Please suggest towns - the Red Line subway in MA (T-stop) (Boston: apartment, renting)

[new2forum]

Oh boy, many of these posts will make sense to me after I move to Massachusetts. Right now they are just names to me on maps.google.com. But after I get to Mass, these suggestions will be immensely helpful. Meanwhile, I am just trying to make sense of all these suggestions. Keep the suggestions coming! Thanks!!

[new2forum]

Since many of you have been suggesting the area near Quincy - Can I live there without a car? Or do you need a car to get to most places? (especially to get to the subway stop and grocery store from wherever there are apartments to rent)

[Jamesnana]

If you live in Quincy, there are many apartments within walking distance to the T (metro) and lots of buses criss cross Quincy. You can order your groceries and have them delivered via Peapod. It is about the only South Shore town where you could live without a car easily.

[new2forum]

Originally Posted by Jamesnana

If you live in Quincy, there are many apartments within walking distance to the T (metro) and lots of buses criss cross Quincy. You can order your groceries and have them delivered via Peapod. It is about the only South Shore town where you could live without a car easily.

Does this mean I will be far away from the grocery stores? Or that the grocery stores are far away from the T (metro) stop?

I also wonder how long it will take from Quincy to the Harvard T metro station?

[Jamesnana]

No, you won't be far from the grocery stores. But without a car it's a drag lugging them around. Depending where you get on the T, it's about 30 minutes to Harvard Square.

[UsAll]

Originally Posted by new2forum

Does this mean I will be far away from the grocery stores? Or that the grocery stores are far away from the T (metro) stop?

I also wonder how long it will take from Quincy to the Harvard T metro station?

As I said in an earlier post, there are big general-pupose supermarkets within walk of each of the 3 northernmost Quincy T stops (1 SUPER STOP AND SHOP + 1 SHAW'S/STAR MARKET in the QUINCY CENTER neighborhood, which is essentially "downtown Quincy" . . . and then 1 SUPER STOP AND SHOP about half-way between the North Quincy & Wollaston T stops but walkable from both, though a bit closer to the North Quincy T stop). Quincy is all wholly walkable & bike-able, plus there are many buses. You CAN live there without a car and be connected to the rest of greater Boston via the Red Line T, many buses, and the MBTA Commuter Rail there.

I haven't seen the southernmost Quincy T stop area yet myself (i.e., the Quincy-Adams T stop), so I can't speak with any authority about that area. But the STOP & SHOP and the SHAW'S/STAR MARKET locations I'd previously listed were the only ones in Quincy (and they are not in or near to the Quincy-Adams T stop neighborhood) . . . so I wouldn't live in the Quincy-Adams neighborhood, as it seems to be less convenient.

All-in-all, the QUINCY CENTER neighborhood (which is "downtown Quincy" and nearby environs) is the best Quincy neighborhood for you: for the loads of shopping and other useful retail/commercial/business/corporate/government/entertainment/dining, et al establishments, the Quincy Center transportation terminal (subway, bus, taxi, commuter rail), the main public library, museums & cultural sites, the Quincy College campus, government agencies (City Hall, city & state agencies, federal agencies & departments such as the IRS, Social Security, etc. etc. etc.), Quincy Hospital (the only hospital in Quincy), the nearby Walmart & other national & regional chains in the greater vicinity, et al. And there are nice residential areas in & around the greater Quincy Center neighborhood (including apartments, single-family homes, multi-family homes, et al). The Red Line trains run frequently enough (just leave yourself enough realistic time to get to Harvard University). To always play it safe, leave 2 hours (or no less than 1.5 hours, perhaps) from leaving your home (hopefully living as close of a walk to the Red Line T stop as you can) before you have to arrive at your Harvard University class or other campus destination . . . just in order to leave yourself sufficient extra time for possible delays, mishaps, unexpected snafus) . . . even if the actual train ride itself takes up 30-45 minutes of your time, it is best to leave extra time for getting out of your home, walking to the subway, having the train arrive and traverse through the transit system all the way to Cambridge, and for you to walk to your class or other campus destination.

[new2forum]

Originally Posted by UsAll

As I said in an earlier post, there are big general-pupose supermarkets within walk of each of the 3 northernmost Quincy T stops (1 SUPER STOP AND SHOP + 1 SHAW'S/STAR MARKET in the QUINCY CENTER neighborhood, which is essentially "downtown Quincy" . . . and then 1 SUPER STOP AND SHOP about half-way between the North Quincy & Wollaston T stops but walkable from both, though a bit closer to the North Quincy T stop). Quincy is all wholly walkable & bike-able, plus there are many buses. You CAN live there without a car and be connected to the rest of greater Boston via the Red Line T, many buses, and the MBTA Commuter Rail there.

I haven't seen the southernmost Quincy T stop area yet myself (i.e., the Quincy-Adams T stop), so I can't speak with any authority about that area. But the STOP & SHOP and the SHAW'S/STAR MARKET locations I'd previously listed were the only ones in Quincy (and they are not in or near to the Quincy-Adams T stop neighborhood) . . . so I wouldn't live in the Quincy-Adams neighborhood, as it seems to be less convenient.

