Today is my last day as a citizen of the city of Somerville where “Municipal freedom gives national strength.” While in many ways I’m moving on to a brighter future, leaving Somerville is bittersweet. I’ve lived here just four days short of nine years, the longest period of time I have ever lived at one address. By contrast, from 1984-1998, I lived at 8 different addresses in three localities in two states, not counting moving in and out of college dorm rooms four times. My sister and I grew so adept at maneuvering cumbersome furniture up narrow staircases that we joked about starting our own moving company.
So my time in Somerville has been one of great stability. It has also been a time of change. I went from a disillusioned museum educator, working as a hapless temp to working in a library and earning a MLIS. Susan and I went from friends to housemates to dating to engagement to being happily married and preparing to have our first child.
Somerville was a great place to be in your late 20’s/early 30’s. Proximity to Davis Square, Union Square, Inman Square and Harvard Square was key for enjoying pubs, music, movies, restaurants and hipster lifestyle of the “Paris of the 90’s.” Our neighborhood is wonderfully diverse including an entire house of an extended Tibetan family next door. Winter Hill may be the only place in New England where you could hear a pin drop after the Patriots and Red Sox won championships, but exploded with festivity when Brazil won the World Cup.
There will be a lot of things I’ll miss about Somerville: the view from the top of Winter Hill at Paul Revere Park, SoundBites and Yaser, walking/biking up and down the seven hills, the Somerville Public Library, Somerville Theater, the path around the Mystic River, sharing my name with the nearest T stop. Of course, a lot of things I liked about Somerville are long gone, so maybe it is a good time to move on.
In preparation for moving, I took a series of photographs of some of the landmarks around Somerville that I pass each day that I will miss most.
- Somerville: A Walk from Davis Square
- Somerville: A Walk to the Public Library
- Somerville: Commute to Work
Farewell fair city!
Panorama of the Mountains 