Living in Arlington
Arlington is a town about six miles northwest of Boston, bordered by Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Winchester, Lexington and Belmont. Settled in 1635 as Menotomy, it was later called West Cambridge and took the name Arlington in 1867. Paul Revere rode through Menotomy, and some of the heaviest fighting of April 19, 1775 took place here. The Jason Russell House museum marks part of that history.
The town has several distinct areas. Arlington Center is the civic and shopping heart, Arlington Heights sits to the west, and East Arlington lies toward Cambridge. Smaller neighborhoods include Jason Heights, Morningside, Kelwyn Manor and Poets’ Corner.
Homes you will find
- Two-family homes, often called double-deckers
- Some three-family homes
- Single-family homes, many of them modest in size, on residential side streets and in the Heights
Getting around
Arlington has no subway station of its own, but it is close to one. The Minuteman Bikeway, built on a former railroad line, runs through Arlington Center past Spy Pond and continues to Alewife station in Cambridge, the end of the Red Line. Many MBTA bus routes serve the town, including routes 62, 67, 76, 77, 78, 80, 84, 87 and 350. Drivers use Route 2, a limited-access highway along the town’s southern edge.
Parks, ponds and everyday life
Spy Pond Park sits on the shore of Spy Pond, once the center of a busy ice industry. Menotomy Rocks Park surrounds Hills Pond with about 35 acres of wooded trails, and Robbins Farm Park has ball fields, a playground and a view of the Boston skyline. The Mystic Lakes run along the town’s edge, and the town owns and maintains Great Meadow, most of which lies in Lexington.
Culture is close at hand. Robbins Library is home to the oldest continuously operated free children’s library in the country, the Regent Theatre hosts the Arlington International Film Festival, and the Cyrus E. Dallin Art Museum and the Old Schwamb Mill are local landmarks. Arlington runs its own public school system, and families can contact Arlington Public Schools directly for school information.
Who Arlington suits
Arlington works well for buyers who want easy access to Cambridge and the Red Line, people who bike or take the bus to work, and anyone who wants ponds, trails and a walkable town center close to home. Buyers interested in two- and three-family homes will also find plenty to look at.
Thinking about Arlington? Ask Suad about recent sales and what is on the market now, in English, Spanish (with Diana) or Bosnian.
