Boston & Cambridge, MA

[spade20k]

Craigslist is always an option. Also, talk to people who are currently in the program -- maybe they can point you in the right direction

[fuzzylogician]

I just got accepted into BU and I'm considering going there this fall. My biggest issue involving apartment hunting is that I'm traveling for the entire summer so I won't be able to visit Boston to look at any apartments. I've been looking into Boston University's off-campus apartments, but the only one that would let me sign a lease without going there myself is out of my price range; my budget is around $600-700. I'm hoping to find a room in an apartment with 2 or 3 other roommates to offset the costs but I'm not sure if I can find anyone without actually meeting them in person. Does anyone have any ideas?

I'm not sure why you're being voted down.. Craigslist and your department are good options; however, I think it's not advisable to sign a lease without seeing the apartment and meeting the roommates. I'd advise you to change your travel plans so you'll have some time at the end of the summer to come to Boston and search for apartments yourself. If it's really impossible for you to do that, consider taking a dorm. At least that way you'll know you're not being scammed, and you could always move out at the end of the year if you don't like the place.

[starmaker]

I'll spend next year in Harvard as a post-doc. I'm very much a city person (Berliner) - I don't drive and I love both to drink my after-work beer (preferably in a pub with regulars) and to buy my organic bio-food for cooking at the very same block where I live (or anyway, not too far). Suburbs make me depressed. I'm also vegan. and art-lover (esp.contemporary art). and left-wing. and unfortunately, I don't have too much money. I've been told that two good places would be lower allston and JP. two questions:

1. If I move to Boston at the beginning of the year (9/1 as you write it at the other side of the ocean), when should I start looking for an apartment? I've seen over the internet that there are already apartments for September, which made a bit in panic. when would it be TOO late? or is it already on the verge of too late?!

2. if you were in my place, where would you live? are lower-allston and JP indeed the best options? what are the main differences in atmosphere, demographics etc.?

thanks a lot in advance for any relevant information or insights,

your Gasttheoretiker

9/1 is an absurdly busy date in the Boston apartment world. There are tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, of undergrads, graduate students, and post-docs, in Boston and the surrounding cities, and they are all looking for something for 9/1. I'm not sure exactly when it becomes too late, but you want to start looking as soon as possible.

You sound like the quintessential JP resident. If I were you, my only concern about JP would be the commute, and that would depend on where your post-doc is (is it at the main university campus? Harvard Medical School? Harvard Business School? a teaching hospital?). If your post-doc is at the main campus, that's probably a 35-40 minute subway commute from JP. If it's at, say, the med school, the commute will be much shorter. JP is a bright, colorful area, with everything that you described yourself as wanting. However, while it does not, according to the Boston crime map, have high crime itself, it is very close to some of the worst areas of Boston. If you got out of the subway station at night and started off in the wrong direction, maybe after having had a little too much to drink at a pub with your labmates, you could end up in a bad area within a few blocks.

Lower Allston would also be a good fit for you, but Allston in general is kind of a student slum. Don't get me wrong, it has plenty to do, is very vibrant, but it's more run down than JP and has more crime (like I said, JP itself doesn't have much crime, it's just near some high-crime areas). The subway service is not as good as in JP - the Green Line can be a pain in general and the B branch of the Green Line has so many stops that it takes forever to get anywhere. The roads are bigger than in JP and there's more car traffic. On the plus side, you will never run out of things to do and there's probably more pubs in Allston than in JP. If your post-doc is at the main university campus or the business school the commute from Allston would be better.

JP is more left-wing/counterculture in the way that you are looking for, in general, than Allston, but if I'm remembering Lower Allston correctly, it fits that bill too. Lower Allston is a less distinct neighborhood than JP, though...it blends more into the rest of Allston.

You should also consider Cambridge itself, and Somerville, especially if you will be working at the main university campus. You would probably like Harvard Square in Cambridge or Davis Square in Somerville. They also have all of the features that you want and lots of left-wing/counterculture types. But they are likely to be more expensive than JP or Allston (both of which are cheap by Boston-area standards).

[BlueRose]

When you said that the shuttle doesn't stop at the Charles/MGH red line station on the way back to main campus does that mean that it just stops at the North Station as the last stop? How do you get back to the red line if you need that line to get back to home?

The shuttle does a loop around MGH in one direction - heading in from North Station, it stops at the outpatient clinics on Staniford, then turns on Cambridge St, where it stops at Charles/MGH red line, then goes around the hospital on Storrow and Blossom, where it finishes behind the hospital. (One way is a bit over 15 minutes, and shuttles leave every 15 minutes, so the shuttle sits there for 10-12 minutes before it leaves again.) On the way back to CNY, it uses O'Connell to get back to Staniford, and then returns to North Station.

