Best place to live - Moving from NY for job near south station (Boston: real estate)

[Irieites]

Hi all. What are the best areas in Boston for a single black woman late 40s. Will be working near south station. Would like to spend approx. $1500-$1800 per month if possible. Need on site parking. Would like to keep commute to 30 mins by train if possible. Also, is it possible to find an apt without a broker. Thanks in advance.

[495neighbor]

I would look in Jamaica Plain or Brookline. I would look up apartments through the real estate sites, then go to Bing or Google live search to see if the streets look appealing to you, then call the property management offices of the buildings you like. For the properties with fewer units, you may need to work with a rental agent. If you can't find what you want in your range in those two areas, I would extend your search to Newton, especially Newton Corner, West Newton, Newton Corner and Newtonville. Newton would be around a 45 min commute. The buildings with more units will more likely have garage parking included. Good Luck.

[bostonguy1960]

Met two young black males recently moving from South Bend, Indiana, relocating to Medford. Heard years ago that West Medford near commuter rail to NORTH Station, is appealing to black professionals. Had also heard this about parts of Arlington.

Unsure if it's still true.

Lower Mills in Dorchester is near the red line to South Station. Perhaps the Baker Chocolate Factory apts. are costlier than the price desired, however.

Aren't parts of adjacent Milton home to some black professionals?

Randolph has many blacks now. Not sure how many are professional vs. less affluent. I think their commuter rail serves South Station...

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

Met two young black males recently moving from South Bend, Indiana, relocating to Medford. Heard years ago that West Medford near commuter rail to NORTH Station, is appealing to black professionals. Had also heard this about parts of Arlington.

Unsure if it's still true.

Lower Mills in Dorchester is near the red line to South Station. Perhaps the Baker Chocolate Factory apts. are costlier than the price desired, however.

Aren't parts of adjacent Milton home to some black professionals?

Randolph has many blacks now. Not sure how many are professional vs. less affluent. I think their commuter rail serves South Station...

West Medford has AA families long established in the Boston area who are descendants from early black settlers hundreds of years back. It is middle to upper middle class. I have a few friends from there, nice people. There are some nice (brownstone style apartments I believe) and historic neighborhoods there.

Randolph, I have a few friends from there as well. It is mostly middle to upper middle class. I drove through the Randolph town center for the first time a few weeks ago. It is architecturally pretty, and there are many nice streets with cute ranch and cape homes around there.

OP, these are both farther commutes than you are initially looking for, but not tiring commutes.

Milton is a pretty town, with larger yards and many trees. There are some nice restaurants and cafes in Milton Village and East Milton. Other than these two areas, Milton is more spread out and I believe more families than singles. You would likely need to drive to one of the red line stops in Quincy or Braintree for work. There may be bus lines in one of the two business districts.

[Irieites]

Thanks so much for the suggestions. What about Cambridge? Also, what sort of options would I have at the $2000 per month price point?

[495neighbor]

Cambridge would be doable at $2,000. Cambridge is a fun place for single people of all ages. There are a few drawbacks. In some parts of Cambridge you would have to walk at least a mile to the red line. Many of the apartment buildings there are not updated. Many of the larger apartment buildings are on busy, noisy streets on or close to Mass Avenue and are also filled with students. The quieter neighborhoods such as Fresh Pond and Cambridgeport have many multi-families and a few single family homes. These are farther away from the red line. Adding in the long walk, you will have closer to a 45 min commute or longer.

[sharencare]

You can also look in Roslindale which is a diverse community and more affordable than Jamaica Plain. It has a commuter rail that goes into South Station. But you can also hop on a bus and get to Forest Hills orange line. The Orange line will from you to State Street stop, which is near South Station.

[Irieites]

Thanks a million. Lots of very helpful info. I will start with Brookline Jamaica Plain and Roslindale although I'd like to keep the commute simple until I get to know the city. Are these areas ok for singles? I think I would take grad students over families assuming the commute is good.

[ogre]

In Brookline the Coolidge Corner neighborhood and to some degree Brookline Village will have more for single people, and to some degree single people of various ages, than other neighborhoods. Those areas also have local commercial districts with some neighborhood eateries and various small shops.

I know Jamaica Plain only a little and Roslindale not at all. JP seems to vary a lot in character over small distances, but my general impression is that the west side of JP is especially family-oriented compared to other neighborhoods, and would probably be the first section you'd want to cross of the list.

Since I know almost nothing about Roslindale, I can't give even the most basic info on where the singles are, but the word out is that Rozzy has been starting to gentrify some in the last few years. Sounds like a situation where there would be some areas oriented toward single people scattered here and there among the old family neighborhoods, so you could probably find some singles scene in Rozzy, but would need to do some checking about where to find that.

[movelady]

I'd second (third?) Roslindale. The Needham line of the Commuter Rail goes directly to South Station, and there's a stop in Roslindale - from Ros to South Station takes 15 minutes. It's amazing. And Roslindale is way more affordable than most neighborhoods within a similar radius of downtown Boston.

Safety - as a small young white woman, I feel safe in Roslindale.

Parking: Affordable and available -- tons of street parking, and because most rentals are in three-unit houses, you can probably get a parking spot in the driveway (I'm guessing that'd probably cost $0-75/month compared with the $150+ you'd be paying closer to downtown).

Without a broker - MUCH more difficult. I tried (very actively) for several months, and was unsuccessful. I eventually ended up using a broker who found me my perfect apartment, but I admit that it did suck to have to pay an extra month of rent. If you want, I can give you my broker's contact info.