Young Family Moving to Boston (Cambridge, Somerville: lease, lofts, houses)

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by BostonRevealed

Disagree.

While a minority, there are plenty of student housing in North End. I checked out apartments in the North End before. For ~2400, I was shown multiple units as "2bedroom splits", where there is no living room, but instead 2 bedrooms and a kitchen. These were typically for Emerson/Suffolk.

Also, go to Bova at 2:30am and tell me whether those drunk peeps are closer to 21 or 25.

If you think that the North End is an undergrad area, you've never been to Harvard & Brighton Ave.

Very few undergrads in North End.

[BostonRevealed]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

If you think that the North End is an undergrad area, you've never been to Harvard & Brighton Ave.

Very few undergrads in North End.

Yes, much less UG in Northend than Harvard Ave.

Regardless, go there at 2:30am on friday and the whole neighborhood is packed with drunk <25yrs. They all **** in the alleyway on the way to get food at Bova. I would not want to raise a child there. Also most of the places are walk ups.

[thehescher]

Thank you for all of your suggestions. After visiting this past week, the areas my husband and I liked best were Beacon Hill, Back Bay, and South End. I have realized that my original wish list probably isn't going to happen. We may have to get a two bedroom instead of a three and I'm even considering trying to walk/ use public transportation and not have a car. It seems like it would be too big of a hassle to have a car in those areas and also too expensive to find a garage spot as space is limited. I talked to a few mothers on my trip who navigate the city without a vehicle. The biggest challenge in those three areas will be finding a building with very few steps or, most preferably, an elevator building. I'm assuming that rules out Beacon Hill but am still keeping it on the list.

I really wanted to love South Boston but just didn't feel like there were a lot of things to do there. I like being able to walk out the door and have a variety of food, cafes, shops, etc. available and didn't get that feeling. Most of the kids activities/ classes I found were in South End and Beacon Hill. The Seaport was nice and definitely developing but I feel like I would always be leaving the area to go somewhere else. Right now my mindset is that I'd rather live in Beacon Hill, Back Bay, or South End without a car than live in Seaport or South Boston with a car. Am I missing something about the areas or being too quick to judge?

Two areas I regret not checking out are Cambridge and Charlestown. Once we were in Boston, they seemed far removed from the city and like transport to Seaport would be too long. True?

Do you have any recommendations or advice for the 3 areas we are interested in? When should we start looking for a place if we intend to have an April 1st start date?

Am I overlooking South Boston, Seaport, Charlestown, or Cambridge? Do you have any specific areas (crossstreets, etc) to concentrate our search in those areas?

Thank You!

[missionhill]

I think you're right about everything except for Cambridge, which, when you get over there, does not feel isolated or separate from anything, and is accessible to the seaport via red line. In Cambridge anywhere within a 10 minute walk of the Central and Harvard stations would be ideal.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by missionhill

I think you're right about everything except for Cambridge, which, when you get over there, does not feel isolated or separate from anything, and is accessible to the seaport via red line. In Cambridge anywhere within a 10 minute walk of the Central and Harvard stations would be ideal.

Agreed. Cambridge to Seaport is easy, if you're near the red line. Central, Harvard, Porter, Davis all work.

Loads of shuttles now from South Station to different parts of Seaport too.

[bjimmy24]

I think if you like the vibe of Back Bay and Beacon Hill, you probably wouldn't care much for Central/Harvard/Davis. Just kinda different personalities. You may, however, like Charlestown.

But Cambridge is really not isolated in my opinion. I work here, feels like I'm just as much "in the city" as anyone else. Red line is pretty easy.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

I think if you like the vibe of Back Bay and Beacon Hill, you probably wouldn't care much for Central/Harvard/Davis. Just kinda different personalities. You may, however, like Charlestown.

But Cambridge is really not isolated in my opinion. I work here, feels like I'm just as much "in the city" as anyone else. Red line is pretty easy.

Completely agree. Based on the OP's posts it's pretty clear what type of vibe she's looking for in a neighborhood and it doesn't seem like Cambridge fits the bill. I think she'll like parts of Charlestown, but she'll be relying on bus transportation which is a big hassle with kids. She might also find it a bit disconnected from the rest of the city.

OP: It sounds like you found out first hand a lot of the points I talked about in my first post. Each city has its quirks and you must be very observant to pick up on everything you described in just 1 visit. Perhaps if you ditch your car and get a Zipcar membership, you can bump up your budget a little and find a place in one of those neighborhoods you liked. Zipcar is very common in Boston for people who only need a car once or twice a week. If your carrying costs are low (e.g. your car is paid off), you can also just get a resident parking pass and leave it on the street so it's always there if you need it. But I need to warn you, it's a PITA in the winter because you might need to move it into a garage overnight when they announce parking bans to plow your street. I think it's preferable to compromise on space instead of location so you can get the experience you are looking for. For a 4/1 move-in you should start looking as soon as the holidays are over, but definitely keep an eye on things starting now so you can get a better sense of the market here.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Parsec

Completely agree. Based on the OP's posts it's pretty clear what type of vibe she's looking for in a neighborhood and it doesn't seem like Cambridge fits the bill. I think she'll like parts of Charlestown, but she'll be relying on bus transportation which is a big hassle with kids. She might also find it a bit disconnected from the rest of the city.

I don't know about child stuff (though I have friends with kids in Cambridge that love it), but what part of her post makes you think Cambridge doesn't fit?

Walking out to shops and cafes, check... in abundance. Parks, check. Commute to Seaport, check.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm curious as to the rationale.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by timberline742

I don't know about child stuff (though I have friends with kids in Cambridge that love it), but what part of her post makes you think Cambridge doesn't fit?

Walking out to shops and cafes, check... in abundance. Parks, check. Commute to Seaport, check.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm curious as to the rationale.

It may just be the way I interpreted her posts, but it sounded like she wanted to experience living in a traditional Boston brownstone with a front porch and window planter to complete the look. Beacon Hill, Back Bay and South End all exude the Boston Brahmin vibe that's fun to experience once in your life. There's just something charming about it vs Cambridge which seems chaotic and cluttered to me. Usually people here associate themselves with either downtown Boston or Cambridge/Somerville. I'm stereotyping a bit here, but they usually go along the lines of hipster vs prim and proper. Don't get me wrong, I personally feel Cambridge is the best fit for families because it offers more amenities, but you can find a "Cambridge" neighborhood in any major city.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by Parsec

It may just be the way I interpreted her posts, but it sounded like she wanted to experience living in a traditional Boston brownstone with a front porch and window planter to complete the look. Beacon Hill, Back Bay and South End all exude the Boston Brahmin vibe that's fun to experience once in your life. There's just something charming about it vs Cambridge which seems chaotic and cluttered to me. Usually people here associate themselves with either downtown Boston or Cambridge/Somerville. I'm stereotyping a bit here, but they usually go along the lines of hipster vs prim and proper. Don't get me wrong, I personally feel Cambridge is the best fit for families because it offers more amenities, but you can find a "Cambridge" neighborhood in any major city.

ok, fair enough