Jamaica Plain.

Jamaica Plain may have Boston's best ratio of green space to city life. The Emerald Necklace practically surrounds it — Jamaica Pond's mile-and-a-half loop, the Arnold Arboretum's lilac hills, and Franklin Park's woods all belong to the neighborhood — while Centre Street runs through the middle with the independent shops, taquerias, and cafes that give JP its fiercely local personality. The housing is some of the city's most varied: grand Victorians around the pond and Sumner Hill, classic triple-deckers on the side streets, and condo conversions everywhere in between.

The Orange Line serves the neighborhood at Green Street, Stony Brook, and Forest Hills, with the 39 bus running Centre Street's length to Back Bay. Buyers come for the combination that made JP famous — walkable, green, diverse, and genuinely community-minded — and competition for well-priced condos and multi-families stays strong year after year. Jamaica Plain is one of Boston's most beloved neighborhoods — for the citywide view, visit our Boston page.