Where to Live

OSUPhantom

OSUPhantom

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Not sure where this topic would go so this seemed like a safe place. If it would be better off in another section then let me know.

Recently I just started a job with a college in Boston and while I, like many recent college graduates, live with my parents to save up some money my goal is to find my own place by the end of 2014. Now I am a native of Massachusetts but not the Boston metro so my knowledge of the area outside of Bristol county is limited so I figured I'd ask for help.

My goal to find an affordable place in a city that has access to the commuter rail and things to do for a young professional (bars, little shops, etc). While Boston itself would be awesome I'm realizing my income cannot get me a place in Boston so I'm looking outside of the city.

I'm looking at Salem because it seems to check all the boxes but I'd figured I'd get some more opinions and if there is a group of people to do it it'd be the members here.

So to reiterate:

-Affordable
-T/Commuter Rail access
-Good for young professionals (bars, shops, etc)
-Bonus if gay friendly.

Opinions?
 
Which college? Whether you want to commute thru North Station or South Station could make a big difference, or which transit line if you can get that close.
 
More details could help like:

What is your budget for rent?

Do you own a car? Do you really need it or would you be willing to give up the car and all its expenses and put that money toward rent instead?

Are you willing to live with roommates? I am 31 years old, make a good salary, and have never lived alone in Boston. Granted that includes living with girlfriends, but even if I got booted out on my ass tomorrow I would go find a roommate.
 
Matthew said:
Which college? Whether you want to commute thru North Station or South Station could make a big difference, or which transit line if you can get that close.
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Wentworth Institute of Technology so North Station would probably be more convenient since it has direct access to the Orange/Green Line.

fattony said:
More details could help like:

What is your budget for rent?

Do you own a car? Do you really need it or would you be willing to give up the car and all its expenses and put that money toward rent instead?

Are you willing to live with roommates? I am 31 years old, make a good salary, and have never lived alone in Boston. Granted that includes living with girlfriends, but even if I got booted out on my ass tomorrow I would go find a roommate.
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I would probably say my budget is at most $900 a month, beyond that I don't think I could afford that AND my student loans. I do own a car however if there was somewhere I could live where I didn't have to have it/pay for it I'd be totally ok with that. I'm fine with living with roommates, I did it all through college so I'm use to it.
 
OSUPhantom said:
Wentworth Institute of Technology so North Station would probably be more convenient since it has direct access to the Orange/Green Line.



I would probably say my budget is at most $900 a month, beyond that I don't think I could afford that AND my student loans. I do own a car however if there was somewhere I could live where I didn't have to have it/pay for it I'd be totally ok with that. I'm fine with living with roommates, I did it all through college so I'm use to it.
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I'm a WIT grad (BSA '12) and would definitely recommend living somewhere southwest because you can take the commuter rail directly to Ruggles. You wouldn't have to deal with the subway at all.
 
datadyne007 said:
I'm a WIT grad (BSA '12) and would definitely recommend living somewhere southwest because you can take the commuter rail directly to Ruggles. You wouldn't have to deal with the subway at all.
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That's the train I currently take and it's very convenient however the options are limited. I'm concerned Norwood but I'm not sure if it's a really a young professional kind of area.
 
You can definitely live with roommates for $900 or less right by WIT or along the orange line. I would target JP. Find a nice three decker to share with a couple other recent graduates.
 
My gf commutes to the same spot as you and she has lived in JP/Mission Hill and Allston. Lots of her friends live in JP, probably under similar conditions to what you are looking for. Roslindale is also another good option for a more suburban feel. You can probably find some cheaper rents in Roxbury out along the key bus routes that fan out from Ruggles, such as the 15, 22, 23 and 28.
 
It's sometimes still possible to find cheap (albeit rundown) places in Chinatown. Also, Malden isn't too expensive (but farther away on the Orange Line).

Also you could live with roommates in East Cambridge for <$1000 (and the E line goes directly to the MFA stop from Lechmere). I lived there for two years and it's a great neighborhood.
 
Thanks for the recommendations everyone! I'm keeping my eyes on craiglist listings to get an idea of rents for certain areas so hopefully in a couple of months I'll feel financially comfortable enough to find my own place.
 
I think I've put together a list of towns outside of Boston I'm interested in:

Salem
Quincy
Waltham
Norwood

Opinions on these?
 
In terms of your commute, I'd say Quincy and Waltham are the best choices due to not being so reliant on the commuter rail (from Waltham, the 70/70A run frequently), although Norwood is the fastest commute (if you don't mind living by the train timetable).
 
Downtown Waltham has a lot of nice restaurants and bars. It's a good spread too with the mix of college kids, families, and recent immigrants who live around there. Salem is fun, but you'll feel pretty far removed from Boston. I'd put Quincy a little bit below Waltham in terms of amenities, but there's going to be a ton of development down there in the next few years, so it could change a lot. Norwood is a pretty quiet suburb, so you're probably going to be a little board if you're looking for young person type activities.
 
You have nothing but terrible choices. I don't want to live in any of those areas.
 
FWIW...I live in Winthrop and it's pretty cheap and accessible to the city. The 712/713 bus will get you to Orient Heights on the Blue Line fairly quickly and then its about a 10 minute ride into downtown. (The Blue Line has become probably the most reliable RT line in the past couple of years) My husband and I bought a house there two years ago and everyone has been welcoming thus far. It's not big on nightlife per se, but we have some nice restaurants/bars scattered around town, plus you're close to the city and not reliant on commuter rail, which I think would give it an edge on Salem.
 
underground said:
Downtown Waltham has a lot of nice restaurants and bars. It's a good spread too with the mix of college kids, families, and recent immigrants who live around there. Salem is fun, but you'll feel pretty far removed from Boston. I'd put Quincy a little bit below Waltham in terms of amenities, but there's going to be a ton of development down there in the next few years, so it could change a lot. Norwood is a pretty quiet suburb, so you're probably going to be a little board if you're looking for young person type activities.
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I wasn't considering Waltham too seriously at first but after hearing that I may look into it more.

Quincy has some awesome development plans but they appear to be stalled at least for the short term anyway, hopefully they get that back on track.

jdrinboston said:
FWIW...I live in Winthrop and it's pretty cheap and accessible to the city. The 712/713 bus will get you to Orient Heights on the Blue Line fairly quickly and then its about a 10 minute ride into downtown. (The Blue Line has become probably the most reliable RT line in the past couple of years) My husband and I bought a house there two years ago and everyone has been welcoming thus far. It's not big on nightlife per se, but we have some nice restaurants/bars scattered around town, plus you're close to the city and not reliant on commuter rail, which I think would give it an edge on Salem.
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I hadn't considered Winthrop but I may look into it.

Thanks everyone, this is really helpful information!
 
East Somerville near the Sullivan T stop meets your criteria and you could easily afford a two-bedroom with a roommate.
 
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