March 2025 Issue
The Top 15 Places to Live in Greater Boston for 2025
The top-performing Greater Boston communities in our comprehensive, debate-worthy ranking of 141 cities and towns.
Top Places to Live in Greater Boston 2025: All 141 Cities and Towns Ranked
Our data-driven (and sure to be debated) ranking of 141 cities and towns in Greater Boston.
Feature
March Madness: The Northeastern Professor Vs. the Sports Betting App
Richard Daynard fought Big Tobacco in the ’90s and won. But as he sets his sights on DraftKings’s ads, has the longtime legal crusader finally met his match?
The Chilling Case of Nathan Carman’s Deadly Fishing Trip
A Connecticut woman vanished on a fishing trip near Block Island. Her 22-year-old stood to inherit millions. Then came one final surprise.
Department
How Boston Lost Big on Black Tech
Boston has all the ingredients to build America’s next wave of Black tech founders: elite universities, billions in venture funding, and a booming innovation economy. So why can’t we turn that potential into a new generation of entrepreneurs?
They Tried to Suppress Her COVID Origin Theory. Now Even the CIA Agrees with Alina Chan.
In 2020, the Broad Institute scientist ignited a controversy by suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 originated in a Chinese lab. Five years later, it sure looks like she was right.
This Bike Lanes Story Isn’t About Bike Lanes
City Hall’s ambitious plan to reshape Boston’s streets has ignited a battle over who really controls the town’s future—and exposed an identity crisis long in the making.
Fashion + Style
A Spaghetti Dinner for People Who Don’t Eat Cold Pasta
Our intrepid society columnist reports from Boston’s swankiest affairs, including the Spaghetti Dinner for the Women’s Lunch Place and the PEM Gala.
Luxury Shoppers Are Paying $100 to Join This Invite-Only Fashion Club
Cake, a members-only platform, brings department store perks to online retail.
A New England Traveler’s Guide to San Juan, Puerto Rico
The Old World Caribbean gem offers sun-soaked beaches, vibrant neighborhoods and more.
Beacon
Where to Eat Boston’s Most Delicious Noodles
A slurp-worthy guide to the city’s top Asian noodles, Italian pasta, and everything hand-pulled and house-made in between.
Where to Eat in Greater Boston in March 2025
New and exciting restaurants to check out, plus new reasons to visit older spots.
McCarthy’s and Toad Bring Music Back to Cambridge’s Porter Square
The Burren owners will open an Irish pub in the old Christopher’s space—and reopen Toad—in February.
New Cafe Jadu Brings Magic to Jamaica Plain (And Yes, There Will Be Wine)
This globally inspired Centre Street spot is Boston’s latest entry in the local cafe-to-wine bar movement.
Relax at Tilde, North Cambridge’s New Café and Wine Bar
This new Massachusetts Avenue spot actually wants you to sit down and stay a while.
Home Design
Real Estate Showdown: A 19th-Century MetroWest Beauty vs. a Convenient Coolidge Corner Condo
It’s amazing what a few miles can do to the market. This month, we compare a sprawling Victorian-era home surrounded by 2 lush acres in Wayland with an airy condo in Brookline.
How Do You Make Every Day a Home Spa Day?
If you’re the owners of this historical Lexington house, you turn your third-floor bathroom into an elegant oasis of calm.
So, You Want to Live in Lincoln?
Whether you’re looking for something old or something new, this scenic ’burb with a Revolutionary past has a place for you.
Other
Why Doesn’t Connecticut Ever Really Feel Like Part of New England?
Maybe because it’s kinda not?