Taking an early morning walk downtown for coffee and running into a neighbor out walking their dog. Meeting for a picnic dinner on the beach with friends who live next door. Attending block parties and neighborhood events with people and families you’ve known for years—or maybe only months. It’s all part of a community spirit that makes living on the North Shore so special. These eight neighborhoods may embody that community spirit in disparate ways, but they all have one thing in common: the love of the people who call them home.
Annisquam
GLOUCESTER
A thin peninsula in Gloucester between Lobster Cove and the Annisquam River, Annisquam is a bit of an island within an island. It has only one way in and out, is more accessible on foot or by bike than by car, and has always been less industrial and built up than the rest of Gloucester, which is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year.
Like all of Cape Ann, Annisquam has long attracted artists.
“It has marvelous light, with how it reflects off the water into sort of a pastoral scene with the marshes and beaches,” says Dave Pearce, president of the Annisquam Association, which owns property with a number of historic buildings, including a former school and