When I ride the T to work, I just go to North Station. It is possible to get off at Charles/MGH and walk through the hospital, but it's not worth it - unless you're very unlucky with the connection, you won't miss a shuttle at North Station that you would have caught at MGH. If I'm coming home at rush hour and the traffic is bad, I also get off at North Station, but usually I'll just get off at Charles/MGH.

The two friends I want to live with really want to live in Davis Square so I am trying to figure out how difficult that commute would be.. it seems like its 35-40 ordeal. Would driving from up there be difficult?

Honestly, I'm not the person to ask about driving, but I don't think you'd save very much time. Coming from Davis, it's urban the whole way...traffic, stoplights, etc.Starmaker has some good advice re: what neighborhoods to look at. Davis and Porter are nice too...Davis is a bit younger/more happening (next to Tufts), Porter is a bit cheaper (and it's less of a "square", more a segment of Mass Ave).

[dogfishing]

Hello lovely Boston gurus. I'm starting an MS at Boston University in the fall and since I live on the opposite coast I probably won't be able to visit before it's time to move in (I know, this is horrible, but money, distance and prohibitive school and work schedules are making it seem like this is just going to be how it is).

Does anyone have any neighborhood recommendations for potential BU students? Ideally I'd be looking at about $600 - 700/month (hoping to end up with roommates to split the costs of a 2-3 bedroom place) and the closer to campus the better. I don't have high standards for housing (being a poor college student for the last three years has lowered the bar considerably) and I'm not opposed to being around undergrads, either. Thoughts? I would love to be within walking distance but since I'm sure that raises prices, is commuting from somewhere like Allston or Brookline a real pain in the butt?

[lvt]

I'm not sure why you're being voted down.. Craigslist and your department are good options; however, I think it's not advisable to sign a lease without seeing the apartment and meeting the roommates. I'd advise you to change your travel plans so you'll have some time at the end of the summer to come to Boston and search for apartments yourself. If it's really impossible for you to do that, consider taking a dorm. At least that way you'll know you're not being scammed, and you could always move out at the end of the year if you don't like the place.

Oh I kinda voted myself down on accident lol. But thanks for the advice; If I come up to Boston in early August, do you think that's too late? Would all the apartments have already been taken since I'm getting the idea that everyone is looking for apartments for September 1st.

[iwantmympp]

I'll spend next year in Harvard as a post-doc. I'm very much a city person (Berliner) - I don't drive and I love both to drink my after-work beer (preferably in a pub with regulars) and to buy my organic bio-food for cooking at the very same block where I live (or anyway, not too far). Suburbs make me depressed. I'm also vegan. and art-lover (esp.contemporary art). and left-wing. and unfortunately, I don't have too much money. I've been told that two good places would be lower allston and JP. two questions:

1. If I move to Boston at the beginning of the year (9/1 as you write it at the other side of the ocean), when should I start looking for an apartment? I've seen over the internet that there are already apartments for September, which made a bit in panic. when would it be TOO late? or is it already on the verge of too late?!

2. if you were in my place, where would you live? are lower-allston and JP indeed the best options? what are the main differences in atmosphere, demographics etc.?

thanks a lot in advance for any relevant information or insights,

your Gasttheoretiker

First, welcome to Boston!

Sounds like you'd fit in well in JP. I don't know much about lower Allston but I currently live in JP and it seems to fit your criteria well enough. I live in a very large one-bedroom at the top of a quiet hill and I'm within a five minute walk of two pubs and one of the only food co-ops in Boston (the other is in Cambridge). I also only pay $550 a month in rent. I'm very aware though that I am extremely lucky with my living situation because rent around here is usually twice that. However, if you look hard enough you find little gems. The other great thing about living in JP is transportation. The bus runs pretty regularly and brings you through Huntington Ave (Northeastern, MassART, Wentworth, Harvard Public Health, Longwood area hospitals, etc.) and into Copley Square. For a fast trip to downtown Boston you can hop on the Orange line. My favorite, though, is the Southwest Corridor Parkway. It's a flat green space with bike path that stretches from JP to Copley Square, about 5 miles passing through the Huntington Ave destinations I just listed. It's a great option for the warmer months and it gets me to my office near the Garden and Common in about 20 minutes.

The JP crowd is pretty diverse. People characterize it as a lesbian enclave, and it may well be. It's also very family oriented but youthful. There is a fair mix of Haitian, Dominican, African American and Puerto Rican families, mostly from adjacent neighborhoods. It's a pretty solid middle class neighborhood that is well-suited for outdoors types and for people who like to stroll through the neighborhood on good weather days. Restaurants are great, with awesome organic and vegan options. People are very friendly, if not overly politically correct. The neighborhood association is very active and protective - there's currently a campaign to stop a Whole Foods from moving in. There have been some isolated violent crimes recently - but it's hard to escape that in any metro area.

With all that being said, the commute to Harvard's main campus in Cambridge is not ideal. Though, I'm not sure how different it would be from lower Allston. If you'll be based at HSPH in the Longwood area then JP is perfect...

