Best Boston suburb with artsy vibe (Cambridge, Somerville: real estate, rent, houses)

[495neighbor]

OP, would this fit your definition of artsy vibe?
https://patch.com/massachusetts/nati...iles-commuters

I think Natick would fit your criteria well other than the commute being a bit long between Natick and Lexington.

Farmers markets, peaceful political protests on the town common, pumpkin carving contests, loads of creative and funky activities for kids and adults at the Morse Library, open studio in the fall, new coffee shops and indie eating places and some of that grit leftover from Natick's more blue collar, brick, manufacturing roots all contribute to the vibe.

I would keep West Concord on your radar as well - lots of indie businesses. There is a pretty substantial artist group at the Bradford Mill.

Waltham would fit much of your criteria as well and would provide an excellent commute if you are fine with economic diversity. It is home to Brandeis and Bentley so there is some of that campus town thing going on there.

BTW, I lived a long time in Acton, intellectual and socially progressive, not artsy in any way at all.

I would say Maynard as well, but at 900k, you'd likely have one of the most highest priced houses in town. It does have an artsy/mill type vibe, but it is very quiet on Sundays. Hudson is up and coming, but I'm not sure how people new to town connect with other people there and I see no edge over Maynard.

Lincoln, Sudbury and Wayland all have creative and individualistic people, some very accomplished ones actually; but those towns are more serene and cerebral than artsy gritty.

My 5 cents ...

[Heathaaa]

Hi - The Berkley of Boston - that'd be amazing.
I grew up in Arlington and I'm an abstract painter. I can speak to a lot of this. You've got a lot of criteria. The good news is that you'll probably find what you want and it won't be exactly walking distance from each other but it won't be too far. The price per square foot is pretty high around here, you've probably noticed that already.

That affects the art scene a lot. As the other poster said one of the nicknames for Cambridge is "The Peoples' Republic of Cambridge". You can find meet up groups and organized activities to sketch in museums and things like that.
Gloucester and Rockport are on the north shore, these are sea side communities with a lot of artists and there are landscape painters mostly. These are great places to find galleries and sometimes they have music festivals.

I think of Jamaica Plain and Chelsea in terms of gritty places that look like "art comes from there" and have a bunch of artists. Somerville used to be in that category but it bubbled up or became super hip and expensive. I'm telling you all this because you might want to check in and out of these communities. Scattered throughout all these towns and more are buildings for artists. Either live/work or work only. That might be good to know because they tend to be close knit. You can find open studios at all of these places. Most communities participate and do a great job with the open studios either once or twice a year.
Arlington vs Concord - you have to check out the school rankings.
Arlington borders Lexington. I think you're correct that you can find something in your range that might need updating. It has a reputation for being more liberal than bordering towns. There is a public bus that runs frequently through town and into Cambridge. Arlington is also more condensed/walkable than Concord. There's a bike path that runs the entire length of the town and actually into Lexington and beyond (rails to trails-Minuteman Bikepath if you want to check it out). I also know that they're constructing a new high school and they just had two tax overrides. That would be to your benefit. There are a lot of parks throughout town, so between that and the bikepath and Spy Pond and the Resevoir I'd say you have access to nature.
I know less about Concord. I can't imagine it would be considered walkable. There are woods. Concord definitely has Walden Pond and also DeCordova Sculpture Park which are both awesome. Not all of the streets are lit. I'm not sure if that matters. I hope that helps.

[chicagoliz]

What about Melrose?

I don't think of Acton or Natick as "artsy."

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

What about Melrose?

I don't think of Acton or Natick as "artsy."

They specified gritty. When I hear someone say scrappy or gritty I think of converted mills or former mill towns, street art, moth story readings or at least some of these things. I looked at Melrose when the real estate market was in a down cycle, but didn't get much sense of a creative vibe there or that there was much to go to to meet new people if one was new in town.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by asongbird

Salem is a tourist-addicted town, to detriment of residents. Poor school system. Terrible, truly awful traffic. "Artsy" is totally a marketing ploy descriptor, used only in the past couple of years. After nearly two decades, tired of the nonsense here. You can do better.

Concord Center has the same problem of being overrun with tourists, especially the summer weekends.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

What about Melrose?

I don't think of Acton or Natick as "artsy."

Melrose probably falls behind these two in the intellectual property category.. There still a lot of blue collar, conservative blood in much of the town. I suppose it's simply due to it's route 1 roots, and the fact that it borders Malden, Saugus, Wakefield, Medford. We are close with several families in Melrose, and have spent quite a bit of time there. It's rapidly evolved since the recession, but there's still a strong "townie" vibe.

That said, I think it's a good suggestion. I had said Medford, specifically because it's closer to Camberville and Lexington, and the Tufts area might be uniquely qualified along with the nicer areas north and west. So, with that suggestion, I'm kind of talking out of both sides of my mouth!

I think Arlington is the right compromise for an inner/dense suburb. It's going to feel a bit more "intellectual" throughout, a bit more middle-upper class, with a more educated populace. And the cherry on top is that it's a bike ride from Cambridge.

[mwj119]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

Concord Center has the same problem of being overrun with tourists, especially the summer weekends.

Compared to Salem?

Apples-to-oranges.

Concord does see an influx of history buffs, and an in-season Asian population due to Concord Academy and Middlesex.. Prestigious towns and schools will do that. But the town is far from overrun with tourists as compared to Salem.

[bohemka]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Compared to Salem?

Apples-to-oranges.

Concord does see an influx of history buffs, and an in-season Asian population due to Concord Academy and Middlesex.. Prestigious towns and schools will do that. But the town is far from overrun with tourists as compared to Salem.

I don't see Salem as a touristy town. Not at all. I guess I've lived in far more touristy towns/cities, so that could be a factor, but I spend a lot of time in Salem and go out to bars and restaurants there often (though not now), and I have never considered it to have even a hint of a touristy vibe. October is different if you count people from Boston as tourists.

[dadicalidea]

I'm so glad I posted this question! So much great info! Thank you all so much.

Your responses confirmed my suspicion that there's no single down that meets all the criteria, and that Arlington probably comes closest. I wish there was a better way to get a sense of the school quality aside from GreatSchools ratings; I'm sure the reality is more nuanced. We just want a place where our introverted and somewhat nerdy kids can thrive.

We'll continue to look in Arlington. Unfortunately, inventory is extremely low, a zillion people come to each open house, and the house prices are still outrageous!

[Heathaaa]

I wish there was a better way to get a sense of the school quality aside from GreatSchools ratings; I'm sure the reality is more nuanced. We just want a place where our introverted and somewhat nerdy kids can thrive.



https://www.bostonmagazine.com/educa...on-2019-chart/

Check out Boston Magazine - you can sort by your own prioritized criteria.