HOW WE ARRIVED AT THESE CHOICES

In April we surveyed members of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and other real estate agents. We asked them to identify the top streets in Greater Boston based on a number of criteria, such as curb appeal and proximity to amenities (from parks and playgrounds to schools and restaurants).

METRO '

BEECH ROAD, Brookline

At less than two-10ths of a mile long, Beech Road is one of the shortest streets on our list. But what it lacks in length, it makes up for in location. With a wide, leafy mall separating it from Chatham Street across the way, it has, says Marshall Simpkins, a realtor with Coldwell Banker in Cambridge, 'an Arboretum feel,' yet it's walkable to the Longwood Medical Area, Fenway Park, Wheelock College, public transportation, Kenmore Square ' we could go on. 'The trees give it that rural kind of feel,' says Simpkins, 'and it takes you away from the city.' The only drawback: Good luck finding a house. There are less than a dozen on the entire street, and when they come on the market, prices start at $2 million-plus.

BRATTLE STREET, Cambridge

In addition to being one of the prettiest streets in Cambridge, Brattle is probably the most historic. In 1630, when the city was founded, it was a little-traveled footpath to Watertown; it later became home to many prominent British loyalists, who built grand mansions on enormous lots. George Washington headquartered his operations at 105 Brattle, where Henry Wadsworth Longfellow later lived. Today, at the Harvard Square end of the street, $3 million might get you 3,500 square feet or just under 5,000. For the latter, says Jessica Ye, an agent with Keller Williams in Cambridge, 'It's not your granite kitchen. You'll need to do some work.' Farther away from Harvard Square, the price ' renovated or not ' might drop by as much as two-thirds.

COMMONWEALTH AVENUE, Boston