I'm going to miss it (

[elizalou]

The shuttle does a loop around MGH in one direction - heading in from North Station, it stops at the outpatient clinics on Staniford, then turns on Cambridge St, where it stops at Charles/MGH red line, then goes around the hospital on Storrow and Blossom, where it finishes behind the hospital. (One way is a bit over 15 minutes, and shuttles leave every 15 minutes, so the shuttle sits there for 10-12 minutes before it leaves again.) On the way back to CNY, it uses O'Connell to get back to Staniford, and then returns to North Station.

When I ride the T to work, I just go to North Station. It is possible to get off at Charles/MGH and walk through the hospital, but it's not worth it - unless you're very unlucky with the connection, you won't miss a shuttle at North Station that you would have caught at MGH. If I'm coming home at rush hour and the traffic is bad, I also get off at North Station, but usually I'll just get off at Charles/MGH.

Honestly, I'm not the person to ask about driving, but I don't think you'd save very much time. Coming from Davis, it's urban the whole way...traffic, stoplights, etc.Starmaker has some good advice re: what neighborhoods to look at. Davis and Porter are nice too...Davis is a bit younger/more happening (next to Tufts), Porter is a bit cheaper (and it's less of a "square", more a segment of Mass Ave).

Thanks again for all the MGH info... but after having visited both MGH and BU this weekend it turns out that BU is actually the school for me! Haha, a complete change from what I though going into the weekend but I'm so glad I actually visited to be able to see so clearly that MGH is not the right fit and that BU is, phew! So now I guess I am trying to figure out living arrangements in terms of commuting to BU. I have google mapped the commute on the T from Davis Square to BU (I am at the eastern edge of campus and would get off at the BU East stop) and it says it is about 40 minutes, do you think that is accurate? Like I said I concept of how long a commute would be to make it crazy since I have never driven more than 15 minutes to anywhere where I live right now. Do you think it is worth it to have a 40 minute subway commute every day if it means getting to live with great roommates, in a great area, in a great place with rent of only $600 a person? Ah, I don't know.

[michpc]

Thanks again for all the MGH info... but after having visited both MGH and BU this weekend it turns out that BU is actually the school for me! Haha, a complete change from what I though going into the weekend but I'm so glad I actually visited to be able to see so clearly that MGH is not the right fit and that BU is, phew! So now I guess I am trying to figure out living arrangements in terms of commuting to BU. I have google mapped the commute on the T from Davis Square to BU (I am at the eastern edge of campus and would get off at the BU East stop) and it says it is about 40 minutes, do you think that is accurate? Like I said I concept of how long a commute would be to make it crazy since I have never driven more than 15 minutes to anywhere where I live right now. Do you think it is worth it to have a 40 minute subway commute every day if it means getting to live with great roommates, in a great area, in a great place with rent of only $600 a person? Ah, I don't know.

From experience, and including walking, it will probably be closer to an hour from Davis to BU except on days when you have amazing luck at hitting train connections perfectly. That said, I'm biased towards living north of the Charles since I don't really dig the apartment stock or parking situation to be found closer to the Back Bay, and sitting on the subway is a GREAT time to get studying/reading in. One disadvantage is that you'll probably want to spend all day on campus, and won't have a chance to go home because of that commute, and if you want to do something like hit the library on a weekend, you'll have to deal with that 1 1/2-2hr commute as well, so that's just something else to think about.

[FutureSLP]

Thanks again for all the MGH info... but after having visited both MGH and BU this weekend it turns out that BU is actually the school for me! Haha, a complete change from what I though going into the weekend but I'm so glad I actually visited to be able to see so clearly that MGH is not the right fit and that BU is, phew! So now I guess I am trying to figure out living arrangements in terms of commuting to BU. I have google mapped the commute on the T from Davis Square to BU (I am at the eastern edge of campus and would get off at the BU East stop) and it says it is about 40 minutes, do you think that is accurate? Like I said I concept of how long a commute would be to make it crazy since I have never driven more than 15 minutes to anywhere where I live right now. Do you think it is worth it to have a 40 minute subway commute every day if it means getting to live with great roommates, in a great area, in a great place with rent of only $600 a person? Ah, I don't know.

I currently live near Davis Square and took a couple of SLP courses at BU last summer, and my commute took me about an hour on the green and red lines. It may sound like a lot, but that hour gives you some incredible time to study. I got so much reading and homework done on the train that when I got home I could just relax for a while.

So, in my opinion: don't see the commute as a period of wasted time. See it as constructive time. And it goes by so fast when you're studying. I was always surprised when I saw my stop coming up.

For those nights you might be at campus really late: cabs are plentiful in that area, and the cost to get home isn't that bad.

[FutureSLP]

For anyone moving to Boston: I'm headed out to western Mass. for grad school and am leaving behind a perfect job for a student. My boss would love to have another student work for her, so I'm posting on here in hopes that someone may be interested.

