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YMCA Malden
3 reviews
Malden, MA
Category: Gyms
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Exchange Street Bistro
49 reviewsMalden, MA
Category: American (New)
City of Malden
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
10 reviews for City of Malden
So, I still really like Malden but it's definitely not the "end all to be all". I will jog or walk around the neighborhood and I'm constantly entertained by the places and the people, in good and bad ways. There will be a really cute family pushing their kids' bikes down the sidewalk and it is pretty much the most adorable thing ever... and then on the next block you'll sort of skeeze out a bit when you come upon a gaggle of townie hoodlums. (If they give you lip, just shoot it right back, worked for me!) It's also great if you want to live on your own in a proper 1 BR but can't justify spending upwards of $1300/month on a decent place elsewhere that's close to a T.
As someone else posted, the public works department is pretty bad. It really pisses me off that the light at the intersection of Summer and Centre streets is not a proper light anymore and it's quite dangerous to be a pedestrian trying to get to the T. And I wish that a teeny bit more economic growth was happening and that more new businesses were coming in, now that I've lived here for a while it's definitely not as fun to go the same divey places again and again.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/18/2007
When I moved to the Boston area I wanted to live somewhere that was happening, had lots of young… Read more »
City of Malden is not a good place to live.
Malden has become a transient community.
Streets are not safe as reflected by recent shootings and muggings
Numerous vagrants in the square around City Hall and both train stations.
City governmet bunkered down in Mayors office while downtown deteriorates.
City uses smoke and mirrors
Dear Malden:
I'd like to think that we have a love/hate relationship, but this is just my side of the story. I love you because you are close the the T and have cheap, nice apartments in a relatively safe neighborhood.
Now for the things that I'm not so happy about: you are horrible at clearing snow from the roads and sidewalks, and you don't enforce your residents to remove snow, either. Your city works department leaves a lot to be desired (care to explain the reason why one of your crews dug up the grass in the walkway near the fire station and redeposited the grass and soil in the MIDDLE of the sidewalk?). Your cheap rent attracts some, shall we say, unsavory characters who hang out around the T station and relentlessly cat call, day and night. Finally, your police department is useless. My purse was stolen at the grocery store last year, and despite making three visits to the police station to give details to add to the police report (which I assumed your officers had created) a police report was never created, even after THREE visits to the station!
I'm planning to leave you this summer, Malden. Though we've had our differences, you'll always be, um, memorable.
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Other than the snow plows not running as frequently as they should when they're needed the most, I have no real complaints about Malden. Everything you could ever want or need is either right in Malden or within a short distance of it.
It's popular to badmouth Malden for some reason, but people can rarely come up with real reasons for doing so when I ask them to substantiate their claims. Usually the rationale behind calling Malden "lame" amounts to little more than, "because it sucks!"
Malden has a wide array of restaurants and bars. True there aren't many real high-class restaurants in Malden, but I consider that to be a feature. The less snobs in my neighborhood polluting the place with their smug, the better!
While Malden may not be home to its own movie theater, there is one just outside the city limits, in Revere. There are also plenty of gyms right in Malden, including a brand new YMCA, and there are all kinds of supermarkets for whatever kind of food you're looking to purchase. For the little ones, there are playgrounds scattered throughout the city. And let's not forget the MBTA, with its collection of bus routes and not one, but TWO orange line stations, one of them also providing commuter rail service. Sure, I have complaints about the MBTA, but I can't blame those on the city.
If there's anything you're looking for, if it's not directly in Malden, it's a short trip away.
The pros:
Orange Line
diversity of people (seriously cool)
diversity of food shopping (two Indian grocers, a kosher meatmarket, a Super 88, a Stop'n'Shop WITH BOOZE! If only there were a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, my life would be complete)
decent cheap eats (more than I felt I had in Somerville)
inexpensive housing (for Boston)
super quick drive into Boston or Cambridge via Rt 28
close to the Fells reservation for hiking in the summer
nice public library
feels pretty safe
the cons:
Orange line service is spotty because the MBTA apparently hates poor people
Very little free or even metered parking near orange line. Sometimes I drive to Central to take the T in from there. That's outrageous.
Complete lack of fine or even midscale dining options (some places try, but don't quite get it right)
Lack of enforcement of local ordinances (e.g. park on the sidewalk if you want! Malden PD doesn't care)
LITTER, LITTER, and more LITTER
no fenced in dog park, no bike path
I too am hoping that in the next 5-10 years, Malden will see the sort of upswing that Somerville had. But I've lived there for 3 years and nothin' yet!
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Malden has been seeing major changes in the past few years, especially in the way of new housing developments. I mean, more apartment buildings have popped up since I moved away in '03 than I can even count. The whole structure of the place is very different than it was while I was growing up.
I'm pretty sure new businesses are to follow. Hellooooo Slummerville numba' 2!!
I'm not sure who this is good for, i.e. where are the families going while single professionals move in and rent goes up?
But that's not what you're all here for. It's up-and-coming, near the T and there are some great eateries in the area. It's a 15 minute-ish ride into Boston on the T (depending on service) and prices are still really, really low.
And it's safe. I'd check it out if you wanted to live in the Boston area but don't have loads of dough.
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While there are some good things I can say for Malden (the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity is quite cool, and it is more affordable than many areas closer to Boston), five months living here were about four too many for me. I lived in an apartment complex over on the east side of town by Route 1 - I don't think the complex will change its slogan to "walking distance to jack shit, with the city's highest wind gusts", but I can hope - so the "convenience" of living in Malden was kind of lost on me. If I wanted to take the T anywhere I had to either walk 45 minutes across town to it, or drive over to it and pay to park at Malden Center (the New Urbanist in me thinks that driving to take public transportation is a lot like the "driving to take a walk" joke in California). The other thing I have to say about the town is that, like a lot of people on Yelp, I like good restaurants and good places to drink, and as far as I could tell, Malden offers next to nothing in that regard. There are a handful of bars around town, the best of which is probably Hugh O'Neill's, but they're not much - whenever I walked out of one of these places I half-expected to glance around back and see Sean Penn stabbing Tim Robbins - and I can't offer a restaurant recommendation.
So, if you're looking for a more suburban town near Boston where you can buy property and still be near a T stop, you don't hate driving nearly as much as I do, and you don't mind having to leave your neighborhood to do anything interesting, Malden is probably OK. But I don't expect to miss it much.
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Malden is so bad that it has its own web site http://MaldenSucks.com
Living on Main Street, close to a stoplight does not help either. Cars honking, the emergency service vehicles, old cars with loud music all make sure that I dont get a good nights sleep(A piece of work from a sleep deprived brain is in the album section).
A good example of what you get when you do not do Yelp beforehand, but even then this place has so less number of review. I am staying at this place only because I have a good deal with the apartment I am in. Plus the commute is not bad...20-30 minutes max to my office in Downtown.
Really need some good places to eat...and someone to clean up the snow on the sidewalks. Btw how many of you did indeed click on the url for http://Maldensucks.com?
Adding this stuff,
Seriously this food situation is getting out of control. One the one hand it can be good because you get to eat less of junk food, but on the other hand you get this craving where all you want is a choice. But with Malden and food, it is the red pill all the way.
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I no longer live here, but I'm still a fan! I don't miss my one-hour commute each way via T to work and back, though!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/28/2008
Diverse, affordable and convenient - that's Malden to me. As others have said the city is changing… Read more »
The City of Malden gets an overall 5 Stars!
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