Is Boston really a college town? (Cambridge, Somerville: apartments, how much, dorms)

[bttrfly]

I’ve been reading through a lot of these posts and many of them have referred to Boston as a college town. I am currently trying to find a job in Boston and will hopefully be moving in a couple months, but I am in my early 30s and I don’t want to feel old. The areas I’ve been considering so far are Waltham, Arlington, Lexington, Somerville, and Chelsea. I want a safe neighborhood where I can find a 1bdrm apartment with parking. I would rather not spend too much more than $1000-1200 a month on rent, since I don’t know yet how much money I will be making; I know that’s difficult to find around Boston, but I don’t mind commuting if I can find something cheaper a little further from the city. Any thoughts on these places, or suggestions for other places I should be looking? Can I find anything in this price range within an hour of the city? Thanks.

[ctrres]

It's no more a college town than Los Angeles is an A/V production town or Houston is an oil town. It's just a larger center for that kind of activity.

The place has 5 or 6 million people. It takes 30 year olds to run things.

[smarty]

Those towns you selected are fine. If you live further out, you'll have different problem.
1. parking in Boston is expensive $200-350/month.
2. gas will be $4/gal... expensive.
3. hard to meet other singles.

In terms of feeling old... well... you just cannot help but say... I did this when I was young... and they are young at 18... nothing you can do when you walk near a college. Umm... those hormones...

[HowGoesIt]

Boston is a college and sports town completely. If you want to get away from that scene, live downtown. Look for a place in the North End, South End, Beacon Hill, or Back Bay. Very few students live there, however it is pricey. Most 1 bedroom apartments i've seen go for $1600 and up.

The big college areas are:
Allston-Brighton (BU, BC),
Mission Hill (Northeastern, Mass College of Pharm, Harvard Med, Simmons, Emmanuel, and a few other)
Cambridge (MIT, Harvard, and some BU)
Somerville (Lesley, Tufts, some Harvard)
Jamaica Plain (Northeastern spillover and a ton of graduate students live there because it's cheap)
Waltham (Brandeis, Bentley).

Sounds like downtown is your best bet. Personally, I like the South End.

[LeavingMA]

Originally Posted by HowGoesIt

Boston is a college and sports town completely. If you want to get away from that scene, live downtown. Look for a place in the North End, South End, Beacon Hill, or Back Bay. Very few students live there, however it is pricey. Most 1 bedroom apartments i've seen go for $1600 and up.

The big college areas are:
Allston-Brighton (BU, BC),
Mission Hill (Northeastern, Mass College of Pharm, Harvard Med, Simmons, Emmanuel, and a few other)
Cambridge (MIT, Harvard, and some BU)
Somerville (Lesley, Tufts, some Harvard)
Jamaica Plain (Northeastern spillover and a ton of graduate students live there because it's cheap)
Waltham (Brandeis, Bentley).

Sounds like downtown is your best bet. Personally, I like the South End.

Good post.

Just to add, Lexington you may find too much out in the suburbs. It will be older crowd, but more family related. Waltham is fairly similar, although not quite as family related. Somerville is a college area. Arlington has a decent mix of college students, families, and young professionals. I don't know too much about Chelsea.

It is tough, because the young professional areas around Boston are quite expensive. It is one of the reasons Boston has lost a good % of young professionals.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by HowGoesIt

Boston is a college and sports town completely. If you want to get away from that scene, live downtown. Look for a place in the North End, South End, Beacon Hill, or Back Bay. Very few students live there, however it is pricey. Most 1 bedroom apartments i've seen go for $1600 and up.

The big college areas are:
Allston-Brighton (BU, BC),
Mission Hill (Northeastern, Mass College of Pharm, Harvard Med, Simmons, Emmanuel, and a few other)
Cambridge (MIT, Harvard, and some BU)
Somerville (Lesley, Tufts, some Harvard)
Jamaica Plain (Northeastern spillover and a ton of graduate students live there because it's cheap)
Waltham (Brandeis, Bentley).

Sounds like downtown is your best bet. Personally, I like the South End.

well, i don't know about Beacon Hill/North End, Sufflok is down in that area, and Emerson is close by and even though it's expensive in those areas, there are students from those colleges living in those areas, not to mention the dorms. not as bad as Allston, but it's not devoid of keg parties.

The epicenter of the college and sport scene is the Fenway. just avoid that area like the plague if you don't want to be in that scene (walking down Lansdowne St. I start to feel old, and I'm only 23!).

there aren't too many students in the Chelsea/East Boston/Revere area, and those areas tend to be pretty cheap, though some spots are safer than others.

[redpanda]

I am in my early 30's and a great many of my yuppier friends live in Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline. Yes, Boston is a college town, but unless you're living in Allston or walking right through campus (or partying on Landsdowne St., ha!) you won't really feel that way.

However, that doesn't exempt you from going out for brunch with your husband and baby and laughing at the conversation you overhear from the next table while saying "Was I really like that?"

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by bttrfly

I’ve been reading through a lot of these posts and many of them have referred to Boston as a college town. I am currently trying to find a job in Boston and will hopefully be moving in a couple months, but I am in my early 30s and I don’t want to feel old. The areas I’ve been considering so far are Waltham, Arlington, Lexington, Somerville, and Chelsea. I want a safe neighborhood where I can find a 1bdrm apartment with parking. I would rather not spend too much more than $1000-1200 a month on rent, since I don’t know yet how much money I will be making; I know that’s difficult to find around Boston, but I don’t mind commuting if I can find something cheaper a little further from the city. Any thoughts on these places, or suggestions for other places I should be looking? Can I find anything in this price range within an hour of the city? Thanks.

IMHO, Boston is a large city with alot of college students, but it's not a college town. College life may be catered to, but the colleges are not the center of Boston. There are other things in Boston. Same thing with Atlanta. Alot of colleges, but not a college town.

[bttrfly]

Thanks everyone. I don’t want to sound like I have anything against college students, especially since I plan to become one again when/if I go to grad school in a year or so; the universities are actually one of the reasons I chose Boston in the first place. But as a young professional, I am not into the noisy parties or clubs of my undergrad days anymore and would like to be around other young professionals my own age. I guess I’m looking for a compromise between the keg party areas like Allston and the family-oriented suburbs like Lexington, though I’m afraid I’m going to find that is out of my price range. I love downtown, but I’ve been avoiding looking there just because of the parking situation; I do plan to use public transportation for my regular work commute, but I'm not willing to give up my car completely and can’t afford to spend very much on a parking space. So far it seems like Chelsea and Arlington are my top choices. Are there specific spots in the Chelsea/East Boston/Revere area that I should try to avoid? Any concerns with parking or commute from Chelsea or Arlington?

[HowGoesIt]

Just to give you a heads up. Chelsea, East Boston, and Revere are pretty ghetto. I wouldn't recommend living in any of those starting out. Once you spend a year or so here, you can guage whether you would feel comfortable living in any of the three areas. If you are searching on craigslist for apartments, avoid the following areas: Dorchester, Mattapan, Roxbury, Chelsea, Hyde Park, East Boston, Revere.

For your price range and the fact that you want parking, I would recommend Brighton, Jamaica Plain, or Roslindale.