I have lived in Watertown since the 1980s, when I came to Harvard to do my doctorate. Thrice I went abroad to teach and live; each time I came back. Why? The prosaic answer is: It’s convenient. Watertown borders Cambridge, Boston, and Waltham (and others). Additionally, it:
• Has direct buses to Harvard, MIT and BU; express buses to the Boston Financial and Seaport districts, Copley Square, and other areas. These buses connect to the Red and Green T-lines making most places in Boston, Cambridge, and the inner suburbs accessible. (I haven’t owned a car since 2017.)
• Has easy access to/from Logan airport. By the nearby Pike (I-90), at most times, it takes 20—35 minutes by car.
• Offers more space for less money, and an effective local government which, for example, clears the snow promptly.
• Has many restaurants and shops, and several supermarkets. Watertown Square (walk 5 minutes) and the historic Arsenal Yards (walk 30 minutes, or bike, bus or drive) have excellent casual dining places. You can enjoy American, Armenian, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Nepali, Spanish and Thai, and other cuisines.
• Is safe. I can’t remember the last major crime. People mostly followed CDC’s guidance during the pandemic. The Harvard-affiliated Mount Auburn Hospital is 3.2 miles/5.1 km from Watertown Square.

But what of less prosaic features? Founded in 1630, Watertown was one of the first Puritan settlements in MA. A sleepy blue-collar town with factories along the Charles, for centuries it powered American industry; some folded only in the 1980s. Arsenal Yards once housed a US Army arsenal that also shut down in the 1980s. You can still see these brick buildings. Today, they house R&D facilities and corporate offices of many genomics, biotech, and healthcare companies and “luxury” apartment complexes. Paths along the Charles are great for walks; my home is a 5-minute walk to an access point.

Outside Watertown, but easily accessible by public transport are the Freedom Trail and the many museums, symphony and other must visit places in Boston and Cambridge. Getting to the American Revolution battlefields of Lexington, Thoreau’s Walden, and other pieces of American history need a car, but are reachable in about 30 minutes.

Key features of the house:
• Newly built in July 2020; all major appliances are new.
• High speed Internet; Xfinity says it is 800 Mbps for downloads.
• Has lawns on 2 sides and off-street parking on the driveway for two compact/economy sedans. Additional free parking is available on the street
• Is a 5-minute walk to the Charles River and to one of many city parks.
• On a quiet street behind one of the largest Catholic churches in the area. Except for Sunday masses, occasional funerals and weddings, and drop off/pick up of toddlers from a pre-school, there’s minimal traffic.
• The church’s street-level parking-lots ensure that my home is flooded with natural light around the year. Even the LR in the basement has some natural light during winter days and is bright the rest of the year. I took the posted photographs in the weak sunlight of mid-November.
• MBR has a shower stall ensuite and a walk-in-closet.
• The 2nd BR has a bathtub with a shower.
• All the mattresses, including in the sleep sofa, are Tempurpedic.
• The kitchen has multiple pots and pans, a Keurig, an Instapot, and a toaster oven.
• A study and two of the kitchen cabinets aren’t accessible.
• If you wish, I can place an office desk and an office chair in the FF sitting area.

While I am away, my son, a high school teacher, who lives nearby, will be your “local host.”