Yet another moving to Boston thread (Lowell, Cambridge: lease, condos, broker)

[dravogadro]

Greetings - my partner and I will be moving to Boston this summer as he has been lucky to land a job. I do appreciate the wealth of information I have already been able to get by searching this forum but I still have a few questions. Please correct any mistakes in my assumptions!

Here is my tl;dr: 2200/month, need garage, no kids or pets requirement, Waltham-ish or near public transportation that gets there


We currently use bicycles as our primary mode of transportation. Our main goal is to find a place where he has the option of cycling most days, bus/train+cycle, or if he has to drive, the commute is is not a big deal. His job will be in Waltham and that is where we have focused our search through craigslist and padmapper (any other search suggestions are welcome!). I am not worried about myself yet because I have to finish up school but I am hoping that our place will be close to public transportation in case I have to go downtown.

Most of what we have found in Waltham are ritzy condos that come with a lot of amenities that we don't care about and very few houses for rent. We have seen some houses for rent but they look like McMansions (and $$$) and only a few smaller homes. Is there another town nearby that would be more likely to rent smaller single family homes, preferably on the Fitchburg line (which seems like he'd be able to take, outbound into Waltham) ? It seems like 'small' means ranch or colonial? I am unfamiliar with the housing styles available.

One of our restrictions is that we want access to an unshared garage, which seems to be a bigger issue than I initially expected it to be. I suppose I should have made the connection of a bigger city having space limitations. We don't have kids or pets. Our rent limit is around $2200/month. Is this going to be too low for what we are looking for?


Does anyone have experience cycling in Waltham or Boston in general? I have seen Boston ranked pretty high on cycling lists but didn't know if that extended to suburbs as well.

Thank you for any help, suggestions and advice.

[Cato the Elder]

If you rent within 128, I think it will be tough to find an unshared garage (which basically means SFH as well) on your budget. Personally, I wouldn't want to ride my bike around Waltham except on parts of the Blue Heron trail. Since you'll be new to the area and you don't need to commute into the city every day, I would consider looking at places near the Littleton, South Acton, and West Concord stations (from least to most expensive, generally speaking). As soon as winter breaks, there are a ton of cyclists out and about that area. There are plenty of beautiful country roads to ride on. The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail currently terminates in south Westford and goes all the way north to Lowell. In the future, it will extend south through Acton, West Concord, and Sudbury. Once you get the lay of the land, you can move closer to the city if it suits you better.

[dravogadro]

Originally Posted by Cato the Elder

Personally, I wouldn't want to ride my bike around Waltham except on parts of the Blue Heron trail.

Is this because the roads are typical 4-6 lane suburban highways?

Thanks for the tips on looking further west on the Fitchburg line.

[missionhill]

No, the roads are mostly 2 lane, one in each direction, often with parked cars alongside. They're congested and, among other hazards, you have the risk of getting "doored". The few 4-6 lane suburban highways that do exist around Boston aren't just arterial roads; they're real highways that you wouldn't think of taking a bike on. I think the improvement in bike friendly rank applies mainly to Boston and Cambridge and not to the metro area as a whole. Not to say the roads aren't workable on a bike but you do have to be careful.

[Cato the Elder]

I would generally avoid cycling in suburban towns around here due to congestion, infrastructure, and a lack of awareness by drivers. Cars rule the road and there's little interest in challenging this paradigm by residents or officials. Boston, inner burbs, and exurbs work because people are usually aware of bicycles and the local authorities generally support a bicycling culture - signs, lanes, paths, racks, etc.

[donewithpretty]

Plenty of towns fit what you're looking for, but you'd have a shared garage. If you're interested in staying in Waltham, something like this might work for you:

$2200, 3-Bed Colonial -- Waltham (http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/fee/2974828701.html - broken link).

Your partner could cycle straight down Main Street into Waltham center. If traffic seemed too heavy, he could use the sidewalks, which run the whole route.

For public transit, the #70 bus runs through Waltham center, where you could switch to commuter rail, or stay on the bus to Watertown or Central Square in Cambridge.

If you decide a shared garage/2-family could work, also check out Watertown (#70 bus) and Belmont (commuter rail and buses).

[dravogadro]

Thanks for the tips everyone and I will be sure to expand our search to those other cities. We are looking into 2 family homes also but are leery about the garage. The main reason why we are hesitant is because we use the garage for a lot of utility purposes, not for any storage, which includes fixing our own car and bicycles. We have had a few bad experiences and unfortunately are not trusting of a share situation because we are not interested in dealing with potentially careless people. It is sad that we have to assume that from the beginning but we are tired of having our stuff ruined.

[dravogadro]

I would also appreciate hearing any recommendations for an agency or specific person they liked working with on finding a rental.

[dravogadro]

We were successful in locating a place in Waltham this past week. We luckily found a good broker who was willing to help out us with our out-of-town issues, who showed us properties that were exactly what we were looking for and helped us negotiate good lease terms. I am really happy because we can walk everywhere and my partner will have a very short commute, regardless of cycling or driving. We also saw many cycling commuters in town which was a good sign.

I really appreciate all the comments I received. Hopefully I will be able to contribute to this board in a productive manner once we are settled in and experienced with the city. Now, onto figuring out the moving....

[donewithpretty]

Glad to hear you found a place you like in Waltham! Low commute time will add a lot to your quality of life here. Thanks for checking in to let us know how things turned out; it's surprising (or maybe not) how many people never report back after making a decision.