Housing Options in Boston? Forum

[futurelawyer413]

Mods - I'm not sure if this is right place for this, please change it to the appropriate section if needed.

Wanted some info in living in Boston, and am looking for studio/1BR but would be open for 2 BR to share. What are some price ranges I can expect? I know Back Bay, Mission are good/safe places. Are there places I should avoid even considering? I know of Dorchester only. Also, I prob won't be having a car and am going to heavily rely on the T a lot. Where are some common or nearby grocery places nearby that people know of (e.g. Market basket or Shaw's?) I think there is a Shaw's in MIT's campus, but not exactly sure, and that's in Cambridge. Also, how is East Boston, i.e. Jeffries point? I've seen apts. there priced very reasonable, but don't know if its a ghetto place or run-down.

[futurelawyer413]

BumP!

[jlxbos]

where are you going to school? there are cheaper places to be found all around the city...

popular student areas are allston/brighton/brookline and fenway...for those areas, expect ~1k for a studio, a few hundred more for a 1bed if you're lucky. if you share, you can get your rent down to ~600/person. there are shaw's and trader joe's around all of those places. mission hill is cheap, but not as nice/safe (i've had friends that have gotten mugged there late at night...but still not too bad if you're smart about it). i lived in back bay on the river just across from mit in a cute little 1 bed for about 1200/month, but that was a steal for the area...or for any area, actually. don't know much about east boston...i went to bu for undergrad and only made it there a couple of times. too far on the t for my taste. i'd avoid dorchester as well if you're relying on the t. don't know much about cambridge, either, but i'm pretty sure a typical harvard sq studio will run ~1500 or so.

[ninjagirl]

The Shaw's you're probably thinking about is walking distance from the MIT campus and is closest to the "Central Square" subway stop of the Red Line. The #1 bus and other busses also run along Massachusetts Ave and you can get off a block away from the grocery store. It's pretty easy to get to. There are of course a bunch of other grocery stores in town, including some Whole Foods (kind of expensive!) and some other Shaw's.

[ninjagirl]

Also I personally wouldn't live in E. Boston; it seems hard to get around from there without a car. Living in Cambridge along the Red Line stops (see http://www.mbta.com for a system map) is pretty convenient, as well as in all the other neighborhoods the above poster mentioned.

Looking for housing in a city you don't know is frustrating! Feel free to PM me if you come across some apartment listings and you want to ask a local if they are located in convenient areas.

[englawyer]

my advice by school and focused on public transit:

HLS: Focus on Cambridge/Somerville, particularly North Cambridge/Davis/Porter Square areas. Rent can be reasonable there.
BU: Allston/Brighton/Coolidge Corner/Cambridgeport
BC: Along the "bc" green line past BU.

[Informative]

HLS: Cambridge/Somerville. I like the areas around Davis & Porter Square.

BC: Brighton if you want urban, Newton if you want suburban. There are some great deals if you want to rent a room or a whole house in Newton. While cheaper than Boston, it is one of wealthiest neighborhoods in the country. You see actors and athletes on a regular basis in Newton.

BU: Brighton/Allston. It is really a pain to have a car at BU, so you should try to live as close to campus as possible. The green line is a trolly system that runs through BU campus and will take you downtown when you need it. Rent can be very high around campus and you don't get much for what you pay, but everyone kind of goes through that together. You can live farther away from campus and find some great options, but then you are looking at a longer T-ride. You can read on the T though.

Northeastern: As with BU, having a car is going to be difficult. Northeastern has an award winning campus and is very close to the Orange and Green (E) lines. I would take the same approach as BU. Try to live close to campus and take the T if you can't find anything reasonable within walking distance (likely the case due to landlords jacking rent due to a wealthy student population (average family income of an NU undergrad hovers around $150k)).


************************************
Stats: 166/3.8
Acceptances: BC, BU, GW, Fordham, UCLA, UConn
WL: GULC
Denied: Cornell, Chicago
Leaning Towards: BC

[sfdreaming09]

tag

[dakatz]

During my time at BU, I lived in a sublet in Brookline. I'm not sure why people spend so much on studios or 1BR apartments, when sublets and rooms can be rented for much cheaper. There are tons of rooms and sublets available in Allston, Brookline, and Brighton, which are all close to BU and BC. My advice is to find housing as close as possible to the B line of the subway (which is called the T), or at least close to a bus line. Rooms and sublets can be some of the best options because many are in houses where families live on other floors. This helps guarantee a quiet environment that makes it easy to sleep and study. I don't know about you guys, but I don't want to get stuck in an apartment building filled with party animals that make it difficult to sleep/study.

[futurelawyer413]

Thank you all above - this is sooo helpful. I'm glad I can count on TLS for great info!

Also, for those who don't know, I've been checking out PadMapper.com (it uses google maps to show craigslist, rent.com, and other available apts. in a very nice visual format!) I can't believe I didn't find this out earlier!