Living well in Rozzi

We too LOVE living in Roslindale! We moved here about a year ago from Cambridge, and wouldn't live anywhere else. Roslindale has a great sense of community, the best collection of bakeries anywhere near Boston (sorry North End), great restaurants (we really like Delfino's and the Bistro), and fabulous shops (Joanne Rossman's gift store, the Boston Cheese Cellar, and the cozy little bookstore, just to name a few).

It only takes us 10 minutes to get to the Financial District, and yet, we have huge green spaces right in our backyard--the Arnold Arboretum has got to be the best green area in Boston.

It also has close proximity to Jamaica Pond and the Emerald Necklace. Like to to go to JP Center? 5 minute drive. Brookline Village Coolidge Corner? 7-8 minutes away. Newton and the Atrium and Chestnut Hill Mall? 10-12 minutes down the road. Combine that with Rozzie Village and Centre St. in West Roxbury and rail and subway that can get you downtown in minutes and you have one of the most centrally located places around!

I'm a big fan of Rozzie Village too, it made our short list when we were house-hunting. Agreed about the sense of community, the bakeries, the restaurants... Sophia's Grotto is my favorite, a great little Mediterranean place. The only thing that we didn't like was that the commuter rail is so much more expensive than the T (even though you're within the city of Boston - that doesn't seem right, does it?) and it doesn't run on Sundays.

I love Roslindale. It's the only place I've lived in Boston, so maybe I can't speak fairly about it. But every time I think of trying another neighborhood, I know I'll miss having all these things within walking distance of my house: arboretum, grocery store, cheese shop, wine shop, halal butcher, fish market, middle eastern market, thai food, sushi, tacos, pizza, Sophia's Grotto, Delfino, Geoffrey's, Fornax bakery, Vouros Bakery, Sullivan's pharmacy, banks, public library.... I could go on.

My only real complaint about living in Rozzie is that it takes me 40 minutes to get to my office downtown (door to door) whether by commuter rail or bus/orange line. The commuter rail service is not great and it's no fun trying to get home from Forest Hills on the bus after rush hour. Other than that, Rozzie is great.

We've lived in Roslindale since 1994 and have loved watching the neighborhood come to life! (My spouse predicted that one, not me.) A couple other things to add to the array of shops and amenities mentioned -- the new Roslindale Yoga Studio is fantastic. Rozzie is a great mix of city and opportunities to be outdoors, the Arboretum, as mentioned -- we also drive to ski and hike at Blue Hills (clocked it at 15 minutes by the back roads) and there will very soon be a rock climbing gym close by in Hyde Park. We have kids galore on our street, going to at least 6 different schools, about half public and half private.

Sorry but I went to rozzie with my son last week for the model train show and it was filthy. The whole village was covered in cigarette butts and other trash. Reminded me of NYC in the 80's, garbage all over. What's the deal? The neighborhood association needs to get a clue, as the train event was part of a greater plan to get more traffic in the stores. You'd think the shop owners would clean the sidewalk in front of their stores!

There is trash everywhere now that the snow has melted. I was walking in Brookline/Coolidge Corner and noticed the same thing.

It is a huge bummer that there is trash in Rozzie Square, but I agree with Iydsabor. I was walking through Beacon Hill and down Newbury Street to meet friends yesterday evening, and there was trash and butts all along the road/sidewalk. I think that if you are in the city where people regularly walk and shop and eat, not in some drive-only suburban mall, there's going to be debris. That said, I have participated in neighborhood clean-up days and they are a great way to meet folks in the community.