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  1. #1

    Boston Housing market (rental)

    I know there are a few Bostonians on the board, so I'd like some input.

    I'll potentially moving from Philadelphia to Boston for a position in Cambridge and was wondering if anyone had tips for finding a place. Any neighborhoods to avoid?

    I'll be receiving a relocation package with the offer, but curious which method of finding housing is the best up there (or if anyone on here is a broker and could hook me up).

    What is traffic like and how is getting around the city via car? Is it more advisable to live outside of the city and drive or to live outside and take public transportation?

    Broker, craigslist, zillow/realtor/etc, canvas the area on foot are all options, but if you've recently moved or know someone who has moved up there, which option did they find best?

    I'm allotting up to 1500/mo for rent plus utilities.

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    The Defense is ready, Your Honor
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    I'm sorry, but I clicked on this thread because I saw Boston market and thought of food.

    Good luck with your endeavors.

  3. #3

    Getting around the city via car is hell, even as someone that has lived just outside/rather close to the area my entire life.

    Traffic is often pretty bad, roads are tough to navigate (lots of one-ways, lots of turns, very poor signage, lots of sudden/forced lane shifts; HEY GUESS WHA-RIGHTTURNONLY OHH GUESS WHAT NOW!? LEFTTURNONLY!! when all you want to do is drive straight down the straight road FOR JUST HALF A MILE...), parking anywhere important is expensive and/or not available at all, etc.

    Obligatory:


    Bright side though, is that the public transportation is pretty good. It takes a bit of getting used to, but you can get most anywhere in the city and surrounding areas in pretty decent time (and for rather cheap). Most people tend to choose to live closer to the city, and take public trans to get where they want to go. People that live outside the city and commute often are either 1) rich or 2) comfortable with being in an hour of traffic, one way, every day.

    That said, definitely keep in mind your proximity to a T stop (the Boston subway) when finding an apartment, if you think that you'd prefer to do that. Also check on your employer's proximity to the nearest stop. Everything about the public trans available is here:
    http://www.mbta.com/index.asp

    $1500 should be about right for a typical apartment, I think the cheapest I remember seeing/hearing within reach of a T stop was like $1300... so that's close to the minimum range. Though, that was also like 3-4 years ago.

    This is all also just me speaking from my admittedly limited experience though. I've never worked in Boston, but I did go to college right outside of it and as such know people that have/are currently. I've also always lived within 45-60m of Boston.

  4. #4

    Okay thanks. I currently live in Philly which is mostly one-way streets-grid pattern so that isn't a big deal. I'm just used to the luxury of a reverse commute out of the city for work and I drive about 70mi round trip to get there.


    Looks like it's closest to Kendall stop.

    Thanks for the info, appreciate it. Interview is Thursday!

  5. #5
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    A lot depends on how much you're looking to spend on rent, who is going to be living with you, etc...

    Definitely look for proximity to a T station. Specifically, you want to be near either the orange line, blue line, red line or green line. Commuter rail runs far less often and is far more expensive.

    Few notes: Pretty sure a lot of the residential stuff on the west/far ends of the green line are expensive yuppy places. Also, the green line service is archaic and terrible. Very unreliable.

    Malden/Melrose/Medford are fairly decent, and have, for the most part - convenient access to the orange line.

    Can't say much about East Boston. While it is close to the blue line, there's also the airport. Lot of overhead plane noises going on if you're too close to it.

    Somerville isn't too bad, and Cambridge is nice, but pricey.

    Beware of certain parts of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Roslindale... for any of those, I think you'll have your decent parts, and your ghettos.

    Also, almost everyone I've encountered from Chelsea, Revere or Lynn has been trashy.

    $70 will buy you unlimited monthly subway/bus access... In-Boston parking is usually crazy expensive. Craigslist is probably your best bet for finding housing.

    I live in Malden, and I am renting a 2BR/2BA condo for $1350/mo... Feels like a steal after my last apartment search. You will see some shit, so don't jump too quickly into a bad place if the first five places you see are complete shitholes.

    Edit: Didn't see your last post. I'd personally try for Cambridge or Somerville if that's where you are going to be working. Switching trains is kind of a hassle, so it'd be nice if you could stick to the red line.

    Search for apartments near any of the following stations: Alewife, Davis, Porter, Harvard... Broadway, Andrew... those are probably your best bet... the first four being the shortest commute.

    You could also check out Savin Hill, Fields Corner, Shawmut and Ashmont... but those are a lot riskier in terms of neighborhood/crime/bad elements...

    http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_ma...nes/?route=RED

    ...in case you want to get an idea of your own.

    Any train stations between Charles/MGH and South Station are part of "Downtown Boston" and won't have much housing. And if there is any, it will be crazy expensive.

  6. #6
    You wouldn't know that though because you've demonstrably never picked up a book nor educated yourself on the matter. Let me guess, overweight housewife?
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    Quote Originally Posted by RKenshin View Post
    Getting around the city via car is hell, even as someone that has lived just outside/rather close to the area my entire life.

    Traffic is often pretty bad, roads are tough to navigate (lots of one-ways, lots of turns, very poor signage, lots of sudden/forced lane shifts; HEY GUESS WHA-RIGHTTURNONLY OHH GUESS WHAT NOW!? LEFTTURNONLY!! when all you want to do is drive straight down the straight road FOR JUST HALF A MILE...), parking anywhere important is expensive and/or not available at all, etc.
    You forgot to mention Boston's amazing ability to always have construction in the way of where you want to go.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Francisco View Post
    Somerville isn't too bad, and Cambridge is nice, but pricey.

    Beware of certain parts of Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Roslindale... for any of those, I think you'll have your decent parts, and your ghettos.
    I'll second Somerville. The part on the Union Square side of the T station is alright.

    My sister lives in Roslindale, and it's actually pretty nice. She's a bit far from Forest Hill (last stop on the Orange Line) so she has to take the commuter rail into work. The downtown Roslindale area is surprisingly pleasant, as long you're cool with hipsters and middle-aged lesbian couples. The area between downtown Roslindale and Forest Hill is worth avoiding. Also, a bunch of my friends live in Jamaica Plain just on the other side of Forest Hill. There are some good places around there to live, but most of them are 2-3 bedroom, so without a roommate it might be tough.

  8. #8
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    I'm sure jmc could find you some recently vacated crackhouses for dirt cheap.

  9. #9
    Mr. Bananagrabber
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    Goddamn that picture is so fucking true. Every time I head to Boston from the Cape for something I'm guaranteed to get lost, even Google Maps has no fucking idea what's going on there half the time.

  10. #10
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    Best advice..... if your working in cambridge, don't move into boston. Well unless you like yuppies, as majority of bordering parts on the boston/cambridge line are full of them.

    Parts of boston to avoid....

    Mattapan, just avoid all of it. There is no reason to ever go there.

    Roxbury has one decent part (Mission hill) full of college students and bars, however the area has been known to occasionally have some serious crime including home invasions, and homicides. Other than mission hill, avoid it

    Dorchester also has one decent part called "Adams village", however your a 5 min walk from another shit part of town.

    East Boston is not that bad if you move into Orient Heights, maverick sq area of east boston is just a no-no.

  11. #11

    Well, got the job offer plus a little bit of a relocation package so hopefully I'll be able to figure something out.

    Appreciate the help and if I've got any more questions I'll come back to you.

  12. #12

    Congrats. Hope you enjoy it here.

    BG Boston & surrounding areas needs to organize a hang-out sometime.

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