The job: plan and do activities with seniors in a nursing home in Chelsea (you would need a car to get to this job, though buses do run from Wellington Station to the nursing home). The job is pretty simple, the pay is good, and it's a feel-good job: your goal is essentially to make people happy. I have really enjoyed working here, and it provided plenty of study time. Activities are done at 10am, 2pm, and 6pm and they last for about 2 hours. So the time between those activities (aka. 12-2, 4-6) is perfect for studying.

The hours: I work 4-8pm Mon-Thurs, and 10-8 on Sundays (this works perfectly with my class schedule: class during the day, followed by work). However, these hours are flexible. My boss is very understanding about working around class schedules, so if you could only work some of these shifts, or are looking for alternate shifts, it would be worth discussing with her (9-4 Tues-Thurs may be opening up soon too).

When: You're looking at a start date of sometime in June/July.

If anyone is interested, please send me an e-mail/personal conversation on here. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

[Lyra Belacqua]

I was wondering what people thought about the MIT on-campus housing, because I've heard some conflicting things (from posts in this thread from previous years, as well as from people I talked to there when I visited). I've never lived in an apartment before – I'm posting this from my current undergrad dorm – so 1) I don't have any of my own furniture yet (my parents are advising me that this particular hassle might be better postponed until sometime after I move to the area for the very first time) and 2) I don't know much about the process (especially since my current location isn't a "real" city, in contrast to Cambridge/Boston).

So, I've heard that it's cheaper to live off campus (especially in the long run), but I'd be interested in hearing what people have to say about whether the dorms are a decent place to live (in terms of the quality of the actual living space, which buildings to avoid, &c.…I've also heard rumours that a lot of "forced fun" goes on, which I had enough of in undergrad – and which MIT's housing website apparently calls "vibrant community"!), especially if it's just for 1 year. Of course, since it's apparently so competitive to get on-campus housing (?!), I might not get into any at all and this whole issue might end up being moot.

In any case, I'm glad I won't have to share a bathroom with 10 other people anymore…

[itaal]

I'm also having the same problem. I don't want to rent a place without visiting it in person but I'll have at most 3 weeks to find a place before Sep. 1st. Living in a dorm seems to be a much easier option except that I don't feel like staying on campus all day . One of the grad students in my department told me that if I want to live off-campus, the easiest way might be to ask if any other students in the department, especially the first-years are also looking for roommates or have a place for rent.

As for how competitive it is to get MIT on-campus housing, the people I asked told me that they didn't know any first-years who applied and didn't get one. And the rent includes all utilities and internet, so although it's not cheaper than off-campus housing, it's not much expensive either. (The studios seem to be cheaper than the off-campus options.)

I was wondering what people thought about the MIT on-campus housing, because I've heard some conflicting things (from posts in this thread from previous years, as well as from people I talked to there when I visited). I've never lived in an apartment before – I'm posting this from my current undergrad dorm – so 1) I don't have any of my own furniture yet (my parents are advising me that this particular hassle might be better postponed until sometime after I move to the area for the very first time) and 2) I don't know much about the process (especially since my current location isn't a "real" city, in contrast to Cambridge/Boston).

So, I've heard that it's cheaper to live off campus (especially in the long run), but I'd be interested in hearing what people have to say about whether the dorms are a decent place to live (in terms of the quality of the actual living space, which buildings to avoid, &c.…I've also heard rumours that a lot of "forced fun" goes on, which I had enough of in undergrad – and which MIT's housing website apparently calls "vibrant community"!), especially if it's just for 1 year. Of course, since it's apparently so competitive to get on-campus housing (?!), I might not get into any at all and this whole issue might end up being moot.

In any case, I'm glad I won't have to share a bathroom with 10 other people anymore…

[starmaker]

I'm also having the same problem. I don't want to rent a place without visiting it in person but I'll have at most 3 weeks to find a place before Sep. 1st. Living in a dorm seems to be a much easier option except that I don't feel like staying on campus all day . One of the grad students in my department told me that if I want to live off-campus, the easiest way might be to ask if any other students in the department, especially the first-years are also looking for roommates or have a place for rent.

For what it's worth, not all of the MIT grad dorms are exactly on campus. They're pretty near it, but they're all either in Cambridgeport or on the edge of campus (or both). There is plenty of land owned by MIT northwest of Albany St, but it is not "campus" in any real sense, it's random property owned by MIT. If you're worried about being unable to escape the academic life, the location of the grad dorms won't be a problem (the fact that all the other people in your building are MIT students or families of MIT students might be, but that will also be true if you get a place with people from your department).

Personally, I don't know that I'd want to live with people from my own program. At least students from different programs would mean that I'd be seeing some new faces.

There's a huge number of young professional MIT alums living in the area, and there's always an apartment shuffle in that community. You might know people who know people, etc. I'd say look beyond just the people in your program.

