A new neighborhood

For almost exactly two years, I have worked in downtown Boston, across from the two green spaces that are the beating heart of this city. I climb up out of the subway station in the morning to the tune of the church bells at Park Street (if I time it just right), and I walk across the Common with a mixture of students, dog walkers, businesspeople, morning runners, even homeless people. I watch the trees bud and bloom and leaf out, and in the fall I pick up red leaves and put them in my pocket, and take photos of the glorious spread of color.

I spend many of my lunch breaks roaming the Public Garden, smiling at the ducklings (both the statuary and live versions), or browsing the indoor shelves and outdoor carts at Brattle Book Shop. I have a bank branch, a post office, a favorite Starbucks, a favorite local coffee shop. I can direct you to three used bookstores, several consignment shops, a dozen cafes. When it’s warm outside, I walk down to the farmer’s market every Tuesday and most Fridays.

Next week, though, I’m trading all that for a new neighborhood, when I start a new job at Harvard.

Instead of getting off the Red Line as it rumbles under the Common, I’ll ride it across the river, to the beating heart of Harvard Square. I’ll trade the Common and the Public Garden for Harvard Yard and Cambridge Common. I’ll walk down Brattle Street every morning instead of Boylston Street, pop into Tealuxe for a cuppa instead of Thinking Cup, eat tomato soup at Crema Cafe instead of Panera. The Harvard Book Store and the Grolier Poetry Book Shop will stand in for the Brattle and Commonwealth Books.

As a newcomer to Boston, I’ve been thrilled by the chance to work down here in the heart of it all, to learn the rhythms of this new city by spending my days in its very center. But I’m also excited to be learning a new neighborhood, absorbing a different vibe. Harvard Square and I are already acquaintances, but we’re going to be good friends.

Advertisement