What a wonderful article! It made me want to move to Massachusetts!

Please run for Town meeting you would fit right in.

The only famous person I ever see in Arlington is Jim Marzilli. It appears as though he still frequents Robbins Library.

Welcome to Arlington!!

And People ask me Why I can't stand Arlington......Ha Ha Ha

Hahaha. Excellent! And I know one famous to be resident who walks the streets of Cambridge now. *ahem* Great job, my friend!!! :-)

Sven Birkerts and Steve Almond both live in Arlington. Not local TV weatherman famous but not bad for, you know, writers.

I agree with the article . I only stay in Cambridge because I have lived here 50 yrs. all my life.
I often thought the only other places I would want to live is Arlington. Winchester.
The bad thing about Cambridge is grocery shopping, Laundry mats where are they except for whole foods and shaws by Mit and on beacon st. to expensive.
Get a life Cambridge .

Arlington leaves a lot to be desired compared to Cambridge. Despite progress in the last 10 years, it is still basically a bedroom suburb. It is very white, culturally, and economically monolithic. If you take the Asian places out of the so-called restaurant scene on Mass, there's not all that much there. And it goes to bed at 8pm - there is no nightlife whatsoever, due largely to antiquated licensing laws requiring that any place with a bar be part of a large restaurant.

The gap between Arlington and Cambridge is huge - anyone contemplating a move in either direction needs to really think about it.

Sounds like you had the same experience my wife and I did in '11 (and by the details, that you live near us). I almost feel guilty going into Cambridge now, because everything I liked in my decade in Cambridge I've found a slightly better versions of in Arlington. It's like running into an ex on the street and trying to downplay how happy you are.

Wow, thanks so much for deciding to slum it in Arlington with the rest of us. Basically, it's your consolation prize and we're supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy about that?

Andrew, ha, that's funny! I have a few places I miss being close to, I'm not a fan of having to drive 20-30 minutes to get the kids' activities now, and I really miss my parking permit. But we have a much better quality of life now.

Twenty years ago, I discovered that I could save over $100,000 in housing purchase costs by just crossing the Arlington/Cambridge line. Floor-through three-family "tenaments" cost more than the wonderful three bedroom, quarter-acre property I found in Arlington Heights. Cambridge is a short bus ride away. The schools are very good; restaurants are terrific; neighbors are friendly. Arlington feels like a home town. It won't be long before you wonder why you stayed in Cambridge so long. Bumping into celebrities is no reason to stay.

I'm not really sure of the point of your article, Theresa. Are you primarily complaining about the real estate costs in Cambridge? The big picture with Cambridge is that Harvard and MIT are both huge employers and have huge graduate student bodies -- many of whom want to live in Cambridge (or Somerville.) Then there's Kendall Square (intimately connected with MIT and Harvard), which has been booming for twenty years with innovative companies developing the latest internet or biotech products that businesses and consumers all over the world are demanding. The City of Cambridge nurtures this development. An Engineer walking in the door with a Bachelor degree is offered an $80k salary without the blink of an eye. So, all of these folks are your housing competition...and, most aren't seeking a 3 or 4 bedroom abode. Frankly, Cambridge wouldn't be Cambridge without the universities or Kendall Sq. So, it is what it is for a reason. Arlington shouldn't try to compete...doesn't need to...it rocks all by itself for what it is.
(PS: I'm a happy homeowner in East Arlington and business owner in Somerville)

Eleven years ago, when my husband and I were looking for a home to purchase, our real estate agent (who lives in Cambridge) said, "With your budget, you could buy a condo in Cambridge instead of a house in Arlington!" My husband replied, "Yeah, but then we'd have to live in Cambridge." Sorry, but I've never understood the bizarre attachment to Cambridge. It has its goods and its bads, but Arlington--in my opinion--is light-years beyond Cambridge, in terms of livability. And the idea that Arlington is not "diverse" is ridiculous. Cambridge liberals are simply small-town provincial: they can't see beyond the end of their collective nose. For them, Cambridge is the "only" place to be, and everything else pales in comparison. The one street--Rt. 16--that divides Cambridge from Arlington is, in their self-congratulatory small world view, a mountain of division. Which is just fine with me, because it keeps them out and keeps Arlington the interesting, diverse, un-self-conscious town that it is.

Dean, from what I hear, both places have changed over the years. Definitely great things about both places.

Teresa, another NuYawker ex-pat here. Living in Arlington since 1990. Before that, 15 years in Cambridge, in Porter Square right off Mass Ave (Forest Street). Before that, 2 years in Boston. I kept moving "outward" from The Big City too. I've loved Arlington all these years, as a renter first, and then an owner since 1995. I worked at Harvard and MIT. Husband still at MIT. Believe me, Cambridge is a nice spring/autumn walk away. You still can have it all, you won't lose Cambridge.

