Most similar and dissimilar adjacent towns and cities in MA? (Boston: homes, neighborhoods)

[FCMA]

Most similar:

Athol/Orange (cook yr meth squirrel stew here / enjoy the 2nd amendment unjudged)
Hatfield/Whately (find yr 130 yo Polish potato / tobacco farmer uncle still at it here)
Peru/Savoy (hide yr bodies here while a banjo plays faster and faster)
Burlington/Wilmington (yr actually in bland suburban NJ, and it never ever ends for the low low price of $850k)
Camberville (have yr poly union blessed by the city / judged by old money here but u can’t tell the boundary too well so use a map)

[bolehboleh]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Boston/Brookline
Boston/Milton
Waltham/Weston


And I'll get massacred here for saying this, but...


Brockton/Easton

I don't agree at all.

I lived in an apartment on Beacon St. in Brookline years ago and it was hard to tell where the city line was. Sure, southern Brookline is very suburban and country club, but there's enough of the city that looks like Boston.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by FCMA

Add to most dissimilar

Fall River / Westport

I was thinking Lawrence/Andover and Springfield/Longmeadow for the abrupt socioeconomic transition. Fall River/Westport wins on the urban/rural transition.

[P Larsen]

Similar:

Wakefield/Melrose. Main difference is slightly larger lot sizes in the core in Wakefield, and that Melrose has fewer infill SF developments from the last generation (it was built out and up earlier) and more recent dense apartment developments along the rail spine.

Dissimilar:

Nahant/Lynn

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I was thinking Lawrence/Andover and Springfield/Longmeadow for the abrupt socioeconomic transition. Fall River/Westport wins on the urban/rural transition.

Worcester/Paxton is like this as well, though 122 heading out of Worcester does become more residential prior to crossing the line. The contrast between the two is quite stark.

North Adams/Williamstown is another, though the transition isn't as abrupt.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Worcester/Paxton is like this as well, though 122 heading out of Worcester does become more residential prior to crossing the line. The contrast between the two is quite stark.

Not really, it's a pretty gradual transition there. A much greater contrast would be coming from Boylston/Shrewsbury into Worcester on Rte. 70. You go right from the woods, to Great Brook Valley.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by bolehboleh

I don't agree at all.

I lived in an apartment on Beacon St. in Brookline years ago and it was hard to tell where the city line was. Sure, southern Brookline is very suburban and country club, but there's enough of the city that looks like Boston.

Quite different IMO, from the level of upkeep to general atmosphere.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Worcester/Paxton is like this as well, though 122 heading out of Worcester does become more residential prior to crossing the line. The contrast between the two is quite stark.

North Adams/Williamstown is another, though the transition isn't as abrupt.

Does Paxton have a tractor pull at the town fair like Westport? My Worcester experience is zero beyond the airport or west of I-190. The ZZ Top guys at Strands ski shop in West Boylston is the farthest west of 190 I’ve ever been and that’s maybe 1/4 mile. Leif is one of the top 2 or 3 boot fitters in southern New England.

[MikePRU]

I've found frequently that there tends to be some bleed between towns for what an area feels like which makes the transition between towns a bit less noticeable. For example. OP mentioned driving through Medfield/Dover/Needham and I've always thought the area of Needham bordering Dover feels a lot more like Dover than it does the rest of Needham. The area of Newton bordering Waltham feels a lot more like Waltham than it does much of Newton to name another example. Framingham near Wayland feels a lot more like Wayland than it does Framingham. I could go on and on.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by MikePRU

I've found frequently that there tends to be some bleed between towns for what an area feels like which makes the transition between towns a bit less noticeable. For example. OP mentioned driving through Medfield/Dover/Needham and I've always thought the area of Needham bordering Dover feels a lot more like Dover than it does the rest of Needham. The area of Newton bordering Waltham feels a lot more like Waltham than it does much of Newton to name another example. Framingham near Wayland feels a lot more like Wayland than it does Framingham. I could go on and on.

All very true. Exceptions to that include coming from Sherborn into South Framingham, and the Waltham to Weston that I already mentioned. Fall River to Westport is another good one (even more than the ever so famous "longest bridge" from Portugal to Somerset), but they don't really share much of a border. The water is kind of a buffer, same thing with Lynn and Nahant.