Would Like Some Advice (Boston, Quincy: apartment complexes, rentals, lofts)

[ABCROCK]

Hello guys,
I have been searching for an apartment in Boston area on the Internet and got different opinions on some apartments. Currently, I am looking at:

Avalon At Chestnut Hill (Newton)
Hancock Village (Brookline)
Maverick Landing (?)
Gardencrest Apartments (Waltham)
Watch Factory Lofts (Waltham)
Brighton Apartments (Brookline)
Quincy Commons (?)
The Ledges (Weymouth)

Just wondering if anyone would recommend/discourage renting any of these.

A quick background. I will be working in Boston and plan to take public transportation to work, although I do have a car. So I would like to have a place with parking space (not off-street though) and not too far from public transportation. I would like the commute time to be within 1 hour to South Station. Of course, the place must be safe, quiet and clean (no pests/mice).

I have a budget up to $1500 (including rent and any parking fees). A studio is totally fine.

If anyone can shed some light, that will be great. Much appreciated!

[snatale1]

Originally Posted by ABCROCK

Hello guys,
I have been searching for an apartment in Boston area on the Internet and got different opinions on some apartments. Currently, I am looking at:

Avalon At Chestnut Hill (Newton)
Hancock Village (Brookline)
Maverick Landing (?)
Gardencrest Apartments (Waltham)
Watch Factory Lofts (Waltham)
Brighton Apartments (Brookline)
Quincy Commons (?)
The Ledges (Weymouth)

Just wondering if anyone would recommend/discourage renting any of these.

A quick background. I will be working in Boston and plan to take public transportation to work, although I do have a car. So I would like to have a place with parking space (not off-street though) and not too far from public transportation. I would like the commute time to be within 1 hour to South Station. Of course, the place must be safe, quiet and clean (no pests/mice).

I have a budget up to $1500 (including rent and any parking fees). A studio is totally fine.

If anyone can shed some light, that will be great. Much appreciated!

Throw out Maverick Landing, unless you like looking at projects. Plus if you only speak English it probably won't work out that well. Aside from that the first thing that grabs me is your list is all over the place. Since it seems you aren't fixed on one area, you could live for a lot less. Avalon's are always very pricey, you MAY get a 1br for $1500 but then utilities and most newer apts are sub-metered so you'd have water on top of the typical stuff. Hancock Village is nice, I lived down the street from it in West Roxbury. You should look at a map and figure out a radius. When searching on the net everywhere calls themselves Boston so they'll show in the search. You should looking into South Boston up to Braintree since you'll have Red Line access back in to South Station. If your going to pay high rent, live in the burbs, get raped on a Commuter Rail pass between the extra time and money, it would be better to just live in the city and save time and aggravation.

[Cantabridgienne]

Is there a reason you are only focusing on apartment complexes?

[ABCROCK]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

Is there a reason you are only focusing on apartment complexes?

Not specific other than when I searched online (like apartments.com or apartmentguide.com), those places showed up. I also presume that it will be easier to have anything fixed if needed since those places are professionally managed.

I am certainly open to private renters. However, I am not sure from where to start if I am not phyiscally in Boston right now. I may spend a few days in Boston sometime later. Right now, I would like to narrow down a few places so that when I get there, I can just visit them and probably make a decision.

Is this doable?

[ABCROCK]

Originally Posted by snatale1

Throw out Maverick Landing, unless you like looking at projects. Plus if you only speak English it probably won't work out that well. Aside from that the first thing that grabs me is your list is all over the place. Since it seems you aren't fixed on one area, you could live for a lot less. Avalon's are always very pricey, you MAY get a 1br for $1500 but then utilities and most newer apts are sub-metered so you'd have water on top of the typical stuff. Hancock Village is nice, I lived down the street from it in West Roxbury. You should look at a map and figure out a radius. When searching on the net everywhere calls themselves Boston so they'll show in the search. You should looking into South Boston up to Braintree since you'll have Red Line access back in to South Station. If your going to pay high rent, live in the burbs, get raped on a Commuter Rail pass between the extra time and money, it would be better to just live in the city and save time and aggravation.

Thanks for the advice. So I won't consider Maverick Landing. How do you feel about Weymouth and Quincy? I heard that the north and west of Boston are nice (e.g., Arlington, Waltham, Newton, Brookline). Have not heard too much about the south.

You are correct. I don't have a specific location in mind. Again, I only require the place to be safe, quiet, clean, with parking space and the shorter the commute, the better.

Thanks again!

[Cantabridgienne]

It's just that the majority of rentals are in smaller buildings; suburban-style complexes are much less common. I'd check CraigsList. If you have a short windo to find a place you probably want to use a broker.

[ABCROCK]

Originally Posted by Cantabridgienne

It's just that the majority of rentals are in smaller buildings; suburban-style complexes are much less common. I'd check CraigsList. If you have a short windo to find a place you probably want to use a broker.

Thanks! I will check Craigslist too. Just curious... do you guys think it's safe to use Craigslist? I was under the impression that one can use it as a reference for price. Not sure if anyone actually used it for renting... esp. from private owners. I might be wrong though.

Thanks again!

[Pear Martini]

I lived in Hancock Village 5 years ago. It fits your description of what you want, except I think the walk to public transit may be far. Driving to South Station should be fine tho.

[beth98]

Originally Posted by ABCROCK

Thanks! I will check Craigslist too. Just curious... do you guys think it's safe to use Craigslist? I was under the impression that one can use it as a reference for price. Not sure if anyone actually used it for renting... esp. from private owners. I might be wrong though.

Thanks again!

I've found my last three apartments through craigslist. You need to use common sense but otherwise it should be fine. Private landlords that own one or two multi-family houses are common in Boston.

[ABCROCK]

Thank you Pear and Beth for your reply. If you don't mind, how do you feel about Quincy (North Quincy?) and Weymouth?