That being said, WE are planning a move further out now. Because Highland Ave, where we live, has become the main diesel truck route between Mass Av and Rt 2. And that will get worse when the Mass Av Corridor Project becomes a reality, diverting more traffic into the side streets, especially the wider ones like Jason/Gray/Highland, etc. We want more space. Some privacy. Maybe a hottub in the yard the neighbors can't oversee. But you and yours will likely be very happy here for at least the next 10 years. Welcome! (And goodbye and good luck!)

Lame. People move from one town or city to another everyday. They weigh prices, value, location, services, etc. and make their best choice. What's next? A new line of Hallmark Cards with "Goodbye City Hall" themes?

I don't agree with the seemingly accepted sentiment that people choose to buy in Arlington 'because' they can't afford cambridge. Not only is it offensive to suggest Arlg is a sorry 2nd cousin to where people really want to be, it's not true. The majority of folks who move to Arlg do so because of a life event, often marriage or birth of a child. The composition of the housing stock is very different, a high percentage of condos and smaller studios and 1 bedrooms. Cambridge and Somerville are more transitory, less personal, far fewer families with children and more singles. Many folks would not stay in Cambridge if values were comparable. Arlg is neighborhoods full of young families, longer time in residence - often lifelong, friendly neighbors, kids playing together, outdoor activities and enjoying the green spaces, combined with a sense of community that Cambridge cannot rival. When real estate values hit a rough patch, Arlg values continued holding steady. People are choosing to buy homes in Arlg, as a 1st choice, and willing to compete in a fierce market in order to live here, specifically for the quality of life.

Someone is impressed with herself.

Theresa, I'd advise you not to presume Arlington is totally safe. Read the police reports. There's a rash of home break-ins going on lately, kicking in FRONT doors, petty theft. Packages stolen off porches. (Mine included.) Often these thieves don't live in Arlington, but find us easy pickings because we think it's safe so we don't always lock doors, or cars, etc. Better overly cautious than sorry. Especially with kids.

Inthegloaming, thanks for the advice. I saw that Patch report. The area I lived in Cambridge had a fair amount of crime, but I shouldn't assume there's nothing to worry about here.

Theresa, don't assume that, there are break-in's all over Arlington...the police log doesn't list all of them cuz they want the housing market to stay strong for people like you.

Ok good because there a lot of drug related crime here in Arlington. Busineses and residents are robbed for drug money constantly. My business was robbed 3 times over the last couple of years. It's just junkies trying to find quick cash....

Coco, that's awful. I'm really sorry. We had a meth lab discovered a few houses down from us several years ago and there were some other crimes in the area. We were lucky never to have anything happen to us.

Tim - I was hoping we would have an intelligent discussion instead of the predictable "if you don't like it here, leave". My point, which has been corroborated by other comments, is that the differences between Arlington and Cambridge are vast, on so many fronts. I live here because on balance, considering all these factors, Arlington is a *somewhat* better choice for me. It's still OK for me to want to have some of the things I like about Cambridge here in Arlington. Nothing is that simple, though.

Arlington's my home, but Arlington and Cambridge are BOTH awesome towns, each in their own ways. Nice letter, Theresa, but if you're homesick for Cambridge now, just wait'll you seem to get ten times more than your rightful share of parking and traffic tickets in Arlington...

Donnarose, that's bad news. Since I still go to Cambridge a few days a week, I'll accrue twice as many tickets.

Don Mei: You list "educated" like it's a bad thing. are you against it? Why? And to me, "liberal" isn't the pejorative you are using it as, but embodies positive traits, like "generous" and "live and let live" and "do into others as you would have them do unto you." I don't think you can accurately generalize that Cambridge ex-pats wish they still lived there. (I, for one, don't, and I know a few others who also prefer Arlington.) As for thinking we're "better than" Arlingtonians . . . well, I have to confess to that when I read the snarky, snipey, mean-spirited comments that show up here far too often.

Donald Mei, you have a good point about political diversity. It certainly is less politically diverse here. I am an ex-Cambridge resident who is happier in Arlington than I was in Cambridge. I originally wrote this post before I moved, as a tribute to the place I lived for 10 years. It took a month or two before I wondered why I hadn't left Cambridge sooner. There are things I miss there. I was in walking distance to Fenway and the Garden. My kids had good friends in school. Inthegloaming makes a good point above. If I'd seen this thread before moving, I would've had a very negative impression of Arlington. I'm lucky to have such nice neighbors around me.

Donald, I'll try (and likely fail) not to be annoyingly literal here. If liberals value personal freedoms, then how do they* "wish to use government to FORCE their ideology on others." That's an honest question.
*(I find myself leaning liberal. Not that I don't value economic freedom. . . unless it goes as far as having the freedom to scam a large section of society without any means for justice (e.g., the bank mortgage foreclosure swops/bailout). That's not "freedom" that's a different kind of tyranny.)