I doubt you'll notice a difference within the Boston Metro. You might notice a lack or decrease in quality of City/Town services if you move to say Arlington or Medford over say Cambridge or Somerville. But that would just be due to size of the town/city. Boston vs Cambridge vs Somerville vs Brookline etc won't have enough of a difference to really justify one over the other. I would just pick whichever neighborhood has an apartment/condo/house you like the best and which has a reasonable enough commute to your work/hobbys/etc.