Most would say Somerville is a friendly and unique city with different stories to tell depending on what area you frequent or live in. Somerville has a lot of historical attributes and stories, like most towns around Boston. Somerville is a densely populated city compared to most others in the area. Unlike a more suburbia town where neighborhoods aren’t much different than others, Somerville neighborhoods seem to have their own identities. Almost all neighborhoods are tree lined with multi-family homes.

There has been some significant development in recent years with new apartment complexes and retail in Magoun Sq and Assembly Row. Union Sq is undergoing a massive redevelopment to bring more corporate business, retail, dining, and residences, similar to Kendall Sq in Cambridge. Also, in 2022 after what most would say was a decades long wait, the Green line light rail was extended beyond Lechmere in Cambridge to Tufts University in Medford, making it’s way through Somerville to get there….previously these areas were only reached by auto or mbta bus service. Union Sq has it’s own tiny branch off of the new green line extension. Somerville is working on being a more bike friendly city, as recent as 2022 they installed bike lanes and removed street parking from some areas. Last I heard there’s a massive redevelopment project planned for Davis Square, as of 2022.

You’ll notice something in Somerville that you don’t see much of in most other cities, the significant presence of laundromats! There’s a huge rental community in Somerville and many landlords still do not want to offer laundry facilities in their buildings, something I strongly advise each landlord to change, laundry should be offered in buildings/multi-family homes. Traditionally, Somerville residents stay in their homes less than the average homeowner, this is heavily manipulated by the rental population which makes up more than 1/2 the residents in Somerville.