Allston

Score Breakdown

About this Neighborhood

Allston Cambridge occupies the most compressed version of the Allston demographic: Boston University undergraduates, recent immigrants from China and Central America, and a smaller cohort of long-term residents who've watched the rent triple. Eighty-nine restaurants is the number you quote to people who say there's nothing to do here — Yoma for Burmese, Rock City Pizza for late nights, and a dozen other operations that don't survive past two years but are replaced immediately. Pavement Coffeehouse is the neighborhood's de facto coworking space; OneZo Tapioca serves the boba economy. Twelve fitness spots is high relative to the neighborhood's density, reflecting the student market. Twenty grocery options means nobody has an excuse not to cook. Hooker Street Playground and the community gardens suggest a domestic layer beneath the transient surface. Social Glue at 56 is the number that explains everything: Allston turns over every September. The connections exist but they're seasonal.

Highlights