Somerville is a city in Metro Boston and is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. Somerville, like neighboring Cambridge, is also a city with most of its neighborhoods centered around squares such as Davis Square, Union Square, Ball Square, Teele Square and Magoun Square. Like other areas of Boston, Somerville is comprised of several different neighborhoods, each proud and characteristic in their own way.

In recent years, thanks to the development of Elm Street, Davis Square has been touted as one of the "hippest places to live in the country." Elm Street alone hosts an array of restaurant/bar combos in The Burren and The Joshua Tree, fine dining at Gargoyles on the Square, and excellent joe and cider at Diesel Cafe.

Somerville is as much of a diverse community as it is a mix of blue-collar Irish, Italian, and Portugese, as well as the influx of young professionals, GLBT residents and college newcomers. Full of funky stores like Davis Squared, and more than its share of mom-and-pop restaurants like Joey's Thai Cafe and Rosebud Diner, Somerville maintains a fierce sense of community.

Ask the locals and they'll tell you that Somerville is one of the best places to live in the area.

The MBTA's Red Line extends into Somerville--at Porter Square's Cambridge-Somerville line and at Davis--and has brought gentrification with it. From the early '90s to present day, Somerville has transformed from a working class neighborhood to a hipster hotspot.

There is a state-funded plan in the works for the Green Line to extend into Somerville's Union Square which could further connect the up-and-coming neighborhood to the rest of Boston. There will also be a Green Line extension along the Lowell Commuter Rail Line, serving the areas around Cobble Hill, Gilman Square, Magoun Square, Ball Square, and the Medford Hillside Area. These two extensions are slated to be up and running by the close of 2014.

Somerville is also home to Tufts University and is in close proximity to several institutions of higher learning found in Cambridge and other surrounding areas. Also, the town has had its role in Boston's infamous criminal history through the Winter Hill Gang, a notorious crime syndicate that operated with Whitey Bulger, who has been on the run since the '90s, at the helm.

• Assembly Square
• Davis Square
• Union Square
• Ball Square
• Powder House Square
• Teele Square
• Magoun Square
• Winter Hill
• Spring Hill
• East Somerville
• Ten Hills

• Elm Street
• Highland Avenue
• Holland Street
• Medford Street