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There’s no denying that, here at Movoto Real Estate, we have an affinity for all things nerdy. We took on the tall order of determining the nerdiest cities in the nation and even delineated the decor for the perfect nerd lair. But we decided it was time to narrow our focus and detail the geekery of a particular region where cosplay and gaming groups run rampant: Massachusetts.
Laying claim to such esteemed institutions of higher learning as MIT, Boston College, and, oh yeah, that little school school of smarties, Harvard, Massachusetts clearly houses its fair share of geekery. But, always ones to push our curiosity until it takes list formation, the Movoto Real Estate blog decided to see which of the cities took the title of nerdiest in the land, or at least state. In true geek fashion, we tossed 25 of the Bay State’s most populous cities together, armed them with a list of nerdiness-defining criteria, and let them battle it out for the crown—eat your heart out, Joffrey Lannister.
So, without further adieu, nerd nation, it’s time to press pause on your director’s cut “Akira” Blu-ray or lay down your “Settlers of Catan” game pieces, and see which city reigned supreme when it came to sci-fi savants, D&D devotees, and LARP lovers. Our top 10 list:
Yes, it’s the city built on education and bolstered by biotech firms that came in at the No. 1 ranking. Perhaps it isn’t surprising that Cambridge took the R2D2-shaped cake when it came to nerdiness—after all, it was modeled and named after the famous English university, an act of ultimate geekiness. And though the state’s biggest and most well-known city, Boston, did make the top 10, it was many of its smaller neighbors that took higher prizes. Which brings us to our criteria.
Our List’s Stats
You’re probably wondering what enchanted alchemy allowed us to arrive at our tally and we’re happy to tell you, because, as geeks, we delight in the laborious details like data-collecting and number-crunching. Here’s what we used:
- People per annual comic book, video game, anime, and sci-fi / fantasy conventions
- People per science museum
- Proximity to Renaissance Fairs
- People per comic book store
- People per video game store
- People per traditional gaming store
- People per computer store
- People per bookstore
- People per LARPing group
Now, we’re guessing you’re curious about the particulars of our calculations. I mean, you wouldn’t allow a fellow geek to assert that “Star Trek:The Next Generation” outshines “The Original Series” without giving some thoughtful points to support his or her argument. So here’s how we assembled our list: after finding the 25 most populous cities in the state, we ranked each city for the individual criteria listed above and averaged those rankings to arrive at our top 10. Shall we dive into the particulars of our criteria?
Conventions: Rebels with a Cosplay
Source: Wikipedia
Some may be surprised to hear that Boston didn’t nab the top spot when it came to the locale with the most cons per capita. Though the city is home to such fan faves like Boston Comic Con, Waltham, MA took home the gold for housing both LARPing fest, Intercon K, and the celebration of all things steampunk that is Watch City Festival. Framingham and Cambridge came in at second and third when it came to geek-oriented conventions.
Science Museums: Learn Your Keep
A lifelong devotion to accumulating as much knowledge as possible is what separates the true geeks from those who just dabble in a little dweebery. Massachusetts houses a wealth of institutions that promise to educate you on everything from robotics to ecology to maritime history, but Brookline dominated this category with one science museum for every 14,778 residents. Among them is the Clay Center Observatory, which houses seven different telescopes, and plenty of opportunity to brush up on your constellation trivia. For the geek record, Cambridge scored as second and Malden came in as third.
Renaissance Fairs: Mead We Say More?
Just like sci-fi conventions, but outdoors, with better food options, and a unified dress code, is ye olde celebration of nerdom, the Renaissance Festival. The classic Ren Fest is a family-friendly option that allows you to converse about everything from faeries and dragons to weaponry and wizardry with your fellow chainmail-wearing lords and ladies. Extra points if you can out-quote the festival’s knights when referencing your favorite Monty Python routine.
