Apartment Hunt (Boston, Worcester, Springfield: apartments, rental, condos)

[dunkindonuts86]

Hello everyone! I will be moving to Boston in July to attend BU Dental school, and my girlfriend will be coming with me to attend Northeastern University. We are wondering what area of Boston to move to. We both want a safe area that is convenient for both of us to commute. We were thinking somewhere around Northeastern or somewhere in Brookline. Are these good ideas? Any other areas we should look at? Thanks

[jlyang]

Hi,
I believe that the area immediately adjacent to Northeastern University is jam-packed with undergraduates, so it may be a little too loud and hectic for you if you're going to be in dental school. Most non-undergraduates would probably not want to live there.

Brookline is a very nice neighborhood. The easiest way to get to Northeastern from Brookline would be to live near "Brookline Village" (intersection of Harvard St and Route 9/Boylston St) to take the E line subway/trolley to Northeastern. It would be about a 10 minute ride on the trolley from Brookline to Northeastern this way.

There are also parts of Mission Hill, zip code 02120 (technically Roxbury) that are reasonable places to live), and also a very short commute to Northeastern, since they're also on the E line trolley. Go online and see where the Harvard School of Public Health is. Across the street from HSPH, the neighborhood's pretty decent, and it's only about a mile from Northeastern.

Re. getting to BU dental, that may be tricky, as that immediate surrounding neighborhood is NOT SAFE and I don't believe the subway goes right there either. There probably is a bus line that goes there though I'm not sure.

If money is no object, the easiest thing for you guys to do is to live in the Prudential Building in Boston (Avalon has apartments in the building). The E line T to Northeastern goes right through the Prudential, and it would be about a 5 minute ride to Northeastern from there. I think it's a 10-15 minute walk to BU Dental from there; not the safest walk, but I don't think there is a "safe" route into BU Dental from anywhere. Figure about $2000/month for a 1-br and $300/month for parking in that building though...

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by dunkindonuts86

Hello everyone! I will be moving to Boston in July to attend BU Dental school, and my girlfriend will be coming with me to attend Northeastern University. We are wondering what area of Boston to move to. We both want a safe area that is convenient for both of us to commute. We were thinking somewhere around Northeastern or somewhere in Brookline. Are these good ideas? Any other areas we should look at? Thanks

[dunkindonuts86]

Thank you so much for your help!! I really appreciate it! I have another question, is the area around BU dental a very bad area? Some have told me its in the South End, which some say isn't a bad area. Also, is the area around Northeastern a safe area? I'm sorry for my ignorance to the areas. Thank you for all of your time and help!

[jlyang]

Hi,
The area right around the Northeastern area feels fine; it's almost all college kids. It can potentially get out-of-control rowdy a day or two every year, e.g., the Superbowl or World Series if there's a Boston team playing. There is a small number of panhandlers around there, but in general it looks ok. Once you start going further East, e.g., onto Melnea Cass Boulevard, is where things get seedier.

If you google "Boston Police Blog," you can see crime reports where the Boston police list where crimes are happening in the city.

I don't go to BU Dental/Medical that much so am not the best person to comment on their neighborhood. It is not a warzone, but it is not only slightly sketchy either. The "South End" is an area that consists of high-end condos and restaurants in some parts, and inner-city projects in others. You should try to contact students at BU Med Center to ask them about their neighborhood. Looking at google maps around BU Med Center, for instance, "Tremont St" is a nice part of the South End with shops/restaurants/expensive condos. Melnea Cass Blvd, on the other hand, is unsafe. A straight walk from Northeastern to BU Med Center takes you through some pretty unsafe streets. If you walk from the Prudential to BU Med Center, the first half of your walk is through upscale parts of the South End; the second half of your walk is less safe. Anyways, I am somewhat but not super-familiar with those streets, so try to find someone at BU who can comment on their walk there, and/or call the Boston Police Dept. to try to get some data on crime on individual streets.

See Boston Crime. There appear to have been 2 fatal stabbings and 1 fatal shooting in that area in the past year.

You are probably aware that the shooting/stabbing/etc victims in Boston mostly get treated at Boston Medical too.

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by dunkindonuts86

Thank you so much for your help!! I really appreciate it! I have another question, is the area around BU dental a very bad area? Some have told me its in the South End, which some say isn't a bad area. Also, is the area around Northeastern a safe area? I'm sorry for my ignorance to the areas. Thank you for all of your time and help!

[eevee]

BU dental sits near the border line of Roxbury and the South End. rumor has it (sorry, I'm not currently in Boston anymore) that the parts of Roxbury near Washington Street is gentrifying (folks are apparently calling it "SoWa":) so it may have become a bit safer.

BU dental is accessible by the #1 bus which passes near Northeastern, the #10, which passes through parts of the South End and goes through sections of Dorchester/South Boston (can't remember exactly which), and the #8 and #47, both of which passes through the Northeastern area and parts of Dorchester. the Silver line comes w/in a few blocks of the school, easy walking distance. there is no train/subway close by, so these buses are your best choice.

