Somerville

North of Cambridge lies the town of Somerville. There was little to this suburb until after World War II, when clapboard houses sprung up to provide housing for returning soldiers and their young families. Somerville went into sharp decline in the ’60s, and only recently has it truly begun to challenge the unflattering sobriquets “Slummerville” and “Scummerville” that it received during that period. Somerville remains among the cheapest places to find housing in the Boston vicinity, but now its vaguely decayed appearance is being made “hip” by the presence of the young college graduates settling there for the relatively affordable housing.

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