Chicago to Boston (Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline: college, places to live, bars)

[ChitownKid]

Hey everyone,

I'm wondering what would be a good place for a 26yo single dude to live in while in Boston. I would be there for 3 years and working at BIDMC.

So some place not too far away with less traffic on the way and back (probably not 6AM, but assume 5PM would be bothersome) and has a good scene of people in their late 20s, not a bunch of undergrads.

[ChitownKid]

Previous post was sometime ago so just throwing it out there again in the hopes of current residents shedding some light.

For a single dude past college,

What is there for me to do or at least where people hang out?
Where are the best places to live not to far from or in Brookline?

I'm not expecting downtown Chicago, but I'd like to be in a fairly busy environment with stuff to do. Don't wanna hear crickets chirping or equivalents (ex: Lincoln, Nebraska).

Thanks.

[Smuttynose]

Hi Chitown,

I'm a 24-year-old male and live around the Porter and Davis Squares area near the Cambridge-Somerville line. The rents are reasonable, very popular young person area, and extremely convenient to the T (subway). Closer to Brookline is the Brighton/Alston section of Boston which is very popular with the younger crowd as well. Both are hopping areas with a good selection of bars and stores, with relatively quiet residential areas close by.

As you know, Boston is a big college town, so there's a lot of undergrads all over. And both of these places do have a very large college crowd -Porter-Davis has Tufts Univ. and several Harvard kids that can't afford the Harvard Sq. rents. Brighton/Allston is close to Berklee and BU. But they're not overrun by undergrads, lots of 20 to 30-somethings as well.

As for the commute - the subway is extremely popular around here, b/c of Boston's traffic issues. The T is fast and convenient and goes into Brookline via the Green Line. Even if you have to drive the traffic shouldn't be to terrible since you're not going in to Boston proper.

Hope this helps, and good luck with the move!