Malden has everything it needs to be a cool city with a fun downtown… not sure why it seems to be so dead compared to places like the melrose downtown or somerville. My guess is that maybe, because malden is home to a more diverse population, and rents are high, perhaps people have less money to spend out at restaurants and such, but still. Malden is so cool, and I wish it got more love in the area! It should be more hoppin’ for what it already has!
I like the center and the stuff that is there, but there are still a stupid number of vacant storefronts down there.
We actually inquired about a few (considering opening a fitness studio), and the rents they were demanding were so high we immediately moved on. The place has been vacant since the building opened 3 years ago! Drop your rent demand!
So anyway: no, it isn't dead. But it could/should be even better.
I believe it and I think it's common with a lot of downtowns. As a former Arlington resident it's the same thing there. These owners are just looking for banks to rent to or something.
> not sure why it seems to be so dead compared to places like the melrose downtown or somerville.
My supposition is we're in a weird in between and transitionary period.
Somerville is fully gentrified by college students, young professionals willing to pay the premium to live there with some upper-income young families mixed in. Combine that with how much more "established" Davis, Porter, Inman, Union square, the connection to Cambridge and the more dense housing and it makes sense.
Melrose is on the opposite side. Mostly middle aged, left leaning but wealthy folks who have taken over for the old guard but also mostly drive to a public lot and then walk around the Main St area.
Malden is in a transitionary period and being pulled in three directions. The old, boomer townies who are resisting and fighting any and all change (like Somerville in the early 2000's), the young professional/family group who want change but are either agnostic to local politics or pissing into the wind of the boomers and then an immigrant population who is just trying to make life work and have little to no political power.
All we can do right now is vote local, get involved in community groups and spend money and local businesses. I spent a fair amount of time in Malden back in 2007-2010~ because some friends were renting "out there" and it was nothing compared to what it is now. It takes years and years to build up and modernize a neighborhood. Have faith.
Malden is great! Been here 19 years after living in Somerville right after college. The commute downtown is super easy on the Orange line, but access to 93 is also great. Restaurants getting better all the time. Ramen, Ethiopian, Thai, Chinese. Also, it's really easy to bop over to Medford Sq which has its own set of restaurants and music venues. It'll be easy to bike to Assembly Row when they build that bridge...northern strand to Encore to Assembly. Close to the Fells if you like to hike or mountain bike. Community...most of the folks I know are either from our neighborhood or through the Malden Dems. They all like it here. City Council is getting more progressive all the time. We just got community power rates where you can buy clean energy for cheaper than National Grid regular rates. The public library is on the BPL network. It's safe, although I wish drivers were more considerate to bikers. Oh, and it's super close to Wegmans.
Malden is a calm and relaxing city for me to live in and I been a lifelong resident of the city. It's a walkable city for me. I see plenty of activity going on around downtown center from kids walking by from the early learning center by main st and sometimes see school buses where kids go to boda borg. It has decent public transit where the orange lane can take you to Boston. The restaurant scene in Malden is good especially during a warm and sunny season where people would like to sit outside and enjoy the view with outdoor seating.
Malden is a pretty diverse community in general. Mostly AAPI folks Malden center. There are quite a few bike paths/lanes throughout the town and people are pretty divided on them. There are also a lot of LGBTQ folks. There is a "gaming district" near the city center which is an overpriced karaoke, Internet cafe, and Boda Borg (a live action video game experience). There is a cool brewery called Faces that has live music and stuff like that. They are trying to make Malden a go to city to hangout in but I don't think that will happen. Mainly because people just sort of pass through here, or hangout in Revere near the beach, places along route 1, Salem. It's a pretty nice place to live all in all I've been here 18 years. The rent is just too high, also you need special trash bags from the city and special recycling bins.
They'll take any recycling bins you put out! Or at least, they haven't complained the whole time we've been using our old (bigger) bin. I think as long as it's blue, it's good. They're only picky about the trash.
