Moving to Boston - thoughts on the city? (Cambridge, Somerville: apartments, lease)

[discontent_doodle]

*No need to call me out on it, yes, I posted a very similar thread in the Philadelphia forum in order to get opinions from the other side of the coin.* I'm planning a move to either Philadelphia, Boston, or Baltimore and I'd love to hear what you all think about Boston. I have a trip planned to go out there in May, but I'm trying to research as much as possible before I go so that I can maximize the two days I have there. I've read a lot in this forum, but I'm still a little shaky on which neighborhoods are a good place to start looking.

The basics: 26, female, white. I'm active, healthy, socially liberal. I like to walk, go to museums and the library, see movies and theatre. I dance ballet in my spare time and enjoy painting even if I'm rubbish at it. I take french classes at the local community college and wish I had time to study psychology and neuroscience as they fascinate me to no end. I want to live in a city that feels like it's moving forward and innovating. Whether it's true or not, the coasts of the US have always interested me because I feel like they are more out there on the edge where things happen as opposed to being stuck in the middle as I have been.

I'm planning to move July/August 2017 as that's when my lease is up. I'm moving from Austin, TX. I've lived in Texas my entire life (except for 5 years in Boulder, CO) and I'm ready to get out of the south and out of this state. I've always wanted to try life out east. I'll do my best to get a job before moving, but I'm not opposed to moving without one, though I know it's infinitely harder. I will be looking for work mostly in the arts (I work for a dance company currently), but I'm also open to other work, of course. Museums, universities, that sort of thing.

I'm looking for an apartment much like everyone else looks for: safe, affordable, cool neighborhood.
Safe: I don't have a car (do you think I need one?) so I don't want to live too far from a metro/bus stop if I'm coming home late. I LOVE taking walks around the neighborhood, so I can't imagine being happy in a place where I felt unsafe doing that.

Affordable: I'm thinking a room under 1000? I pay $700 in Austin for a two bedroom with a roommate in a desirable neighborhood. I know Boston is more expensive, but I'm not sure how much. I don't mind having a roommate(s) at all, though it would be cool to live without one sometime in the future.

Cool neighborhood: Are there cafes, coffee shops, a bookstore, a market, people walking around? I'm not a party girl, but a little neighborhood life would be nice. That being said, I'm also five years past graduating college -- Boston is a college town for sure, but if I can avoid living in an area that is 99% undergrad...that would be nice:-)

I'm single with no kids, so I don't care about schools. No pets. Don't care if there's a yard or not.

I have two concerns about Boston that you should feel welcome to address if you'd like:
1. The expense. Let's face it, the kinds of places I like to work do not pay a lot. Can one enjoy what Boston has to offer on a small salary? I have friends that struggle in NYC every month and never have fun and it sounds miserable. I don't need to live a cushy lifestyle by any means, but I'm worried Boston will be prohibitively expensive.

2. Catholicism. It sounds crazy and I may be totally off base....but that's what you guys are for! I am not at all religious. Zero religion here. Boston has such a catholic reputation--can that be felt in day to day life? I have visions of old white men in polo shirts driving nice cars on their way to the golf course. Please tell me Boston is more interesting that that. I'm inclined to think so, but I've never been, so what do I know?

I've tried to be as thorough as possible, but I'm happy to clarify or expand on anything. Thank you all so much for your input!

[millerm277]

Safe: Boston is overall quite a safe city. Certainly in comparison with Baltimore or Philadelphia it's far, far ahead. As with anywhere, there's places that aren't safe at night, but in Boston most of the city is fine for you to walk around at night while that is absolutely not the case in Baltimore of Philly.

Affordable: That budget is possible although not in the nicest/closest neighborhoods.

Neighborhood: Boston is basically a collection of neighborhoods functioning as a city, and they all have their own feel, restaurants, stores, etc. You'll be pleased with that aspect. There isn't the "one area" for anything other than maybe nightclubs (which are almost all near Fenway), although the Back Bay along Boylston/Newbury is probably the biggest hub.

Religion: New England and the Pacific Northwest are the least religious regions in the country, so the influence of actual religion is low. There are some aspects of society that you may find a little more conservative. For example, large tattoos will still severely hurt your employability in Boston while people care a lot less in say...Boulder, CO. And the population tends to be pretty nicely dressed in their day to day lives.

[discontent_doodle]

Thanks for your thoughts! The safety issue does seem to be less of a thing in Boston than in Philly or Baltimore for sure.

I've heard that about Boston neighbourhoods before, which is nice. I guess the only way to get a feel for them is to visit. I've heard good things about Jamaica Plain being an interesting place that's not crazy expensive and still safe enough. I will probably stay away from Fenway as, IIRC, that's the center of sports mania:-)

Both Boulder and Austin are SUPER casual cities and I think it will be interesting to get used to that change, for sure.

Thanks again so much, this is helpful!

[jan0105]

Are you somehow British by way of Texas?

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by millerm277

Neighborhood: Boston is basically a collection of neighborhoods functioning as a city, and they all have their own feel, restaurants, stores, etc. You'll be pleased with that aspect. There isn't the "one area" for anything other than maybe nightclubs (which are almost all near Fenway), although the Back Bay along Boylston/Newbury is probably the biggest hub.

The people in Boston are less observant than in many other places but the legacy Catholicism and Protestantism alike is heavily felt here, I'd say.

For nice neighborhoods include the areas across the Charles River too-- Cambridge and Somerville especially. Probably a bigger concentration of like-minded people there than in the city of Boston itself.

[Dm84]

Originally Posted by discontent_doodle

I'm looking for an apartment much like everyone else looks for: safe, affordable, cool neighborhood.
Safe: I don't have a car (do you think I need one?) so I don't want to live too far from a metro/bus stop if I'm coming home late. I LOVE taking walks around the neighborhood, so I can't imagine being happy in a place where I felt unsafe doing that.

