New college grad - working in Waltham, wants to live somewhere urban (Boston: apartment complexes, rentals)

[MassNewGrad]

Hey Everyone,
I'm starting work in waltham this summer, in the tech field there. I really want to find a place that is pretty urban/walkable, with a decent commute - not more than 20ish minutes -, and under $1500/month. I really want somewhere with a good concentration of people in the same phase of life that I'm in. I also need some sort of parking. I've been looking at a lot of places on craigslist (especially davis/porter), and most of the places I'm finding are pretty old and dingy looking, and close to my budget limit. Should I be considering other places to live? Or am i just looking in the wrong places on line? How come even fairly expensive places for one person to live (IMO) are so unappealing! I love the davis/somerville area in general, but I feel like I won't be able to find a decent place for a decent price. Do many people have this issue?

[xS☺B☺s]

Originally Posted by MassNewGrad

Hey Everyone,
I'm starting work in waltham this summer, in the tech field there. I really want to find a place that is pretty urban/walkable, with a decent commute - not more than 20ish minutes -, and under $1500/month. I really want somewhere with a good concentration of people in the same phase of life that I'm in. I also need some sort of parking. I've been looking at a lot of places on craigslist (especially davis/porter), and most of the places I'm finding are pretty old and dingy looking, and close to my budget limit. Should I be considering other places to live? Or am i just looking in the wrong places on line? How come even fairly expensive places for one person to live (IMO) are so unappealing! I love the davis/somerville area in general, but I feel like I won't be able to find a decent place for a decent price. Do many people have this issue?

Boston is expensive, but you should be able to find a studio for that. Look in Fenway. Allston is an easy on the pike or Storrow to Waltham. Davis Sq is kinda far from Waltham - not in distance but there are so many traffic lights, congestion, and no easy on/off highway. South Boston would be easier via the pike.

[Cato the Elder]

Originally Posted by MassNewGrad

Hey Everyone,
I'm starting work in waltham this summer, in the tech field there. I really want to find a place that is pretty urban/walkable, with a decent commute - not more than 20ish minutes -, and under $1500/month. I really want somewhere with a good concentration of people in the same phase of life that I'm in. I also need some sort of parking. I've been looking at a lot of places on craigslist (especially Or am i just looking in the wrong places on line? How come even fairly expensive places for one person to live (IMO) are so unappealing! I love the davis/somerville area in general, but I feel like I won't be able to find a decent place for a decent price. Do many people have this issue?

Your budget is on the borderline for a place next to Davis/Porter with off-street parking. If you abandoned the parking or looked a square or two off the Red Line, you could certainly find something. That said, what was previously posted about the commute is correct. It will probably take twenty minutes in little to no traffic to make it to Waltham. Getting to Route 2 during rush hour will be a problem and 128 can be hit or miss. I think you're realistically looking at a 30-40 minute commute at best.

How about Waltham itself? It's not as sexy as Davis or Porter, but it still has students from several colleges and a walkable downtown. The competition isn't nearly as stiff since there's no subway stop. You'll be able to take surface roads and I'm guessing that your commute will be under 20 minutes.

[Urban Peasant]

Waltham itself around Central Square is all you need.

[vfrex]

Another vote for Waltham in the Main/Moody street area.

[charolastra00]

I lived in Somerville (across the street from Tufts - 10 minute walk from Davis) and now live in Medford (other side of Tufts) and work in Waltham close to the Newton border. It takes between 40 minutes to an hour to get to work - most of that is getting to Route 2 (and I get traffic alerts for 128 and generally take that).

You would need to be right in Teele Square to make it doable and then learn the shortcuts to avoid 16. I'd also suggest Arlington - only a bus ride away from Davis, very safe, a bit more affordable, and a pretty happening main street (though it doesn't skew as young).

I also LOVED living in Waltham itself.

[MA2NC2012]

If you work in Waltham, living in Waltham itself isnt a bad idea.
Waltham has lot of young students and professionals. Waltham has good access to public transit in terms of buses and commuter. I have lived in and around Waltham from last 10 years and it has been great. I have enjoyed being single as well as married with a kid thing in Waltham too.

One thing i would like to mention is at least in my case is.. it all depends on your friends or the company you hang out with. I have seen guys struggling in Waltham due to the lack of friends.. I am sure it is the case everywhere.... But once they opened up and started to reach out with others around, they had a blast. One of them is me...

Originally Posted by MassNewGrad

Hey Everyone,
I'm starting work in waltham this summer, in the tech field there....

[MassNewGrad]

So living in Davis/Porter means a bad commute to Waltham? I had assumed those are the closest places that are urban, since they are close to Rt. 2. The reverse commute is really that bad? That's really sad, I figured that because it's only ~10 miles, and most if it is going reverse commute on Rt 2 (although I will have to get on 95 for a mile or 2), the commute wouldn't actually be that bad.

Would commuting from Allston/Brookline or JP be any better?

I've heard people who are both pro and con with regards to Waltham for young professionals, I will give it a look. Does anyone know of any good complexes in the Waltham area?

How much is a reasonable percentage of income to spend on an apartment in the boston area? I've heard on some websites that you really shouldn't spend more than 25-30%, but since apartments seem to be so expensive, do people here spend a lot more percentage wise of their incomes, or are incomes a lot higher than I'm assuming? I would assume that making around 80k a year would allow for at least decent lodging in the city, but it seems like it really doesn't if you're planning on spending the recommended 25-30% max post-tax salary.

Sorry for all the questions, but thanks for all of the great responses!

[vfrex]

The problem with Davis/Porter is you hit a real nasty bottleneck on 2 as you get to the Alewife area. Then Mass Ave can be dicey, and the north/south routes to get to 2 can get congested. You didn't mention where in Waltham the job is which would help to know. Waltham itself can take 15 minutes to traverse depending on where you are starting from.

Allston/Brookline isn't really better than Davis/Porter. I did the Allston reverse commute to NE Waltham and it could be 45 minutes to 1 hour during rush hour.

Waltham's downtown area doesn't really have a lot of apartment complexes. Its mostly duplexes and divided up homes, although there are a couple of upscale complexes that are definitely out of your listed price range. You've gotta take these rentals on a case by case basis, as some are really nicely done and others are trashy. I paid around $1400 for a 2BR and $2000 for a 4BR in that area.

Any way you slice it, living alone is going to be a lot more expensive than having a roommate. You could try finding a month to month lease to start with, and see if you could find a roommate at the job or whatever social outlets you end up working through.

[MassNewGrad]

Hmm, I'm working straight off the 27A exit on 128, which means I won't need to take any local roads after getting onto Rt. 2. I will look into duplexes/multiple family places. I sort of wanted to see if there are apartment complexes because I really like to cook and I've found that a lot of the old housing stock in MA that is made into apartments tends to have less than optimal appliances/kitchen areas. But I guess that may be asking too much on my budget.