[Krypton]

For what it's worth, not all of the MIT grad dorms are exactly on campus.

The northwest graduate dorms may not be on "campus proper," but they have no physical separation from the rest of MIT.

[shaina]

I currently live near Davis Square and took a couple of SLP courses at BU last summer, and my commute took me about an hour on the green and red lines. It may sound like a lot, but that hour gives you some incredible time to study. I got so much reading and homework done on the train that when I got home I could just relax for a while.

So, in my opinion: don't see the commute as a period of wasted time. See it as constructive time. And it goes by so fast when you're studying. I was always surprised when I saw my stop coming up.

For those nights you might be at campus really late: cabs are plentiful in that area, and the cost to get home isn't that bad.

I did the same exact thing in the summer & fall and I agree with everything you said, exactly. Elizalou, Davis is an awesome place to live and you may actually enjoy being a bit removed from the college-y vibe in the neighborhoods near BU and the tourist mobs that inundate Fenway in the fall. If you like to bike, you could also shave 20-ish minutes off of your commute. Part of it would probably be quite nice because I believe there are bike paths all along the river.

[amleta]

Hey everyone, I'm going to have a room opening up September 1st. You'd be living in Brookline, about a 10 minute walk from the C and D lines, with three academically-minded housemates, in a historic house with lots of character and not a lot of shiny amenities. Drop me a message if you're interested in more details.

(there's a possibility that it's available starting June 1st; message me ASAP if you're interested)

[Ouroboros313]

What about the Warehouse? No one seems to talk much about it. Jendoly, you live in a studio, right? Is what's left of your stipend enough to live reasonably comfortably or does the extra $200 a month in rent hurt? I know first year housing is guaranteed at MIT, but do you know the odds of getting on campus housing beyond that? Are studios more or less in demand than the other types of housing?

[Artist1]

Looks like I'm going to grad school at SMFA & Tufts. I'll have my art studio at SMFA and will spend most of my time there.....and then attend classes at Tufts. I am moving from out of state and am not familiar with Boston. I have visited once, but didn't see much of the neighborhoods.

So I'm looking for an apartment near SMFA. I absolutely will not live with roommates. So I'm looking for my own apartment (and I have a cat). I don't have a car or bike.

1. must be close to SMFA and/or good transportation

2. clean, no roaches, bed bugs, etc

3. safe

4. no frat houses, undergrads partying all night or loud ghetto buildings

One issue is that I tend to work different hours in my studio...depending on the job I have - I might have to work during the night or come home in the middle of the night, etc. And I've read that the subway and buses don't run late. And some neighborhoods aren't safe to walk at night.

I was thinking something like $800 (maybe a little more $850) with utilities included if possible. On a different thread in the arts section someone said Jamaica Plain would be good? I live in a pretty big city right now but I really hate public transportation. I do it because I have to... so I don't mind the time it takes to commute, I just don't like having to do several connections to go to a place. And I'll easily walk 30 - 40 minutes or more if needed (safe areas). I was very confused when I visited Boston and ended up taking cabs, which I know was super expensive. I just didn't have the time to figure out the public transportation in the little time I was there for the interview. And I just have a bad sense of direction anyway. I'm sure I can find someone once I get there to help me out and show me around so I don't feel so lost and confused.

Can anyone suggest neighborhoods that would fit what I'm looking for nearby? (Oh to be able to do public transportation to Tufts from the apartment as well)

What about bad credit? My credit is bad right now (I'm working on it) and I'm self employed so I usually show my bank statement as proof of deposits, etc. will this be okay, would I need a cosigner? How hard would it be to rent with bad credit and being a self employed artist? I can pay two months in advance plus deposit if necessary.

Also, I'm curious what the talk about BED BUGS is all about? I haven't heard anyone say anything about it before and it terrifies me. I've lived in buildings with roaches and silverfish (EEECK!) but haven't had bed bugs. I don't even know what a bed bug looks like. How would I know if an apartment had bed bugs?

I'm curious if most buildings have a shared laundry room or do most people have to go to a laundry mat?

What are most bathrooms like for the range I'm looking for? Is it common that they only have shower stalls instead of an actual bathtub? are they smaller bathtubs or old style with clawfoot tubs? I'm curious because the city I live in - good or bad buildings tend to have the old style claw foot deep tubs (which are just nice to relax in, even when I lived in a super ghetto building I had one). Maybe a luxury at this point if I can find one in Boston....not the top priority but there's nothing more relaxing than a nice bubble bath after working all day.

I might have to get an apartment before seeing it. I can't afford a hotel or renting a room for weeks while I find an apartment. So I'm a bit scared of getting something I haven't seen.

sooooo...many questions. help?

Edited April 16, 2011 by paint2011

[michpc]

Lots of questions, I'll try to cover what I can!

