Why Brookline just ranked as the best suburb in America
Niche, which collects data and reviews on thousands of towns, ranked several Massachusetts suburbs among the top 100 suburbs.
Brookline has a lot to offer: It’s home to the Coolidge Corner Theater, John F. Kennedy’s birthplace, the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, and of course — Tom Brady’s favorite dish.
And now, Brookline can add another feather to its cap, as a recent study by neighborhood analyst Niche ranked Brookline the best suburban community in the entire country based on livability.
Using grades for “weather, safety, schools, and access to activities, jobs, housing, and transportation,’’ the other suburbs that made Niche’s ‘Top 5’ were Piedmont, California; Bronxville, New York; Albany, California; and Scarsdale, New York.
Niche made the rankings by sorting through information and records of the 11,372 suburban communities in its database and weighing 10 factors that affect quality of life, including weather, jobs, housing, easiest commute, and things to do. Brookline received an A+ for most areas except housing – where it got an A due to the very high cost of rent – and jobs, “criminal & safety,’’ and weather, for which it received a B. The suburb of 58,738 people was recognized for its low unemployment levels and its residents’ very high income and education levels.
Lexington was the next Massachusetts community to make the national list, coming in at No. 49, followed by Wellesley (64), Weston (78), and Belmont (98).
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How other Massachusetts towns scored on Niche’s ranking:
The five Massachusetts ‘burbs that scored lowest were Sutton, West Newbury, Lowell, Merrimac, and Wrentham, which came in at 100 out of 100 in Massachusetts.
Niche also collects local reviews as part of their surveys. Here are a few highlights.
On Food & Drink at Coolidge Corner: “Once again, living near a large city, there are a ton of options for good food. The best part is that I can find almost anything that I’m craving.’’
On Crime & Safety in Brookline: “I live in a very safe neighborhood in the Greater Boston Area. I feel very comfortable around strangers, and would feel fine walking at night alone. Other areas of Boston do not give me this same feeling, but that’s only in some pockets of the city.’’
People didn’t say such nice things to say about the weather: “The seasons in New England are very extreme and varied. We just experienced a very forceful winter, with several blizzards over the course of one month. In fact, this season broke Boston’s snowfall record. This often impacts my commute to work.’’
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