Commute to Waltham, live where? (Boston, Worcester: affordable apartments, rentals, broker)

[charolastra00]

After 12 years of living with roommates in the Boston metro area, I'm done. My mental health just can't take it anymore, and thanks to a raise I feel more comfortable about being able to afford to move out. But move to where?

Budget is $1400 with heat and hot water included, $1350 without (roughly 25% of my income). I need a 1 bedroom (no studio) that accepts cats with off-street parking and laundry in the building. I know this limits me quite a bit with the cost of rent! I work 10-6 which helps with the commute and I'm ok with anything under 45 minutes. I'm a 30 year old woman, so somewhere safe is key. My boyfriend will be staying with me at least 2 weekends a month and a few week long visits during the year, but would not be living there full time for now. That may change in the future when he's able to shift his business model so that he doesn't need to be away most of the time.

I had been targeting Maynard but there seem to be limited rentals (and what I did see seemed like a set up for a murder) and Framingham. Framingham has gotten pretty pricey and most places in my budget seem to be in iffy areas or teeny tiny (basically studios with a door).

On a whim, I toured an apartment in Marlborough that was gorgeous. Big, updated kitchen, balcony, amenities in the complex... but it was in Marlborough. I wasn't even thinking about that level of amenities (or even strongly considering complexes at all!), but by living with roommates I've been able to have a decent, spacious place and some of the dingy apartments that I viewed just depressed me. It's not walkable to anything and while I'm sure Marlborough is great for families, I'm not sure how much it as going on for a young person without kids.

That got me thinking that if I would be willing to commute to Marlborough, why not consider Lowell or somewhere closer to Providence? Lowell is roughly the same commute, Providence a little longer, but both have apartments in my price range in areas that are walkable. I know Lowell has gentrified a bit - but is it safe? Are the affordable apartments going to be in sketchy areas/slumlord buildings? Has anyone made that commute?

Any other suggestions? While my roommates aren't dangerous or anything like that, they both have grown increasingly more disrespectful regarding their partners, late on bills, and refuse to help clean so I end up being the "grown up" of the household having to nag them and deal with the landlord. I know this isn't exactly prime inventory time, but I'd rather get out sooner rather than later so I can come home to someplace that feels like home, rather than a huge source of anxiety and stress!

[SalamanderSmile]

Why not live in Waltham?

[tysmith95]

Originally Posted by SalamanderSmile

Why not live in Waltham?

1400 for a one bedroom in Waltham is doable but tough, especially if you want off street parking.

In the entire metro area there is kind of a lack of studios and one bedrooms. That's why you see so many people with roommates. No shortage of three bedroom floors in triple deckers.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by SalamanderSmile

Why not live in Waltham?

Really limited market at that rate. I've been checking in daily and jumping on showings, even upping my budget a bit if I'd be able to walk to work. In the past week, there have been 4 apartments to hit the market in my price range and all are gone now. The two I was most interested in were rented out to the people who saw the apartment just before me. People are bringing their checkbooks and putting a deposit down on the spot. The other two reeked of stale smoke or cat urine and were total dumps (neither had a bathtub, one only had a kitchenette) - but rented out within days all the same.

Waltham also has many more broker fees than the other suburban areas I'm looking at. I'm not enthusiastic about paying a full month's broker fee for a place already at the top of my budget.

Waltham is the ideal of course, but I'm not even *really* factoring it in given the slim pickings in my budget. Several of my coworkers are lifelong Waltham residents with wide networks, so they're all on the case in case anything pops up that might not be listed more broadly.

Originally Posted by tysmith95

In the entire metro area there is kind of a lack of studios and one bedrooms. That's why you see so many people with roommates. No shortage of three bedroom floors in triple deckers.

This is definitely true! There's a shortage of housing in general, but especially studios and one bedrooms. Most new construction is understandably "luxury" buildings, but at $2000+ per month for a studio, it's tough! I'm finding under $1400 to be a really tough budget for anything around 128, even further north or south.

[CaseyB]

Is Burlington too expensive?

[SalamanderSmile]

I put your budget in Craigslist and checked the cat option and browsed by map. Clearly this won't be a luxury apartment, but there seemed to be plenty of options. A small 1 BR in Belmont, something with no pictures on Main Street in Wellesley, something on Chestnut in Waltham. . . nothing that looked great by exurb new construction standards, but acceptable choices for close-in Boston. In all of my Boston apartment hunting I have always had to write a check on the spot and put tremendous focus on being the first prospect in the door, it is really the only way to approach the hunt.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Is Burlington too expensive?

Cheapest in town is $1425 for 1 BR at the Lord Baron complex. It has a reputation for poor management and inferior living conditions.

[gf2020]

With a budget of only $1400 you should consider yourself fortunate if you can find a nice place in Marlborough. It's certainly safer and a better commute than Lowell or Providence!

[johngolf]

Watertown?

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by gf2020

With a budget of only $1400 you should consider yourself fortunate if you can find a nice place in Marlborough. It's certainly safer and a better commute than Lowell or Providence!

Marlborough actually has a lot of options because it is incredibly inconvenient to commute to just about anywhere but Framingham, Natick, and Worcester. There's no commuter rail in town and no real public transit. I also don't know that it's that much of a better commute than Lowell. That's actually one of my biggest concerns with Marlborough - while I am very secure in my job and have been promised a promotion and raise by fall, if I were to decide to move on my options would be more limited unless I moved again.

Is Lowell really that unsafe? That's what I'm trying to get at. I'm viewing an apartment in Lowell later this week which is pretty attractive to me because it's walkable to things and right downtown, but is it that dangerous? I've spent the past several years living in an area of Medford that friends who have lived here for a long time consider "rough" but I've never had any problem with. Obviously I'll try to get a feel for the area while there.

Does anyone live in Marlborough here? Besides my obvious concern about future commute and not being walkable, I'm a little worried about social options. I've gotten involved with local community organizations here in Medford, and would otherwise plan to get involved with the local UU church or a liberal synagogue, but none of the former seems to exist and I'd have to go to Framingham for the latter. Marlborough seems great if you have kids, but does it have anything going on for people sans kids? A strong community volunteer program? Or will I just accept having to travel to socialize?

Originally Posted by johngolf

Watertown?

Waaay out of budget for the most part, plus, like with Waltham, there's the additional consideration of having to pay a broker's fee.