You mention public transit...if you want to live by the SMFA, you'll have to make a connection to get to Tufts and it'll take probably over an hour. The SMFA is right next to the green line, however Tufts is a solid 20min walk from the red line, so keep that in mind.

Most places near SMFA, Tufts, and in between are quite safe, so I wouldn't worry much about that.

Price: $800 inclusive is low. You may be able to find something for that, but it'll be tougher and probably very small, and generally speaking, only heat is included if you live in a large apartment building, while you have to cover electric.

Credit: do you have good past landlord references? That may be enough to battle poor credit and keep you from needing a co-signer. Landlords will check credit, but I'm inclined to think that if you have references from past landlords saying you do pay on time and don't trash the place and you can afford to pay the deposits, they may be willing to take you anyway.

I haven't had any issues with bedbugs. they are very tiny, and you won't notice them unless you go digging in someone's couch, so it's very hard to tell if a building is infested unless perhaps you do some web searching and find bad info about the building you've been looking at.

Bathrooms: in my experience, most tend to be fairly spacious. Clawfoot tubs tend to appear more often in smaller multi-families, but older apartment buildings often have their original early 20th century tubs, which are also fairly spacious. I have not encountered many shower stalls in my various apartment searches, so I think your chances of finding a tub are quite high.

If you can't get to Boston, it may be a good idea to hire an independent agent. It won't be cheap, but it could help very much with peace of mind. Either way, good luck with your search!

Looks like I'm going to grad school at SMFA & Tufts. I'll have my art studio at SMFA and will spend most of my time there.....and then attend classes at Tufts. I am moving from out of state and am not familiar with Boston. I have visited once, but didn't see much of the neighborhoods.

So I'm looking for an apartment near SMFA. I absolutely will not live with roommates. So I'm looking for my own apartment (and I have a cat). I don't have a car or bike.

1. must be close to SMFA and/or good transportation

2. clean, no roaches, bed bugs, etc

3. safe

4. no frat houses, undergrads partying all night or loud ghetto buildings

One issue is that I tend to work different hours in my studio...depending on the job I have - I might have to work during the night or come home in the middle of the night, etc. And I've read that the subway and buses don't run late. And some neighborhoods aren't safe to walk at night.

I was thinking something like $800 (maybe a little more $850) with utilities included if possible. On a different thread in the arts section someone said Jamaica Plain would be good? I live in a pretty big city right now but I really hate public transportation. I do it because I have to... so I don't mind the time it takes to commute, I just don't like having to do several connections to go to a place. And I'll easily walk 30 - 40 minutes or more if needed (safe areas). I was very confused when I visited Boston and ended up taking cabs, which I know was super expensive. I just didn't have the time to figure out the public transportation in the little time I was there for the interview. And I just have a bad sense of direction anyway. I'm sure I can find someone once I get there to help me out and show me around so I don't feel so lost and confused.

Can anyone suggest neighborhoods that would fit what I'm looking for nearby? (Oh to be able to do public transportation to Tufts from the apartment as well)

What about bad credit? My credit is bad right now (I'm working on it) and I'm self employed so I usually show my bank statement as proof of deposits, etc. will this be okay, would I need a cosigner? How hard would it be to rent with bad credit and being a self employed artist? I can pay two months in advance plus deposit if necessary.

Also, I'm curious what the talk about BED BUGS is all about? I haven't heard anyone say anything about it before and it terrifies me. I've lived in buildings with roaches and silverfish (EEECK!) but haven't had bed bugs. I don't even know what a bed bug looks like. How would I know if an apartment had bed bugs?

I'm curious if most buildings have a shared laundry room or do most people have to go to a laundry mat?

What are most bathrooms like for the range I'm looking for? Is it common that they only have shower stalls instead of an actual bathtub? are they smaller bathtubs or old style with clawfoot tubs? I'm curious because the city I live in - good or bad buildings tend to have the old style claw foot deep tubs (which are just nice to relax in, even when I lived in a super ghetto building I had one). Maybe a luxury at this point if I can find one in Boston....not the top priority but there's nothing more relaxing than a nice bubble bath after working all day.

I might have to get an apartment before seeing it. I can't afford a hotel or renting a room for weeks while I find an apartment. So I'm a bit scared of getting something I haven't seen.

sooooo...many questions. help?

[starmaker]

So I'm looking for an apartment near SMFA. I absolutely will not live with roommates. So I'm looking for my own apartment (and I have a cat). I don't have a car or bike.

1. must be close to SMFA and/or good transportation

2. clean, no roaches, bed bugs, etc

3. safe

4. no frat houses, undergrads partying all night or loud ghetto buildings

One issue is that I tend to work different hours in my studio...depending on the job I have - I might have to work during the night or come home in the middle of the night, etc. And I've read that the subway and buses don't run late. And some neighborhoods aren't safe to walk at night.

