👋😳 Young Bostonians are moving south

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

🌱 PSA: Free plants! Sprout, an adorable downtown plant shop, is celebrating National Indoor Plant Week by giving away 1,000 FREE plants TODAY starting at 12 p.m. 

🎂 And a happy B-Side b-day to … Boston. <3 Yes, today is one of Boston’s TWO birthdays (it’s complicated). Show our city some love today! 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Leaf peeping predictions

• Great Scott is (almost) BACK

• Performative men, unite!

Up first…

HOUSING

Young homebuyers are going south

Goodbye, Boston! And hello … Fall River? As young, prospective homeowners are increasingly priced out of Greater Boston, many are turning to South Coast cities like Fall River and New Bedford for affordable homes, according to the Globe.

Here’s what to know: 

😭 Not-so-breaking news: Greater Boston’s real estate market is ROUGH. And by rough, we mean, the *median* price for a single-family home in Boston tops $1 million. And climbing prices in the ‘burbs offer little relief. So where can a first-time buyer find an affordable home?

😎 Enter: The South Coast. Where, as Bob Sullivan, president of the South Shore Association of Realtors, put it, “if you were spending a million dollars, you’re getting a mansion.” In Bristol County, home of Fall River and New Bedford, the median home price is $555,000, one of the lowest in the state, making them “affordable sanctuaries for first-time homebuyers,” according to Stoughton-based real estate agent Ahmad Taha.

👀 Lower prices are drawing in new buyers. As of July 2025, home sales in Norfolk and Middlesex counties (which border Suffolk County) were either flat or in the red year-over-year. But sales in Mass.’ southern counties like Bristol and Plymouth were up 6% and 2%, respectively. 

🏡 And former Boston renters are taking the bait. Michael Ikasalo and his fam turned to Fall River after receiving notice about a huge rent hike at their Roslindale apartment. After bids on several other homes didn’t pan out, he nabbed a two-unit home for about $525,000, where his mother-in-law could move into the first floor.

🚆 The shiny new South Coast Rail doesn’t hurt, either. Even as they’re priced out of Boston, homebuyers are still looking for places that provide easy access to the city. It’s probably no coincidence that this interest is piquing amid the commuter rail’s recent expansion into southeastern Mass., providing service to South Station from New Bedford and Fall River. Now, commuters can zip back and forth in just 90 minutes. 

🤔 That said, new interest = big changes for these cities. It’s a tale as old as … gentrification: As more transplants arrive, new amenities and developments will pop up to accommodate them. Case in point: Fall River just broke ground on a new, 19-acre development near the new commuter rail station that will include apartments, shopping, cafes, and restaurants. But so far, the city’s Mayor Paul Coogan welcomes the change as an economic boon. “We want new money coming into the city,” he told the Globe.

🧠 Wanna learn more? You can read the Globe’s full story about this phenomenon here.

QUICK QUESTION!

🏡  Would you rather …

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🍂 Mass.’ BEST leaf peeping spots just dropped. Courtesy of the Globe’s lead meteorologist Ken Mahan! ICYMI: Here in Mass., we can expect peak fall foliage to arrive in the first two weeks of October. Mahan’s fav spots to peep it near Boston include the Allandale Woods near the Arnold Arboretum (he told us last year), and Walden Pond. Looking for a drive? Head down Route 7 between Great Barrington and North Adams, and the Mohawk Trail on Route 2 between Athol and Savoy. Peruse his peeping picks here.

🎸 Great Scott is *almost* SO back. The beloved former Allston music venue is expected to reopen in 2027, seven years after it shuttered during the peak of the pandemic. Boston’s zoning board of appeal approved plans for the new spot last week (after LOTS of community testimonials), which gives it the green light to kick off the design and construction process. The new venue will be part of a nine-story, mixed-use building with 139 apartments, plus space for its sister venue, O’Brien’s. Here’s a mock-up!

⚾ We’re getting a(nother) Red Sox doc. This time, it’s a new, Ben Affleck-produced, three-part documentary from ESPN called “Believers” all about the Red Sox’ curse era. Quick Boston history lesson! From 1918 to 2004, the team endured an 86-year championship-less streak, which was famously snapped by a World Series W. This series will explore how the franchise changed during that time, and why Boston fans held out hope, with celeb cameos from Affleck, Matt Damon, Bill Burr, and plenty of former players. It’s dropping later this month.

🤌 Prepare to be CULTURED: Because we have TWO iconic local arts offerings in store. Missed your chance to snag Mt. Joy tickets this weekend? Good news: The indie band JUST announced a second, even more *intimate* show at Big Night Live on Sept. 21, and there are still tickets! Or, if you’re feeling lucky, you can also win tickets in this giveaway. More into muggles than music? “Harry Potter and The Cursed Child” is coming to Boston Nov. 9 to Dec. 20, and tickets are available NOW. 

THINGS TO DO

Upcoming local picks from The B-Side

Below are some of the hottest local things to do. This month, B-Side members can save more than $150 across our events, in addition to over 60 other awesome perks. 

‼️ Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series | Saturday, Sept. 20 | 9:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. | ICA Boston | FREE | Watch famous divers like Rhiannan Iffland plummet right into Boston Harbor from the best seats in the house (with an open bar and food!). As promised, members can enter here to win a pair of VIP tickets (a $650 value)!

🏈 B-Side x Cisco Brewers Patriots Tailgate | Sunday, Sept. 21 | Doors 11 a.m. | Cisco Fenway | FREE | The first 50 B-Side members to arrive will get one canned item (beer, cocktail, tea) and mozzarella sticks for $10 (a $22 value). Also, If you register here, you’ll get free chicken tenders! To claim your B-Side member deal, show your pass at the door. 

🥯 B-Side x Sustainable Swaps at Faneuil Hall | Saturday, Sept. 27 | 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. | Quincy Market 2nd floor | FREE | Swap sweaters for new fall clothes and goods c/o Sustainable Swaps, listen to local live artists, and grab a complimentary PopUp bagel and a tote for members ($10 value) at our massive fall swap.

🍶 B-Side Supper Club at The Koji Club | Thursday, Oct. 2 | 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. | The Koji Club | $30 | $75 value | Our next B-Side members-only Supper Club will be hosted at The Koji Club, the Brighton sake bar that was called one of the best new restaurants in the world by Conde Nast in 2023. Stay tuned for the menu! 

ONE LAST THING

Performative men

Are you a dude with a vinyl collection, iced matcha, and a playlist full of Clairo? Surprise! You might be a “performative man,” an internet-coined term for men who lean into a certain ~aesthetic~ to attract women. Think: Skinny mustaches and fat tote bags. 

The new term has spun off into IRL performative male competitions, and local schools are going HARD. Competitors at Tufts’ contest sported wired headphones, books in hand, and one or two even pulled out a guitar. 

Meanwhile, Smith put its own spin on the trend with a “performative masc” competition, where entrants wore baggy jorts, labubus, and some of the largest carabiners to ever grace a belt loop. 

— Written by Gia Orsino, Emily Schario, and Claire Nicholas

💔 Thanks for reading! If only we had a word for this when Gia was in high school, she might’ve avoided a lot of heartbreak.

🏁 The results are in: 41% of B-Siders support the redesign of Mass.’ state flag, seal, and motto. One reader said: “Think of the new merch!” Very good point … 

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].