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have lived in Brookline’s Coolidge Corner and Washington Square. I often find when I speak to clients and they want to move to Brookline they automatically say they must live in Coolidge Corner. Coolidge Corner is a great neighborhood, don’t get me wrong, but with Coolidge Corner and Washington square so close to each other, I often think what are you really giving up if you live in Washington Square?
For starters, if you’re looking to rent or buy in Coolidge Corner, your wallet will take a quite a hit. You can get a lot more square footage for your dollar living in Washington Square. Right now, in Washington Square, you can buy a 1 bed with 800 sq ft starting at $262,999. If you want to live in Coolidge Corner a 1 bed with similar square footage start at S380,000. If you’re looking to rent in Coolidge Corner for the same size 1-bed apartment starts at $1,800 and if you look in Washington Square a 1 bed (800 sq ft) starts at $1,650. A 2 bedroom in Coolidge Corner starts at $439,000 and a 2 bed in Washington Square is $415,000 saving you almost $25,000.
Coolidge Corner and Washington Square are neighborhoods that are in close proximity to each other. Driving time is about 5 minutes and it’s a 15-minute walk. The MBTA (Green Line – “C”) from Coolidge Corner it is four quick stops and takes you under 10 minutes to reach Washington Square. You are not adding much time onto your commute either when living in Washington Square if you are heading into downtown Boston. Another reason why clients often want to live in Coolidge Corner I find is they want to be close to restaurants and shops. There are great restaurants in Coolidge Corner, however; Washington Square also has great places to eat depending on what you want. In Washington Square, you have The Abbey where most items on the menu are under $25 and the fare is excellent and is a ‘Best of Boston’. The Fireplace is a great restaurant to go to for lunch, brunch or dinner. You can find a cup of soup to French toast. Places range from Chinese at the Golden Temple, pub grub food at Public House or Washington Square Tavern, Tapas at Barcelona Brookline, and if you’re looking for a place to satisfy your sweet tooth you can visit Athan’s Bakery or Emack & Bolio’s. Parking to go out to eat is a lot easier or doing just general errands. Walking around Washington Square you will notice getting around on foot or by car is just easier and will take you less time getting to where you want to go. The reason why everything is spread out a bit more in Washington Square versus Coolidge Corner is that most things are located on Harvard Street.
Coolidge Corner is a great place to visit as most folks who live in Brookline do the trek to Coolidge Corner for their restaurants, shops, drugstores, grocery shopping at Trader Joes and much more. Yes, living in the center does make your life easier, but is it worth paying more when you’re looking to buy or rent when there is another neighborhood close by that offers a lot of same things Coolidge Corner offers? Both neighborhoods are excellent investments if you’re in the market to buy. If you’re looking to rent you will find once you walk around that Washington Square it might be a better decision to rent there versus Coolidge Corner. I have often found the apartments are larger in Washington Square and the negatives are quickly outweighed by the positives. So, my question is, when do you plan to check out Washington Square for your next home?
If you have questions about this blog or want more information on Washington Square in Brookline please feel free to get in touch with me anytime. You can also get lots of great information about Listings in Brookline from Condos for sale, Single Family Homes, Multi-Family, and Rentals. If you’re still on the fence about Brookline you can also find great information on Brookline neighborhood section.
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