I was thinking something like $800 (maybe a little more $850) with utilities included if possible

You are going to have trouble finding a non-shared apartment with reasonable public transit access for $850 in the Boston area. Period. And I'm not factoring in utilities there. Big shared apartments in JP can often be found quite cheaply by Boston-area standards. But that is not the same situation as non-shared apartments.

I had a friend who wanted a non-shared apartment in a safe neighborhood for a max of $1200 (she didn't care about public transit). She ended up in Billerica, which is more than 20 miles from Boston and has no Boston public transit except for a stop on a commuter rail line into North Station.

I just gave a quick look to a few rental sites, and I found a 1-bed in JP, with heat included, for $1300. I found a 1-bed with heat and hot water included for $1500 and a 1-bed for $1200 without heat or utilities included. I didn't find any studios at all. I found a 1-bed in Mission Hill (near SMFA) with heat and hot water included for $1425 and another with the same included for $1400. And one for $1285 without heat or utilities included.

There are a number of 1-beds in Allston (the "student slum," which probably violates your criteria) for under $1500, some of which even have heat and hot water included.

I did find a 1-bed in Roxbury, with heat and hot water, for $950. I found 1-beds in Dorchester for $1100, $1025, $850, and $1100 (no heat or utilities) and one for $1400 (heat and hot water included. Roxbury and Dorchester are the worst (and generally the cheapest) areas of Boston (well, parts of Dorchester are not so bad, but those are not the parts these apartments are in). They violate your criteria, because you want somewhere low-crime, somewhere where you could walk safely at night. The reason why I bring them up is to illustrate my bottom line:

You can 1) revise your expectations of what you are going to pay significantly upward, 2) decide that sharing an apartment isn't so terrible after all, 3) get a car and start looking at places at least 10 miles out of Boston (beyond the reach of the subway), or 4) keep all of your expectations the same and hope that you get lucky and manage to get the one place in all of metro Boston that satisfies all of them. I'm sorry to sound so harsh here, but I think you deserve fair warning before you end up in a panic because you can't find a place that you like.

[fall-11]

Okay, so based on posts like the one above, I'm a bit intimidated and confused about finding an affordable studio apartment. I'll be attending BU in the fall, so I'm looking for a studio in one of the areas surrounding BU. I've been looking on Craigslist and bostonapartments.com, and there do seem to be studios in the 950-1050 range (that's my budget) around BU, particularly in Allston/Brighton as well as some in Kenmore/Brookline. Am I missing something? Do those places have some hidden defect that's not obvious to a novice?

A related question -- I've narrowed down my search to the following realtors who seem to have studios that are in my price range (950-1050) and not too far from BU:

Coppola Realty Management

Preview Properties

Comm Ave Associates

Beacon Realty Trust

Exit Boston Realty

SCS Realty

Boston's Best Realty

Anyone have any positive or negative experiences with these folks? Or suggestions of other realtors that people have had good experiences with? I'd really appreciate any input. Thanks

[starmaker]

Okay, so based on posts like the one above, I'm a bit intimidated and confused about finding an affordable studio apartment. I'll be attending BU in the fall, so I'm looking for a studio in one of the areas surrounding BU. I've been looking on Craigslist and bostonapartments.com, and there do seem to be studios in the 950-1050 range (that's my budget) around BU, particularly in Allston/Brighton as well as some in Kenmore/Brookline. Am I missing something? Do those places have some hidden defect that's not obvious to a novice?

More likely, Craigslist and BostonApartments were just more comprehensive than the sites that I was looking at. I was at work when I made my last post, and didn't want to get sucked into the big sites (and felt that I didn't need to because everyone I talked to around here who has ever apartment-hunted has agreed that a clean non-shared apartment in a safe neighborhood with convenient public transit that is not filled with undergrads, for $850, is about as likely as winning the lottery jackpot). The sites that I was looking at seemed to have few studios.

Allston/Brighton, being known as the student slum, is a good place to find relatively cheap apartments. It would not meet the constraints of the earlier poster because it is full of undergrads and often noisy (and, while not a high-crime area, not really low-crime either), but you might not be bothered by that. I am actually kind of surprised that you found studios for under $1000 in Brookline. Most of Brookline is fairly upscale - it's comparatively quiet and known for Jewish culture and cuisine. Kenmore is full of BU undergrads (plus a few MIT fraternity and sorority houses), as well as not being the most convenient for the earlier poster since it's on the wrong branches of the Green Line and just far enough from SMFA to make walking a pain, but it's a nice vibrant area.

If you have a car that you need to stash (this and length of commute were problems that my friend from my previous post ran into), parking in some of these areas can be a pain. A lot of them don't have off-street parking, or they have that hideous thing known as tandem parking, and so you end up having to compete with other neighborhood residents for on-street spaces near your home. If you don't have a car, this is obviously not a problem.

