Recent comments in /f/CambridgeMA

Interesting_Grape815 t1_j857ihl wrote

Reply to Good place to live if you don’t drive? by raerod13

The neighborhoods listed below are the best areas to live in Cambridge, with everything you need within a short walk or train ride away.

Porter square

East Cambridge/Cambridge street: lots of restaurants, businesses, green line access to Boston, 69 bus can take you to Harvard sq if needed.

Harvard sq/mid Cambridge

Central sq/riverside: short walk to post office

Fresh pond/alewife: its doable but can be harder to walk because of the bridge leading to route 2.

I would avoid living West Cambridge since it’s the least walkable part of the city, and not close to a subway line.

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dskippy t1_j84v4g7 wrote

Reply to Good place to live if you don’t drive? by raerod13

There are loads of walkable areas in and around Boston. Your posting to Cambridge and basically all of Cambridge is walkable and has access to public transit. The same is true of Boston and Somerville. Notice I say most. There are some little alcoves I don't think are great for car free life. But seriously you'd be hard pressed to find a spot in any of those three towns that are more than a mile from public transit and day to day resources.

I would check out "walk score" for any neighborhoods that come up as interesting to you.

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this_moi t1_j84u24x wrote

Reply to Good place to live if you don’t drive? by raerod13

You will be 100000% fine and happy living in Cambridge. My husband doesn't drive at all and we don't own a car; we've lived here for 10 years and about 7 jobs between us and have been just fine. You can do everything you listed and more without a car.

That said! It's nice that your household has a car, because you can explore a little more without being limited to transit, it's nice to get outside of the city sometimes, and it's helpful for grocery runs etc. I rent a car occasionally for errands, to visit friends who live in the 'burbs, etc.

If you look for in-person work your job search will be slightly limited by needing to be accessible to you by transit in a reasonable amount of time... but doesn't everybody limit their job search based on commute? To me that isn't that big a deal.

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zepporamone t1_j84r805 wrote

Reply to Good place to live if you don’t drive? by raerod13

Cambridge/Somerville is exceedingly walkable. My partner noted recently that she has only actually used our car once (while grabbing stuff from work when the pandemic started) since her office relocated from Newton about 8 years ago.

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sowtime444 t1_j84pwwb wrote

Reply to Good place to live if you don’t drive? by raerod13

Cambridgeport is great for walkability to the Trader Joes and Whole Foods in that area. Can also walk up to Central Square to catch the subway or go to a restaurant, post office, etc.

Friends that are carless in Somerville just use Zipcar whenever they need a car, which is rare. They are big bicycle advocates.

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drkr731 t1_j84lvn0 wrote

Reply to Good place to live if you don’t drive? by raerod13

Cambridge is incredibly walkable - my household only has one car which I personally do not use. It checks every box for a “15 minute city” - you’ll always be in walking distance of a grocery, restaurants, shopping and local businesses, etc. You’d likely be happy in any part of Cambridge, but I’d say the areas around central square, harvard sq, inman square, and porter square train stations feel the most convenient and walkable to me personally

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nattarbox t1_j84lmpy wrote

Reply to Good place to live if you don’t drive? by raerod13

Moved here in 2003, haven’t owned a car since. Neither has my wife.

Zipcar is great for occasional errands/weekend trips, otherwise shoes/bikes/transit cover everything.

People complain about the transit, typical underfunded transit agenc issues that should be familiar from NYC. But if you're not relying on it for daily commuting, you won't notice most of the stuff people gripe about. It's a good system that covers the whole city.

Neighborhoods are orientated around the squares (central, harvard, porter, etc) and each has a subway stop. Finding one that meets your needs and you like the vibe of is a good way to narrow down where you might want to live, look at surrounding neighborhoods.

Some other fun stuff you can do without a car from Boston:

  • go back to NYC obviously
  • take a ferry to provincetown, the tip of cape cod
  • take a train or bus up to portland me, which is also mostly walkable

I work here as a graphic designer too, there's plenty of good jobs available.

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kalekail t1_j84kav4 wrote

Reply to Steel toe boots? by iamembers

I have CAT brand steel toe for women’s and recommend them highly if you can find a store where they are in stock. I ordered mine online.

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book81able t1_j84c8m7 wrote

Reply to Good place to live if you don’t drive? by raerod13

For someone who doesn’t drive and is married to a lab worker there’s really nothing better in North America then Cambridge.

Transit is not to the level of New York but it is reliable enough if you live near a T line. Busses are being worked on but only the busiest lines are reliable.

Walkability is very high within the Boston-Cambridge-Somerville area. I’ve lived here with no car for 6 years and although it makes mobility out of the city hard, within the city it’s never truly been an issue. Cambridge itself is considered the most walkable city in the US, and living here you can see why. The layout first built in the 1600s is still here.

Not to mention basically every new development here is a life-sciences lab, so work should be easy for your husband if he’s in biology/pharmaceuticals.

(Sorry for posting the same comment 4 times, Reddit glitched)

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