Controversial take: South End is overpriced and the neighborhood peaked in 2022. Discuss.

I lived in South End from 2020 to 2024. I watched it change in real time. I want to be specific about what I mean so this doesn't just read as nostalgia.

In 2020-2021, South End had actual neighborhood energy. There were independent coffee shops that weren't trying to be influencer content. There were bars where you actually knew the bartender. The light rail was genuinely useful and connected you to a real urban experience. People who lived here talked to each other. It felt like a place with a culture.

What happened: the luxury apartments kept getting built, the rents kept going up, the turnover accelerated. High turnover kills neighborhood culture. If the person who moved in next door is going to leave in 12 months, neither of you bothers to learn each other's names. Multiply by 300 units and you get a building full of strangers paying premium prices to live in a place that feels like a hotel.

The restaurants and bars followed the demographics. The interesting spots closed or were priced out of their commercial leases. The replacements are nicer-looking, more expensive, and culturally generic. You can eat well in South End in 2026. You cannot eat at a place that feels specific to South End.

I'm not saying this to complain. I made the choice to move there and got value from it for a few years. I'm saying: if you're moving to South End in 2026 because you heard it has a great neighborhood vibe, you're about two years late to that version of it. It now has great amenities and no neighborhood vibe. Those are different things.