That said, you should check out these places before diving in, and try to get a feel for the landlord. Brookline is probably okay, as the properties there tend to be well-maintained, but any area with lots of students will also have lots of slumlords trying to take advantage of the students and recently-graduated folks (I say this as someone who had to call the Somerville Health Department on the landlord of my previous apartment).

You should also note that apartments that want people for student-move-in dates go really quickly, and relatively cheap desirable ones go even more quickly.

[PsychGirl1]

I'll spend next year in Harvard as a post-doc. I'm very much a city person (Berliner) - I don't drive and I love both to drink my after-work beer (preferably in a pub with regulars) and to buy my organic bio-food for cooking at the very same block where I live (or anyway, not too far). Suburbs make me depressed. I'm also vegan. and art-lover (esp.contemporary art). and left-wing. and unfortunately, I don't have too much money. I've been told that two good places would be lower allston and JP. two questions:

1. If I move to Boston at the beginning of the year (9/1 as you write it at the other side of the ocean), when should I start looking for an apartment? I've seen over the internet that there are already apartments for September, which made a bit in panic. when would it be TOO late? or is it already on the verge of too late?!

2. if you were in my place, where would you live? are lower-allston and JP indeed the best options? what are the main differences in atmosphere, demographics etc.?

thanks a lot in advance for any relevant information or insights,

your Gasttheoretiker

Cambridge! But I'm biased (I live in Central and I've always lived in Cambridge). You will find great beer places/pubs in Central. There's also a whole foods and a harvest co-op in central, and a bus ride away there is trader joe's. (Towards MIT, there is a shaw's, but it's rally expensive). There's also some vegan-oriented restaurants (Life Alive, Clear Conscience Cafe) and vegan pizza Peace o Pie delivers to Central as well. It is a bit pricier, but if you're willing to live off of Mass Ave and with a roomie, it's definitely doable. I'm not a huge fan of Allston or JP, but that's just my opinion.

I'd start looking for apartments at least 2-3 months ahead of time. (I think you're required to give landlord at least 2-3 months notice, I'm not sure about that, but basically, it doesn't hurt to start earlier).

[PsychGirl1]

I was wondering what people thought about the MIT on-campus housing, because I've heard some conflicting things (from posts in this thread from previous years, as well as from people I talked to there when I visited). I've never lived in an apartment before – I'm posting this from my current undergrad dorm – so 1) I don't have any of my own furniture yet (my parents are advising me that this particular hassle might be better postponed until sometime after I move to the area for the very first time) and 2) I don't know much about the process (especially since my current location isn't a "real" city, in contrast to Cambridge/Boston).

So, I've heard that it's cheaper to live off campus (especially in the long run), but I'd be interested in hearing what people have to say about whether the dorms are a decent place to live (in terms of the quality of the actual living space, which buildings to avoid, &c.…I've also heard rumours that a lot of "forced fun" goes on, which I had enough of in undergrad – and which MIT's housing website apparently calls "vibrant community"!), especially if it's just for 1 year. Of course, since it's apparently so competitive to get on-campus housing (?!), I might not get into any at all and this whole issue might end up being moot.

In any case, I'm glad I won't have to share a bathroom with 10 other people anymore…

I was wondering what people thought about the MIT on-campus housing, because I've heard some conflicting things (from posts in this thread from previous years, as well as from people I talked to there when I visited). I've never lived in an apartment before – I'm posting this from my current undergrad dorm – so 1) I don't have any of my own furniture yet (my parents are advising me that this particular hassle might be better postponed until sometime after I move to the area for the very first time) and 2) I don't know much about the process (especially since my current location isn't a "real" city, in contrast to Cambridge/Boston).

So, I've heard that it's cheaper to live off campus (especially in the long run), but I'd be interested in hearing what people have to say about whether the dorms are a decent place to live (in terms of the quality of the actual living space, which buildings to avoid, &c.…I've also heard rumours that a lot of "forced fun" goes on, which I had enough of in undergrad – and which MIT's housing website apparently calls "vibrant community"!), especially if it's just for 1 year. Of course, since it's apparently so competitive to get on-campus housing (?!), I might not get into any at all and this whole issue might end up being moot.

In any case, I'm glad I won't have to share a bathroom with 10 other people anymore…

I did my undergrad at MIT, not my grad. However, a lot of grad students live in off-campus housing and it can be cheaper, depending where you live (that being said, I live in a 600 sq ft apartment in Central Square on Mass Ave and pay $1575... some of my friends have 4-5 roommates and pay $600-700- no apartments here are cheap).

I can say that MIT maintains their buildings really well and is always responsive to issues. You won't have to pay utilities, your commute will be easier, and you'll have a lot less to worry about and maintain (which will be good since you'll prob be studying the whole time). Also, a lot of the grad dorms are near Shaw's, the only large grocery store in the area. I remember Ashdown being pretty nice (it's more on campus than the others), but I think it might still be under construction. I would definitely consider it, especially since you don't know the area and won't know the best places to look in Boston.