Boundaries:
North: Medford and the Mystic River
East: Charlestown
South and Southwest: City of Cambridge
West: Town of Arlington

The City of Somerville, Massachusetts has a wealth of pride, diversity and a deep legacy of history rooted in the American Revolution.  This City of hills is home to the first flag of the United American colonies, raised on Prospect Hill in 1776.

Today, the story of Somerville comes to life through every square, neighborhood, small business and large industry.  Students, professionals, artists, young families and long time residents all call Somerville home.

Our neighborhoods offer a compelling combination of small town charm and urban sophistication.  Authentic pre-Revolutionary War homes and modern apartment complexes dot the landscape.  Corner stores, industry giants and specialty shops are all part of the City’s vibrant business community.  The result is a diverse representation of businesses and residents that combine to make Somerville an attractive location.

The City of Somerville is a small business and residential haven of approximately four square miles.  It is ideally located adjacent to Boston -one and a half miles from the city’s financial and commercial districts.

Somerville can aptly be described as a gateway to Eastern Massachusetts.  Immediate access is available to routes 1, 2, 16, 28, 38, 90, and 128 and to Interstate 93 and 95.  Somerville is also just 3.5 miles from Boston’s Logan International Airport.  The T.F. Green Airport in Providence is less than an hour away.

Somerville is extremely accessible to public transportation.  The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) subway service is easily available throughout the city and offers access to Boston and other communities.  In addition, fourteen different bus lines travel through the city.

The City of Somerville offers a wide spectrum of services for its residents and businesses.  The community’s electrical and energy needs are served by the Boston Edison Company, Boston Gas and Commonwealth Gas.  Somerville’s municipally owned water and sewer system successfully provides residents with some of the lowest rates in the Greater Boston area.  Somerville was the first community in the Commonwealth to offer residents a choice in cable television providers.  Today, RCN Corporation, Time Warner Cable and Bell Atlantic all service Somerville via an advanced fiber-optic network.

The City of Somerville’s public school system provides excellent opportunities for children.  In recent years, the municipal government has made education a top priority, investing in the physical plant as well as the educational process.  Since 1990, three schools have been renovated and three others are slated for reconstruction.  Somerville’s average class size is nineteen students, and full-day kindergarten is available to all parents.  Somerville has eleven public elementary schools and one comprehensive high school.  Five parochial elementary schools and a charter school complete the academic picture.

The nationally ranked Tufts University is partially located in Somerville on a beautiful 150-acre campus.  Many of New England’s finest academic institutions are within minutes of Somerville, offering unlimited educational opportunities.  From advanced technology, to the arts and music appreciation, the possibilities are endless.

Somerville Hospital provides quality medical service to residents.  A number of health centers, long-term care facilities, and medical practices are also located in the community.  Somerville’s proximity to Boston means that world renowned facilities such as Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel, Children’s Hospital, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary are just minutes away.

Throughout this compact, vibrant community over fifty different languages are spoken and over fifteen religions are practiced.  The international flavor of Somerville guarantees that you will feel at home.  Diversity is a key component of Somerville’s attractiveness to residents and business owners.

A host of cultural opportunities are available throughout the year.  The Somerville Museum offers a glimpse into the past that allows visitors to appreciate the present and better understand the community they call home.  A variety of innovative exhibits are showcased throughout the year, including the work of many local artists.

Somerville’s artists are not confined to the exhibit hours of a museum-their mark is found on colorful murals throughout the city, splashed all over previously dull traffic boxes, in just about all of Somerville’s parks and playgrounds and at the nationally famous annual Artbeat festival in Davis Square.  One of Artbeat’s many features is an exhibition of artwork in store windows.

Storefronts are not Somerville’s only innovative art galleries.  The office walls of the City of Somerville’s Chief Executive feature the work of talented local artists on a rotating basis.

The HomeFirst Charitable Corporation was founded in 1990 to raise money for local charitable organizations.  It hosts many cultural activities throughout the year, most notably the Taste of Somerville and the annual Charities Fair.

Somerville’s array of restaurants offer samples of cuisine from all over the world.  Both Union Square and Davis Square are dining and entertainment destinations for Greater Boston.  And of course, you are just minutes from the array of cultural opportunities in Boston and Cambridge.