Don't bring a car it's a giant pain in the ass/expense if you live in the city. Understand that our mass transit system doesn't run all that late (it shuts down around 12:30 am; it runs a little later on the weekends but that service is going to be cut soon). I'd say most places are safe but if the rent seems much lower than other apartments you're looking at, there's probably a reason.

Affordable: I'm thinking a room under 1000? I pay $700 in Austin for a two bedroom with a roommate in a desirable neighborhood. I know Boston is more expensive, but I'm not sure how much. I don't mind having a roommate(s) at all, though it would be cool to live without one sometime in the future.

You can definitely find something for under $1,000. The lower the rent the less frills the apartment will have.

Cool neighborhood: Are there cafes, coffee shops, a bookstore, a market, people walking around? I'm not a party girl, but a little neighborhood life would be nice. That being said, I'm also five years past graduating college -- Boston is a college town for sure, but if I can avoid living in an area that is 99% undergrad...that would be nice:-)

This really varies by neighborhood. The "coolest" neighborhoods are the most expensive.

I'm single with no kids, so I don't care about schools. No pets. Don't care if there's a yard or not.

I have two concerns about Boston that you should feel welcome to address if you'd like:
1. The expense. Let's face it, the kinds of places I like to work do not pay a lot. Can one enjoy what Boston has to offer on a small salary? I have friends that struggle in NYC every month and never have fun and it sounds miserable. I don't need to live a cushy lifestyle by any means, but I'm worried Boston will be prohibitively expensive.

Really the biggest cost here for someone in your situation is rent. Not that everything else is inexpensive but rent is definitely the most noticeable expense. Aside from that, yes almost everything will cost more than where you are now. It's not NYC bad yet, but it's creeping in that direction.

2. Catholicism. It sounds crazy and I may be totally off base....but that's what you guys are for! I am not at all religious. Zero religion here. Boston has such a catholic reputation--can that be felt in day to day life? I have visions of old white men in polo shirts driving nice cars on their way to the golf course. Please tell me Boston is more interesting that that. I'm inclined to think so, but I've never been, so what do I know?

Aside from the protesters in front of Planned Parenthood or the South Station Preacher you'll never come face to face with religion unless you want to.

[bjimmy24]

Boston is very Catholic.as another poster said, people may not be going to church every week, but the influence Christianity has had on Boston is very evident.

Also, those posts are definitely white-centric in the city. Within Boston, there are many Latinos in east Boston who are all Catholic. Black population is also very religious. Walk through Brookline and Brighton and you'll see a lot of orthodox Jews. A lot of suburbanites are very Catholic too, ditto the over 50 crowd in the city. But yes, white people our age do tend to be religiously ambivalent, but that's far from a complete picture.

[Hockeygirl063]

As far as jobs goes and I haven't really looked yet a degree is necessary for say a computer programmer? My hubby is one but he never went to college. He is a senior developer and has worked at the same place for 15 years now. Not 15 years as a programmer.


Boston is one of the few places I really want to live even if it is not forever. I think a year in Boston would be fun and educational. Besides the history there is the Red Sox and Bruins :-)

I am also interested in Maine and Minneapolis. They don't really compare :-)

[chicagoliz]

I've lived in both and right now am in the process of moving from Philadelphia to Boston. As a city itself, Boston is safer and has more going on. And even though people complain about it, the public transportation is decent. Philadelphia is much less expensive, overall has less going on, but does have several pockets that will keep a single person happy and fulfilled, with plenty to do, but the public transit totally sucks.

Philly has really great (and fairly inexpensive) access to NYC. Boston still has good access, but it is further away and more expensive, so if you have friends in NYC or any reason why you might go there more than a few times a year, Philly is really easy to get there from. (Philly is also closer to DC, if you have any reason why you might go there, and obviously it's closer to Baltimore, which was also on your list, so if you have friends there or something there that you want to visit, it's a really easy trip there, too.)

Don't worry about the religion thing in either of the cities. I know there's an active Freethinker's club and a group (I can't recall the name that has discussions on Sundays about societal and scientific topics, but the name escapes me right now). I'm sure Boston has these sorts of groups, too, I just don't happen to know of them and haven't yet investigated.

The water at the ocean at the beaches closest to Philly are warmer than the water at the beaches close to Boston.

MA has two great Senators. PA has one mediocre Senator and one horrible Senator. (But coming from Texas, both will be an improvement measured in orders of magnitude.)

I can't really say for certain, because I've never been to Austin, but from what I've heard, Boston has more similarities to Austin than does Philly. Take that for what it's worth, since I can't really make that statement from actual experience.

I think Boston has a little more excitement to it, especially for people in their twenties, than Philly does. But again, both can be great. We have a 31 year old cousin living the single life in Philly and he loves it.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by discontent_doodle

I will probably stay away from Fenway as, IIRC, that's the center of sports mania:-)

Really, that's only during baseball season, and even then, mostly during home games. It's not too far from the medical area, and I'd say it might actually be one of the relatively quieter parts of the city. Eons ago when I was a grad student at BU, we used to hang out in the Fenway area quite a bit. There was a great brew pub that we went to probably 3 or more times a week, and it was not that crowded. There was a big crowd on Fri and Sat nights, and there were some other bars in the area that were crowded then, but they weren't really sports crowds.

(Although obviously, Red Sox themed things are big there.)

At one point, in Chicago, I lived across the street from Wrigley Field. You certainly knew you were near Wrigley, but during the winter, it was actually quite nice, as the restaurants there weren't as crowded and parking was easier. It was really only insane with baseball fans during home games, which I think is a similar thing in Fenway.