"A paradise for urban types"

"A hip place to live" headines the Chelsea Record -- front page right, above the fold -- today, crowing about our city's having been named one of Boston Magazine's Best Places to Live in Massachusetts.  Who knew?

In its Best Places to Live edition, Boston Magazine has named our little burg, Chelsea-by-the Sea, as "the place where 'the hipsters' want to live," reports the Chelsea Record, quoting from the article (available by subscription):

Once so badly mismanaged that the state had to take it over, Chelsea has emerged of late as a paradise for urban types who appreciate its low housing costs, loft-style living and mellow vibe.  They've brought with them a couple of funky cafes to add to the mix of ethnic eateries and thrift shops that  make up the other two points of the hipster hat trick.

Excerpts fromThe Record's summary of what Boston Magazine had to say:

Its proximity to Boston, culture and progressive-thinking attitudes -- as well as the best mix of ethnic eateries you can find east of Queens [What about Cambridge, fergossake? --ed] -- has helped attract a young crowd that appreciates the steps the city officials have taken to not only erase the memories of mismanagement, but to give Chelsea the reputation of a city that is being responsibly looked after.

Chelsea was also listed as "for the budget-minded" in The Granola-Eating Liberal category . . . [it has the] second-highest percentage of registered Democrats (55.5 percent) in the state.

So many Democrats, so little time.

Comments

[Teresa]

Why do I get the feeling that Boston Mag likes your town because of the percentage of Dems??? LOL. Well, it doesn't matter - congrats on the ranking! Now does Boston Mag have a print version you can buy at the store? Or does it come with the local paper? Just wondering what type of magazine it is. We have (or had - haven't checked lately) a magazine that gave all kinds of info about the Chicago area - I used to love reading that one when it came out (yearly). Having some of that data pulled into one place can make things much easier when figuring out areas that might be appealing to live in.

[Sissy Willis]

Boston Mag is a thick, glossy monthly -- prestigious (at least among liberal elites). I sometimes read the cover at the supermarket checkout, but the last time I actually bought a copy was in the Sixties, when they did a full-fledged in-depth cover story about Chelsea written by Rosalind Wright, a novelist friend who lived here and took our city's image under her wing for a couple of years while she was a Radcliffe Institute Fellow.

[The Prop]

That noise you hear is the local realtors celebrating.