Moving Help (Boston, Cambridge, Newton: for rent, houses, transfer to)

[Crew2185]

We are moving to Boston Sept 1st and are trying to figure out where to live. We want a place thats affordable (under $2200 for 3 bedroom) but not in a ghetto or sketchy area. We also want something thats an easy commute into the city, we will be working in the Copley/Newbury St area. I have heard nice things about Cambridge/Somerville area, but im afraid that will be a long commute on the T/Bus. We have also looked at South Boston because it is so close to the city it seems, but I have found mixed reviews about the area. Can anyone give me some advice on where to look? or a great website that has some listings for these areas. Thanks!

[Bostonian08]

Originally Posted by Crew2185

We are moving to Boston Sept 1st and are trying to figure out where to live. We want a place thats affordable (under $2200 for 3 bedroom) but not in a ghetto or sketchy area. We also want something thats an easy commute into the city, we will be working in the Copley/Newbury St area. I have heard nice things about Cambridge/Somerville area, but im afraid that will be a long commute on the T/Bus. We have also looked at South Boston because it is so close to the city it seems, but I have found mixed reviews about the area. Can anyone give me some advice on where to look? or a great website that has some listings for these areas. Thanks!

Look at all my photos of South Boston - that will help a lot. The nice part of southie is along East Broadway. The sketchy part or Southie is what's west. My photos start at Castle Island which is gorgeous and travels west. You can see the transition. None of it is really bad, and what is sketchy is changing fast.

If you situate yourself in Camb/SomV along the RED LINE, you can get a direct ride to Park Street Station. Then it's a beautiful walk through the Common or a two stop Green Line transfer to Copley.

[ogre]

Just to make sure you get the right image of South Boston, you'll need to go to the link in Bostonian's post in order to see photos of Southie. The pic in the post on this thread is not in South Boston.

Some more info would help narrow things down. What is your idea of too long a commute? Aside from wanting to avoid sketchy areas, what kind of character do want your town, city, or neighborhood to have--urban, suburban, mix of urban and suburban, kind of rural, coffee houses and quaint little shops around the corner, or open spaces for running with a dog or hiking?

Somerville might be a bit over half an hour's commute by public transit. Not sure. There's a change of trains involved to get to the Copley Sq. area, so it's going to take longer than the same distance would take on a direct line. If you like urban young professional areas, you might check out Jamaica Plain or the South End (not the same neighborhood as South Boston), though in some parts of these areas the public transit is not as good as in some other sections of Boston. Brookline offers a fairly densely built suburban character, with more of an urban feel in some neighborhoods, and public transit service by the green line, which goes directly to Copley. If something similar to Brookline, but leaning a bit more toward a suburban character, also with direct transit access, would be appealing, check out Newton. Newton and Brookline are expensive towns, but some digging might turn up good housing in your price range. They are definitely worth having on your long list of possibilities if a suburban/urban mix, on public transit lines directly into Copley Sq., would be appealing.

[Crew2185]

Ok so my roomie and I both work in fashion and love the urban city feel, but are both also from smaller towns so if we find a great place in a less urban area that is fine too as long as its close to the real urban area. In a perfect world our commute would be under 30 min to work each day. I dont love the idea if changing transportation too many times, but if its easy and quick its ok. South Boston seems to be our best bet so far, so the east side is best in south boston? what about andrew square? I have found a lot of places for rent in that area .... thanks so much for the help!

[jad79]

I would recommend Jamaica Plain, near the Orange Line (Stony Brook or Green Street would be good, between Lamartine and Centre Streets). You can be in Copley in less than 10 minutes on the train from Stony Brook, walk to great restaurants, yet still be close to great parks like JP Pond and the Arboretum and have a strong community feel. Much more leafy and less dense than South Boston or South End, yet still definitely urban. $2200 for a nice three bed is about what you would pay in JP.