All-in-all, the QUINCY CENTER neighborhood (which is "downtown Quincy" and nearby environs) is the best Quincy neighborhood for you: for the loads of shopping and other useful retail/commercial/business/corporate/government/entertainment/dining, et al establishments, the Quincy Center transportation terminal (subway, bus, taxi, commuter rail), the main public library, museums & cultural sites, the Quincy College campus, government agencies (City Hall, city & state agencies, federal agencies & departments such as the IRS, Social Security, etc. etc. etc.), Quincy Hospital (the only hospital in Quincy), the nearby Walmart & other national & regional chains in the greater vicinity, et al. And there are nice residential areas in & around the greater Quincy Center neighborhood (including apartments, single-family homes, multi-family homes, et al). The Red Line trains run frequently enough (just leave yourself enough realistic time to get to Harvard University). To always play it safe, leave 2 hours (or no less than 1.5 hours, perhaps) from leaving your home (hopefully living as close of a walk to the Red Line T stop as you can) before you have to arrive at your Harvard University class or other campus destination . . . just in order to leave yourself sufficient extra time for possible delays, mishaps, unexpected snafus) . . . even if the actual train ride itself takes up 30-45 minutes of your time, it is best to leave extra time for getting out of your home, walking to the subway, having the train arrive and traverse through the transit system all the way to Cambridge, and for you to walk to your class or other campus destination.

Thanks for this detailed information! So the only question that remains is whether the QUINCY CENTER neighborhood has apartments available for rent?

[Jamesnana]

Try rent.com or Craigslist for rental info. Also, the classifieds in the Quincy Patriot Ledger.

[UsAll]

Originally Posted by new2forum

Thanks for this detailed information! So the only question that remains is whether the QUINCY CENTER neighborhood has apartments available for rent?

It is reasonable to assume that, in the greater QUINCY CENTER area, an APARTMENT can be found (check out the classifieds in the Boston Globe, Quincy Patriot Ledger, Craigslist, the online or print Yellow Pages/Super Pages encompassing Quincy, Massachusetts, maybe Quincy College bulletin boards or the college's housing office listings) . . . OR

you could choose to initially move into a ROOMING HOUSE-type of housing (which is essentially dormitory-style living . . . one where you pay by-the-week instead of monthly and are therefore not tied into any lease) and use that as a home base to seek even better accommodations in the area --- unless you choose to keep on staying in the rooming house for the only-one-year that you will be attending Harvard). For instance, I had a single room in a rooming house which cost $115.00 per week including utilities (so that came out to approximately $460.00 per month) . . . where each living unit in the 5-story builiding (which looked like an apartment building) was independent of one another (i.e., each living unit functioning as its own self-contained apartment . . . no shared kitchen or other common facilities other than having 2 common bathrooms on every floor of the building . . . though some more-expensive living units contained more than one room and had their own bathroom). And each living unit had a sink in it and the building supplied a half-sized refrigerator to you (though I bought my own full-sized refrigerator & used a microwave oven & toaster oven - broiler as well). Each room was furnished (with a bed, some cabinets, a desk or table + chair . . . though I used my own furnishings for the most part). I typed in "YELLOW PAGES BOSTON" in Google and came to Boston Yellow Pages - YP.com; on that page, I typed in "rooming houses" in the "Business Name or Category" search field and typed in "Quincy, MA" in the "City, State or ZIP" search field and it came up with a whole list of rooming houses.

For one collection of rooming houses that I am personally familiar with: Caritas Communities (www.caritascommunities.org) is a non-profit housing organization that owns & runs many rooming houses around Eastern Massachusetts and they have 2 owned houses in Quincy (in the Quincy Center neighborhood); their web site gives details on it all & has photos of the owned properties (I lived in one of their properties in the city of Boston).

And, of course, if you don't already own a 4-wheeled FOLDING SHOPPING CART of sufficient strength and size, then acquire one . . . to facilitate easier shopping for groceries, et al (being that you won't be using a car).

If you choose to open any bank accounts with a local bank while in Massachusetts, the bank with the most branches and ATMs in the Greater Boston/Eastern Massachusetts region is BANK OF AMERICA (and, at Harvard Square, the Bank of America branch there at 1414 Massachusetts Ave. is has long hours: Monday - Friday: 9am - 7pm, Saturday: 9am - 3pm, Sunday: Closed). Of course, what bank you'd choose (if any) is up to you, but it helps to be with a bank with the most branches & ATMs (for the convenience).

[orangetravelerJP]

Sorry, I don't know anything about Quincy, but I had to respond about the bank situation.

Many banks, including local ones, offer free ATM withdrawals from any bank's ATM. Lots of people have been dissatisfied with their experience at larger banks and don't realize that a small, local bank may be a good alternative. Our bank will reimburse any ATM fees (worldwide) so it doesn't matter which ATM we are near. I've been really impressed with their service and felt like I was valued as a customer. When we opened our account at the local branch, they specifically told us NOT to call the 800 number if we had a problem; just come in or call the local branch and they would help us out. It made us feel like they were trying to set themselves apart from the big guys. For us, the convenience of the ATM situation and the good service we've received make us fans of local banks.