge has its pluses, its a matter of personal preference.
Arts-Oakland has a symphony, art galleries, a major museum, dance, theater, live music venues, nightclubs, multicultural arts amenities-all of which are not appendages of a university by freestanding institutions associated with Oakland and not a school.
Urban-Oakland feels like a real city by itself compared to Cambridge. I dont know if that's what we're trying to get at but Oakland feels like a city, Cambridge not so much.
Downtown Environment-Oakland has more of a big city downtown whereas Cambridge has a downtown similar to Berkeley--and the employment stats posted by the OP only covers Downtown Oakland, not the whole city as there are other job centers like the waterfront, like the Upper Broadway area(all the hospitals), like the airport area as well as the industrial areas in East and West Oakland.
Diversity(sorry hard to do, Colleges)-Oakland by far.
Transit-I dont know but Oakland has a subway system, a bus system, an international airport, is the terminus for 3 transcontinental railways, is a international seaport and is the nexus for the SF MSAs freeway network.
If Cambridge can beat all that Id be surprised.
Independent Identity-Oakland.
Berkeley is more desirable to me as I prefer the Hills and waterfront as well as the residential architecture--more West Coast. The food scene is Berkeley is just flat out in another world compared to Cambridge.
Cambridge has its pluses, its a matter of personal preference.
You have not been to Cambridge.
And Cambridge has 2 subway lines, and countless bus lines and 2 commuterrail lines.
On the Arts, Whats wrong with university sponsered theatres, most of them (inclulding emersons theatre) are amazing instutions.
and Cambridge has 11 indepent (not UIniverity affiliated) theatres and an Opera in 6 sq miles.
Of course Ive been there. That's why its so easy to say that Cambridge while nice, does not exude the feeling of a large city like Oakland does.
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And Cambridge has 2 subway lines, and countless bus lines and 2 commuterrail lines.
2 subway lines is cancelled out and surpassed by the fact that ALL BART LINES CONVERGE IN OAKLAND(Oakland is the nexus of BART, not SF)--and trust me, you dont want to do the bus contest either cause AC Transit is based in Oakland and every major line of that system runs through Oakland. And as far as commuter rails-3 Amtrak lines run through Oakland.
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On the Arts, Whats wrong with university sponsered theatres, most of them (inclulding emersons theatre) are amazing instutions.
Yet they cater almost exclusively to that college crowd--which in Cambridge works because its a college town. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Furthermore, its not surprising cause most college oriented areas have tons of things for that demographic to enjoy. Very reminiscent of Berkeley.
But alas, people grow up and out of that scene. Dont begrudge others for wanting grown up restaurants, adult art galleries, adult nightclubs and bars.
Furthermore, there's no escaping that whole college scene in Cambridge-its like in your face everywhere. I live about 2 miles from the UC Berkeley campus-Thank goodness I dont have to deal with those kids and their faux-reality.
Also, 45% working for colleges is MASSIVE. Please dont try to downplay that.
You have not been to Cambridge.
And Cambridge has 2 subway lines, and countless bus lines and 2 commuterrail lines.
At least going by public transportation, I'd say it's in Cambridge's favor. Almost all of Cambridge is in walking distance to a subway stop. Not only does Cambridge have ample bus service, it has electric buses — buses that run overhead wires — to nearby suburbs. There are large parts of Oakland not that are not close to BART.
There are no freeways that go through Cambridge, but in some ways that's a good thing. There are several freeways right to next or on the edge of Cambridge that provide access to the rest of New England.
No airport, but the metro's largest airport is close by, closer than SFO is to Oakland.
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