Relocating for Boston U (Cambridge, Brookline: apartments, to rent, condos)

[gwash]

Hello,


I will be moving to Boston to attend grad school at Boston U. I am looking for a safe neighborhood with an easy commute and rent of no more that $1500/month. I would appreciate any suggestions on possible neighborhoods. I believe the Green Line of the T is closest to Boston U. Thanks!

[timberline742]

You might be able to find a small studio somewhere up in Allston/Brighton for that, but your best bet will be to look for a roommate situation for $900-1100 in the aforementioned communities.

[chicagoliz]

Get a roommate and live in Brookline.

[bostonguy1960]

You could live in a part of Cambridge near the BU Bridge called Cambridgeport. Not cheap, though.

But like others mentioned, Allston and Brighton areas would be good but also not cheap. Brookline, Massachusetts is adjacent but very $$ unless you get a lucky situation with roommates.

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by bostonguy1960

You could live in a part of Cambridge near the BU Bridge called Cambridgeport. Not cheap, though.

But like others mentioned, Allston and Brighton areas would be good but also not cheap. Brookline, Massachusetts is adjacent but very $$ unless you get a lucky situation with roommates.

OP should be able to find a 2 BR for $3K in Brookline. There are plenty of BU grad students who live there. It's where I lived when I was in law school at B.U., and I knew plenty of people who did, also. Prices were much less then, but OP should be able to find something in that budget.

[bostonguy1960]

Originally Posted by chicagoliz

OP should be able to find a 2 BR for $3K in Brookline. There are plenty of BU grad students who live there. It's where I lived when I was in law school at B.U., and I knew plenty of people who did, also. Prices were much less then, but OP should be able to find something in that budget.

Seems the OP may want their own place for $1,500 near campus, and maybe not $1,500 each in a nice Brookline 2BR. But they'll need to realize that's not happenin'.

Do the landlords in Brookline nowadays expect to rent primarily to yuppies and not grad students, or grad students are welcome as long as not possibly immature undergrads?

[G-fused]

Agree w/everyone about Allston,Brighton, and Brookline - all with roomates. I'll throw in Kenmore as a possibility (w/roomates of course).

Congratulations, welcome, and best of luck.

[chicagoliz]

We encountered quite a few landlords who were willing to rent to graduate students, but not to undergraduates. There weren't all that many undergraduates in Brookline but there were lots of grad students. I lived in two different apartments in Brookline - one was in a complex where each section had 6 condos. The second was on Boylston Street and was a three story/three unit building. I lived with 3 friends in a very large condo. There were 4 guys who lived above us who were Harvard Med students.

Kenmore always had too many undergraduates for my taste, although I'm not sure if there are fewer there, since BU has added more undergraduate housing since I was there. The Fenway area might be another area to explore.

OP could get lucky and find a studio in one of these areas in the specified budget. The post didn't indicate a concrete aversion to having roommates. Honestly, I think it's better to get one -- and I say this as someone who enjoys being alone and really does need alone time and in many instances would prefer to live alone. Especially when moving to a new area, it can be nice to have a roommate who is at least occasionally there. And if you have a 2 BR place, you can always go into your bedroom to be alone. And with a roommate you can live in a place and in an area that's nicer and bigger than you generally can on your own. OP can always move the next year if s/he finds someplace else to live or finds a friend or even significant other to live with.

(Unless OP is moving here with a significant other and combined they want $1500. I didn't read that as the case, but I can't rule it out based on the info given. If that's the case, my recommendations would change.)

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by gwash

Hello,


I will be moving to Boston to attend grad school at Boston U. I am looking for a safe neighborhood with an easy commute and rent of no more that $1500/month. I would appreciate any suggestions on possible neighborhoods. I believe the Green Line of the T is closest to Boston U. Thanks!

I'll throw out Oak Square in Brighton. Instead of the Green Line, you'd take the 57 to BU. Don't be fooled by the green line. Even though it's a train, it is functionally a bus. There is no quality difference between the 57 and the B line green line. The biggest difference is, if you live off the 57 route, you'll save money.

[sawyer2]

Plenty of options in Brookline at 3K max for a 2bed - you should be able to find several for less.

Padmapper is a decent website to search

https://www.padmapper.com/search/apa...lse&dogs=false


Welcome and good luck