Mid 20s couple moving to Boston April 1st from Orlando (Cambridge: extended stay, apartments)

[mgott1]

Hi everyone.
After receiving a great job offer, my wife and I are looking into moving to the Boston area from Orlando April 1st. We have never been to Boston before, but have heard that it is a great place and very expensive.We are very excited about moving there!!! If I accept this position, I will be working downtown and my wife's job location is yet to be determined. We will only have one car, so accessible transportation to downtown is a must. We are looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom apt. in the $1200-$1800 a month range. Only problem is, we don't have the slightest clue about the neighborhoods. We are in our mid 20s, but by no means are into a heavy party atmosphere. We desire a safe and quiet neighborhood with easy transportation.Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Also, I know the use of a broker is pretty much exclusive in New York City...is this the same in Boston? And last but not least... can anyone provide an estimated/average electricity, car insurance,gas bill etc... for the Boston area? Thanks a lot everyone!

[eslteacher]

Safe and quiet. I would say for that price you could look in parts of Cambridge (Davis Square is nice), parts of Brighton (the schools are there, but there are some very nice apt. buildings), or maybe Brookline (technically a suburb, actually closer to the city than the other places I mentioned, feels like an urban town). The places I suggested are in the mid to upper part of your price range. It is difficult to find an apartment in Boston without a broker. You can look on craigslist and in the paper, and you may find something. Honestly I think you are better off using a broker, but telling them you want to see low or no fee apartments. In these cases the management company or owner pays the fee. You could also call management companies directly.
Electricity for a one bedroom can range b/t $45 (winter) to $125 (summer). Most apartments will not ask you to pay heat and hot water, only cooking gas (around $15/month). Car insurance will depend on your car and the specific neighborhood you choose.

[redpanda]

Agree, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline are all good choices. Stay away from Allston/Brighton.
You'd probably love Brookline, but you can't park on the street overnight there and most apt's don't come with parking, so that could be tricky. Brookline also tends to be an area where most places include heat and hot water (a boon during those cold Boston winters!).
I have found apartments both on craigslist and through using a broker. Neither way is better, but a broker might be easier if you're just coming for the weekend to see apartments or something.
Utilities really vary according to the place...

Car insurance is MUCH more expensive than elsewhere. They really have a racket going here. I think when I first moved here, I was paying less than $50/month elsewhere...it more than doubled here.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by redpanda

Stay away from Allston/Brighton.

You'd probably love Brookline, but you can't park on the street overnight there and most apt's don't come with parking, so that could be tricky.

Brookline also tends to be an area where most places include heat and hot water (a boon during those cold Boston winters!).

Brighton is often lumped in with Allston, which is not really accurate. Allston is for the most part a very young area. This carries over to Brighton along Comm. Av. and around Cleveland Circle, but Brighton Center is not dominated by 20 year old students in the same way. There are a lot of lifelong locals of all ages and plenty of people 24-35. There are some bars and restaurants along Washington St. and Market St. but it's not a 24-hour party so you can't sleep and it's much prettier and cleaner than Allston. Much, if not most, of Brighton is both nice and affordable and has easy parking either in driveways or on the street without a permit, etc.

To get downtown a lot of people take the bus to either Kenmore for the green line or Harvard for the Red Line. Those options can be slow, but there is also an express bus going downtown (501) and to Copley (503). The express buses, while slightly more expensive ($89 for a monthly pass including inner express buses, T, and regular buses), get you there in about 20 minutes. The only issue that that the express buses stop running back to Brighton at about 7:30 or 8 PM.

I came in from Brookline on the C (from Washington Square) for a time and, while I liked Brookline, the commute was better on the express bus from Brighton. The Green Line is just slow. And the Brookline parking issues are awful. I didn't have a car but my friend did and paid $200 for a tiny spot about 15 minutes walk from the apt. Not exactly convenient.

Getting heat included is a big help. My girlfriend rents in a 2-family house in Belmont with her sister and a couple of other people, and the gas bill (mostly heating) is $400 a month in the winter. This is of course for a 2,500 square foot 5-bedroom apartment in a detached house, so it would be quite a bit lower for a smaller place, but it gives a sense of how expensive the heating bill can get.