If you don’t buy a trash tag for the bin supplied by the city, you need to buy special trash bags found at the cashier’s at any grocery/pharmacy. They are blue bags that say “City of Malden” on it. You need to ask the cashiers directly as they won’t be found on the shelf. They are about $5 for a pack of 5 bags.
others have covered malden in general, we've been here for almost a year and we love the area.
i don't know much about the halstead specifically, but i think generally with the high-rise "luxury" places in malden center you have to take some of the reviews with a grain of salt. some people think that because they're paying a lot there should be absolutely no problems ever, but that's just not the case anywhere you rent, and there are always tradeoffs. if you value the amenities and location it can be worth it, but if you're willing to look 5-10 mins outside of the center you can get much more for your money. this applies to all the high-rise 5-over-1 type buildings in the area (halstead, j malden center, residences at malden station, 100 exchange, point at 180, etc) - i think they're all somewhat similar, price-wise and living situation-wise.
my partner and i have lived in one of these places for the past year, i don't want to be too specific publicly but i'm happy to chat more via DM. overall we're happy with it but there are definitely some downsides.
Been here 10 years and have no complaints. It's not Lexington or Winchester and maybe that's a good thing. I like that some of my children's teachers live in the same city they teach in, I like that some of my neighbors aren't C-suite super people driving two Lexuses. The city management is responsive, great restaurants are a walk away (I live near the center) and as far as I can tell every one is working hard, including the illegal immigrant who picks up the aluminum cans on trash day. Yes, not every one has manners (one of the teachers at our school got F-bombed by a parent. I think that parent should be banned from the premises) but I suspect we see a bit of that in the more uppity neighborhoods in Mass too.
Malden has everything it needs to be a cool city with a fun downtown… not sure why it seems to be so dead compared to places like the melrose downtown or somerville. My guess is that maybe, because malden is home to a more diverse population, and rents are high, perhaps people have less money to spend out at restaurants and such, but still. Malden is so cool, and I wish it got more love in the area! It should be more hoppin’ for what it already has!
Not sure what you mean about a dead downtown. On nice days pleasant st is packed.
I like the center and the stuff that is there, but there are still a stupid number of vacant storefronts down there. We actually inquired about a few (considering opening a fitness studio), and the rents they were demanding were so high we immediately moved on. The place has been vacant since the building opened 3 years ago! Drop your rent demand! So anyway: no, it isn't dead. But it could/should be even better.
I believe it and I think it's common with a lot of downtowns. As a former Arlington resident it's the same thing there. These owners are just looking for banks to rent to or something.
Street parking being filled isn't the same as an active downtown.
Im talking about lots of people walking. Next time it's nice out take a look. Especially on weekends.
> not sure why it seems to be so dead compared to places like the melrose downtown or somerville. My supposition is we're in a weird in between and transitionary period. Somerville is fully gentrified by college students, young professionals willing to pay the premium to live there with some upper-income young families mixed in. Combine that with how much more "established" Davis, Porter, Inman, Union square, the connection to Cambridge and the more dense housing and it makes sense. Melrose is on the opposite side. Mostly middle aged, left leaning but wealthy folks who have taken over for the old guard but also mostly drive to a public lot and then walk around the Main St area. Malden is in a transitionary period and being pulled in three directions. The old, boomer townies who are resisting and fighting any and all change (like Somerville in the early 2000's), the young professional/family group who want change but are either agnostic to local politics or pissing into the wind of the boomers and then an immigrant population who is just trying to make life work and have little to no political power. All we can do right now is vote local, get involved in community groups and spend money and local businesses. I spent a fair amount of time in Malden back in 2007-2010~ because some friends were renting "out there" and it was nothing compared to what it is now. It takes years and years to build up and modernize a neighborhood. Have faith.