I used Google to locate all sizable Ren Fests in Massachusetts and came up with four different annual celebrations across the state. I then found out which of the most populous cities were within the closest vicinity. Of our top 10 nerd cities, Weymouth weighed in at number in proximity to a festivity of antiquated excess, and is some 27 miles from the nearest turkey-leg-filled, wine-soaked fair. Worcester was the second-closest when it came to Ren Fest adjacency and Brockton was third.
Comic Stores: Working Through Your Issues
Source: Flickr user Sam Howzit
For many, comics are the gateway hobby that leads to life as a full-fledged nerd. It isn’t hard to go from leafing innocently through your dad’s old copies of “Fantastic Four” to having a closet packed with DC and Dark Horse back issues, immaculately preserved in plastic, of course. Ranking the 25 biggest cities based on which has the most comic stores per person, Haverhill comes in as the mecca of manga and graphic novels with one store per 15,449 people. The runners up in this category were Brookline and Weymouth, respectively.
Video Game Stores: Controller Freaks
Sure, video games are one of those tricky areas of interest whose venn diagram includes both bros and nerds. But truly proficient players display their expertise in this area by the sheer number of consoles, controllers, headsets, and other miscellaneous pieces of gear, not to mention games, they own. And, if you’re ready to invest in these gaming gadgets, you’ll need somewhere to purchase your wares. To get a good gauge of what Massachusetts locale lays claim to the most players, I looked at the number of video game stores per capita, and arrived at Lowell as the clear winner with one store per 7,214 residents. Waltham also made the list at number two and Framingham came in at three.
Gaming Stores: Dungeon Masters of Your Own Destiny
Let’s take a second to step away from the pop, whiz, and pow of flashy gaming systems and remember those who dare to keep their adventures in the world of the analog. Whether you’re looking to bolster your Magic: The Gathering deck or lure a young relative into the world of geekery by purchasing him or her a copy of Risk, you’ll need to hit up your beloved local gaming shop to get the pieces, dice, cards, and boards you need. Turns out that Cambridge comes in as the champion of game stores per population in Massachusetts, so its residents can rest assured that they won’t have to go far to score their next fanciful exploit. Cambridge, which rated a very impressive one store per 7,605 people, was followed by Malden and Brookline.
Computer Stores: I Think, Therefore I RAM
Though Apple has done much to up the sexiness of modern technology—to the relief of nerds everywhere—the computer is still the cornerstone of geek culture. In order to find out which city puts its bytes where its hard drives are, we took a tally of the computer stores per person, and found that Waltham is the number-one locale when it comes to tech access with one computer store for every 924 residents. Peabody was second and Cambridge was third.
Bookstores: Page Before Beauty
A true nerd knows that costumes, game pieces, and fancy graphics aren’t required in order to escape to a distant world. All the sci-fi and fantasy adventures you could possibly need can be found at the convenience of the nearby bookstore, not to mention some practical tools of geekery, such as programming manuals, historical biographies, and, of course, Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. It shouldn’t be all too surprising that Cambridge, the Massachusetts capital of book smarts, should rate as the top city in the state for bookstores at one store for every 2,476 people, with Brookline and Boston coming in at numbers two and three.
Live Action Role Playing Groups: The World According to LARP
Sure, it’s one of the most joked about aspects of nerd culture, and now the subject of several documentaries, but LARPing is for those who aren’t simply satisfied to let figurines and dice see all the action. Live Action Role Palying, or LARP, meetups are prevalent all over, but I used larplist.com to find out which city has the most groups for its population, and found out that Sommervile is the clear champ with one group per 25,701 people. Framingham came in second and Cambridge scored the third-place trophy.
The Nerdiest of Them All
With its bounty of bookstores, multitude of museums, and love for all things LARP, Cambridge proudly takes its seat on the throne of nerds after this battle royale—but it’s clear that Massachusetts offers a myriad of opportunities for game-, comics-, and fantasy-lovers to shamelessly fly their nerd flag. As they say, the geeks shall inherit the earth, and I, for one, can’t wait to put on my Princess Peach costume and claim my spot in the kingdom.