[mgott1]

Thanks for all the information guys! One last thing...Do you think if i was to stay in an extended stay hotel for a month, theres a significantly better chance of finding an apartment without a broker? If not, can anyone recommend a trustworthy broker? Thanks again everyone!

[Bluefly]

I just want to reiterate the previous poster's point - Brighton is very different from Allston. You would not like Allston. You might like Brighton. They're both within the city of Boston, though most don't realize that. I live in Brighton Center and you'd probably find a nice mix of basic urban amenities, comfortable housing, and pleasant atmosphere with some open space to boot. It's very bland but functional. Davis Square in Cambridge might be more to your liking if you want more action.

Being next to Boston College and not far from Boston University, Brighton has its share of graduate students, but not very collegy. There's a big mix of ages and a big Irish immigrant population, a few Italians, and a pretty low key nightlife.

Perhaps the only downside is the transit. For all the transit Boston has, it's kind of disjointed and annoying. The bus would be your best bet going downtown. Accustomed to Washington, DC's great Metro system, I used to walk about a mile to the T where 3 lines going in the same direction all converge within 2 blocks of one another (very stupid). I've learned the T is often slower than the buses because it's designed as a trolley system to stop every 2 blocks.

I live in a 3 bedroom, 2-story house with 2 other people and we pay approximately $200 in utilities a month - about $60-70 each.

[ctrres]

I think Allston Heights is out of the question--anywhere on the B Line, unless you like frequent train stops and rowdy students. Brighton is quieter, but isn't well served by public transportation.

However, Lower Allston (north of the MassPike) is quiet, and is a 15 minute walk to either Harvard or the B-Line.

Brookline, Arlington, Somerville, all nice. Still relatively decent rental values in Som. and Arl. Brookline is a little sniffy, pricey.

Anything along the Cambridge/Somerville line has great all-around services.

Craigslist will get you all kinds of listings, with Globe as a backup.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

I've learned the T is often slower than the buses because it's designed as a trolley system to stop every 2 blocks.

I just want to clarify that this is the case only for the Green Line, particularly the B line along Commonwealth Av. It is also true to a lesser extent on the C and E lines along Beacon St and Huntington, and to an even lesser extent along the D/Riverside line of the Green. It is not true at all of the Red, Orange, and Blue lines, which are normal subway trains with many more cars and many fewer stops.

Being near the Red Line is an advantage of a place like Davis Sq. or Central Sq. over Brighton, but the express bus works from Brighton Center for a morning commute into downtown Boston.

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by holden125

I just want to clarify that this is the case only for the Green Line, particularly the B line along Commonwealth Av. It is also true to a lesser extent on the C and E lines along Beacon St and Huntington, and to an even lesser extent along the D/Riverside line of the Green. It is not true at all of the Red, Orange, and Blue lines, which are normal subway trains with many more cars and many fewer stops.

Being near the Red Line is an advantage of a place like Davis Sq. or Central Sq. over Brighton, but the express bus works from Brighton Center for a morning commute into downtown Boston.

Very true - I should have made that distinction.

[mobster75]

Hmm.. I have yet to see an apartment including heat in the rent... Over the past 3 years, both I & my wife (we just got married in Oct) have had to pay our own gas and electric. Only water was included in the rent...

That said.. Are you looking for off-street parking for your car? That's the rub... If you want to live close to downtown (i.e. right near a subway/streetcar stop on the T) then you have to sacrifice included parking. I think I was quoted $150/month for off-street parking in Watertown last year.. nevermind Jamaica Plain, Brookline, or Boston....

If you don't mind living just a few miles out of town, you can easily find rather nice apartments in the $1500/month range with a couple parking spots included (off-street). We pay $1285/month for a 3-bedroom apartment (whole 2nd floor in a 2-family) with driveway for 2 cars and laundry/dryer included in Watertown.. Closest bus service is about 1/4 mile away. We do pay our own gas & electric though. Gas runs about $100/month (averaged out over the previous year) and electric is about $100/month as well with lows in the winter and highs in July/August from the AC.