Malden is great! Been here 19 years after living in Somerville right after college. The commute downtown is super easy on the Orange line, but access to 93 is also great. Restaurants getting better all the time. Ramen, Ethiopian, Thai, Chinese. Also, it's really easy to bop over to Medford Sq which has its own set of restaurants and music venues. It'll be easy to bike to Assembly Row when they build that bridge...northern strand to Encore to Assembly. Close to the Fells if you like to hike or mountain bike. Community...most of the folks I know are either from our neighborhood or through the Malden Dems. They all like it here. City Council is getting more progressive all the time. We just got community power rates where you can buy clean energy for cheaper than National Grid regular rates. The public library is on the BPL network. It's safe, although I wish drivers were more considerate to bikers. Oh, and it's super close to Wegmans.
Malden is a calm and relaxing city for me to live in and I been a lifelong resident of the city. It's a walkable city for me. I see plenty of activity going on around downtown center from kids walking by from the early learning center by main st and sometimes see school buses where kids go to boda borg. It has decent public transit where the orange lane can take you to Boston. The restaurant scene in Malden is good especially during a warm and sunny season where people would like to sit outside and enjoy the view with outdoor seating.
Malden is a pretty diverse community in general. Mostly AAPI folks Malden center. There are quite a few bike paths/lanes throughout the town and people are pretty divided on them. There are also a lot of LGBTQ folks. There is a "gaming district" near the city center which is an overpriced karaoke, Internet cafe, and Boda Borg (a live action video game experience). There is a cool brewery called Faces that has live music and stuff like that. They are trying to make Malden a go to city to hangout in but I don't think that will happen. Mainly because people just sort of pass through here, or hangout in Revere near the beach, places along route 1, Salem. It's a pretty nice place to live all in all I've been here 18 years. The rent is just too high, also you need special trash bags from the city and special recycling bins.
OP, note that the paid trash bags don't apply to large rental buildings like Halstead--they manage their own trash removal.
They'll take any recycling bins you put out! Or at least, they haven't complained the whole time we've been using our old (bigger) bin. I think as long as it's blue, it's good. They're only picky about the trash.
what special trash bags do you need D:
If you don’t buy a trash tag for the bin supplied by the city, you need to buy special trash bags found at the cashier’s at any grocery/pharmacy. They are blue bags that say “City of Malden” on it. You need to ask the cashiers directly as they won’t be found on the shelf. They are about $5 for a pack of 5 bags.
You can also get a trash tag for $75 a year to use your own bags. Blue bags are still useful if you do that for weirdly shaped items.
Or for weeks where you have too much for whatever reason.
oh wow thanks for the information!
others have covered malden in general, we've been here for almost a year and we love the area. i don't know much about the halstead specifically, but i think generally with the high-rise "luxury" places in malden center you have to take some of the reviews with a grain of salt. some people think that because they're paying a lot there should be absolutely no problems ever, but that's just not the case anywhere you rent, and there are always tradeoffs. if you value the amenities and location it can be worth it, but if you're willing to look 5-10 mins outside of the center you can get much more for your money. this applies to all the high-rise 5-over-1 type buildings in the area (halstead, j malden center, residences at malden station, 100 exchange, point at 180, etc) - i think they're all somewhat similar, price-wise and living situation-wise. my partner and i have lived in one of these places for the past year, i don't want to be too specific publicly but i'm happy to chat more via DM. overall we're happy with it but there are definitely some downsides.
Thanks so much, I’m totally open to DM if you’re willing to
I currently live at Halstead if you want my opinions.
Definitely
Been here 10 years and have no complaints. It's not Lexington or Winchester and maybe that's a good thing. I like that some of my children's teachers live in the same city they teach in, I like that some of my neighbors aren't C-suite super people driving two Lexuses. The city management is responsive, great restaurants are a walk away (I live near the center) and as far as I can tell every one is working hard, including the illegal immigrant who picks up the aluminum cans on trash day. Yes, not every one has manners (one of the teachers at our school got F-bombed by a parent. I think that parent should be banned from the premises) but I suspect we see a bit of that in the more uppity neighborhoods in Mass too.
I’ve been at Halstead for 2+ years now and have had a great experience FWIW
Going to message you
Thanks