Moving to Boston 9/21/17 from Germany (Dedham, Westwood: apartment, rental, credit)

[Keith-n-Jax]

Hello everyone I know that these type of threads are common but here's another one. I will be working at the VA in West Roxbury and I already have a list of areas to avoid and to live so that's not an issue. I do have some questions about rental sites, I have been searching the normal site like Apt.com, for rent.com and I don't care for craigslist. Are there any other sites I could use? Trying to keep my rent under 1500 for one person, no pets, and I have a Nissan Frontier. My other questions are:

1. What are the best places for groceries?
2. Best banks and credit Unions?
3. Schools for nursing ( I need to finish)

I put school on hold when I took this job at the Military Hospital here in Germany. I been in Germany for 5 years, originally from Jacksonville, Fl. This will be a new experience as I have never lived in the North only Florida/Georgia and Hawaii if you count my military service. Also I ran into a scam which I am going to post below, hopefully no one will fall for this. Any help, comments will be appreciated. TIA

[Keith-n-Jax]

Here is the email I received from a person claiming to be renting an apt. When I first read it, I thought this seems to be good to be true. The guy sent me a link with AirBNB with a reference code and a link to click on to pay 1000 for the deposit. I sent the code to AirBNB and they had no such reservation/code. I emailed the guy back with this information and never heard from him again. I also googled the address and the area does not match up with the pics as you can see outside the window and its a different area. I also became suspicious when he referenced the apt. as a flat. I have never heard an apt referred to as a flat in the USA. Here in Europe it's common. Is that a common reference up north in the big cities like Boston, NY, etc just curious: email below




Hello,

I am Thomas Gilbert, the owner of the flat, and i'm happy to let you know that my apartment is presently available even for long and short term periods. I bought this apartment for my daughter during her studies, but now she's back home in Montana, so I'm renting the place for unlimited
ime (obviously preferable for long periods).The flat looks like in the pictures. The utilities (cold/hot water, electricity, wireless broadband Internet, digital TV, 1 parking spot, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.) are INCLUDED in the price of $1,000 per month plus one month deposit of $1,000 is also requested and fully refundable once you decide to leave the apartment (with a 30 days notice before). As from my side, i will never ask you to leave the apartment because my daughter is permanently living here in Montana, so we won't disturb you.

Before we go any further I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons you intend to live in the apartment, and for how long.

All the best ,

Thomas Gilbert

[BostonMike7]

Nobody in the US references an Apt as a "flat"...especially someone from Montana. That, plus $1K for rent (which is cheap) sets off some red flags.

[LLCNYC]

Originally Posted by Keith-n-Jax

Here is the email I received from a person claiming to be renting an apt. When I first read it, I thought this seems to be good to be true. The guy sent me a link with AirBNB with a reference code and a link to click on to pay 1000 for the deposit. I sent the code to AirBNB and they had no such reservation/code. I emailed the guy back with this information and never heard from him again. I also googled the address and the area does not match up with the pics as you can see outside the window and its a different area. I also became suspicious when he referenced the apt. as a flat. I have never heard an apt referred to as a flat in the USA. Here in Europe it's common. Is that a common reference up north in the big cities like Boston, NY, etc just curious: email below




Hello,

I am Thomas Gilbert, the owner of the flat, and i'm happy to let you know that my apartment is presently available even for long and short term periods. I bought this apartment for my daughter during her studies, but now she's back home in Montana, so I'm renting the place for unlimited
ime (obviously preferable for long periods).The flat looks like in the pictures. The utilities (cold/hot water, electricity, wireless broadband Internet, digital TV, 1 parking spot, dishwasher, garbage disposal, microwave, refrigerator, washing machine, etc.) are INCLUDED in the price of $1,000 per month plus one month deposit of $1,000 is also requested and fully refundable once you decide to leave the apartment (with a 30 days notice before). As from my side, i will never ask you to leave the apartment because my daughter is permanently living here in Montana, so we won't disturb you.

Before we go any further I would like to know a little something about you, like how many persons you intend to live in the apartment, and for how long.

All the best ,

Thomas Gilbert

Can you say SCAM?

[Cantabridgienne]

I'm surprised that $1000/month doesn't also include an unlimited Uber account and a new iPhone.

[yaeger07]

If you're going to be living near work, I recommend grocery shopping at Wegmans in Chestnut Hill. Boston College has a good nursing school--I'm not sure about transfer options. It's also decently close to West Roxbury.

[Keith-n-Jax]

Originally Posted by yaeger07

If you're going to be living near work, I recommend grocery shopping at Wegmans in Chestnut Hill. Boston College has a good nursing school--I'm not sure about transfer options. It's also decently close to West Roxbury.

Thanks for the information

[massnative71]

Costco and BJ's are in Dedham, I would consider joining one of them to keep your grocery costs down. Wegman's is a good choice, there is also one in Westwood if you live in that direction from Dedham.


Banks and credit unions, uh, hard to say. It depends on exactly what area you live I guess. Dedham Savings used to be good, although I haven't lived in that area for years so I don't know who around there offers the best these days. Santander has many branches around, and they offer an appealing checking account that deposits something like $25 a month to you if you meet their basic conditions. I have had good experience with Eastern Bank in the past. Avoid Bank of America. I never liked Citizens, some seem to be happy there though.






Many nursing schools around. In addition to Boston College; Tufts, UMASS Boston, Northeastern, and others all offer respectable programs.

[Keith-n-Jax]

^^^ thanks I've had my fair share of BOA, I don't bank with them. I like to be close to work, so I'll explore once I get settled. Just nice to have some information from the locals.

[tysmith95]

Online banks can be good, as long as you don't need to deposit cash on a regular basis. I use discover online bank and I love it.

And yes bank of america sucks. I've had TD bank and they're ok.