I'm having a brain lapse moment right now, so I can't remember through what areas of Dorchester the #8 and #47 passes through, but these busses would be a great option if you need to get to both BU Dental school and Northeastern (you will literally be dropped of right in front of BUDS and be w/in a 5 minute walk to the main Northeaster building).


jiyang had a point about living in Prudential building if you can afford it, but the walk to BUDS will be longer than 10-15 minutes and it's not a nice walk at night (Mass Ave is a mixed bag in that area, has some decent spots, has some sketchy spots). I think there is a safe way to walk to BUDS, if you go down W. Newton, or maybe the next street over/away from Mass Ave, but the distance is pretty far from the Pru building.

the area right around Northeastern is Mission Hill. that area has undergone some crazy gentrification and has done an amazing 180 since the 90's when it had some issues (I remember being scared of the Roxbury Crossing T stop as much as I was of the Jackson Sq. T stop). now the majority of the area is much safer than before. as expected, rental prices in Mission Hill has ballooned to extreme highs, making it almost as expensive as some of the ritzier parts of the city (I think the average price for a 3 bedroom apartment is $3k. I can't even imagine how much a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment would cost, probably not much less). I remember the area being pretty rowdy b/c of the parties, but the BPD seems to be working on controlling the parties.

[holden125]

The area near BU Dental is fine. I lived there five years ago and it was fine then. It's only gotten more gentrified since. They are selling 2-BR condos 2 blocks from the school for half a million dollars. It's a little hard for me to believe that people are talking about Mission Hill doing a 180 and talking about this area as being sketchy.

While it's true that the South End is a big area with many subpockets, the area along Washington St. is not sketchy unless you think anything with more crime than Lexington is sketchy. You'd see a trendy bakery and a lot of expensive cars parked. Mass. Av is slightly sketchy and the area west of it is not great, but the area right near BUMC, at least from Shawmut to Harrison Avs, is beautiful. Melnea Cass is not in the South End at all. While walking down Melnea Cass is the most direct way from NEU to Albany St, it is not the greatest area, but walking down Concord St or Worcester St in the South End is an entirely different story. The second half of the walk from the Pru to BUMC is not less safe. It will be uglier and seem a little dodgier on Mass Av itself, but it's fine on the side streets, which are some of the nicest looking in the city.

Washington at Concord:
One of the Last Two Wooden Houses in the South End (5 Haven Street) II on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/historyofboston/2063710931/ - broken link)
south end garden near flour on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamymo/92485139/ - broken link)
South End Houses on Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dockleaf/504582328/ - broken link)

The 8 bus goes to South Bay shopping center and to UMass/JFK at Harbor Point; in the other direction it goes to Ruggles T, then the MFA and Longwood Medical to Kenmore. The 10 goes to Andrew Sq and to City Point, the East Side of South Boston; other direction to Copley. The 47 goes east to Broadway Station, west to Ruggles (similar to the 8), then eventually to Central Sq. in Cambridge. The 1 goes down Mass Av. The Silver Line is good for getting downtown but only goes to Dudley the other way. Dudley has a ton of buses, it's not awful right at the station but not the most pristine place either.

If you can't live in the South End along Tremont or Columbus (which is an easy T ride to NEU, easy walk or bus to BU), then you might want to look at JP. Something along the Orange line would get you to Ruggles, which is right at the back of the NEU campus. The 8 and 47 bus to BUMC are also at Ruggles. Stay away from Jackson Sq. T, but the Green St. area is nice. Brookline is nice but about as expensive as the South End. If you have a car, you need a parking spot (no parking overnight on the streets). To NEU you could walk to the E line from Brookline Village, but it's under a desolate J-Way overpass and not the greatest at Huntington and South Huntington. To BUMC from Brookline you could take the D to Hynes or Copley and get either the 1 or the 10 bus.

[jronald]

My girlfriend works at BU Dental and she says she feels unsafe in the area at night. It is just slightly sketchy though in my opinion. Other people have posted that the 'invisible boundraries' are anything south of Tremont and west of Mass Ave. I really do not think that it is that bad though. I walked through those areas at night on both weekdays and weekends and have felt reasonable safe. South of Tremont St. people go through trash on Mass Ave and no one cleans it up, it can get really dirty. It is slightly seedy, but I do not feel unsafe around that area.

I have found that rents are very reasonable west of Mass Ave in the Lower Roxbury neighborhood. Infact, I am considering living there myself. The areas mentioned before are fine areas too (Mission Hill and parts of the South End). It all really depends if rent is an issue. I know that some BU Dental students live around parts of the Fenway and parts of the South End. Both of those areas are pretty convient to both schools. The #1 bus and the CT1 go right down Mass Ave so the Back Bay would also probably work.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by jronald

My girlfriend works at BU Dental and she says she feels unsafe in the area at night. It is just slightly sketchy though in my opinion. Other people have posted that the 'invisible boundraries' are anything south of Tremont and west of Mass Ave. I really do not think that it is that bad though. I walked through those areas at night on both weekdays and weekends and have felt reasonable safe. South of Tremont St. people go through trash on Mass Ave and no one cleans it up, it can get really dirty. It is slightly seedy, but I do not feel unsafe around that area.

I have found that rents are very reasonable west of Mass Ave in the Lower Roxbury neighborhood. Infact, I am considering living there myself. The areas mentioned before are fine areas too (Mission Hill and parts of the South End). It all really depends if rent is an issue. I know that some BU Dental students live around parts of the Fenway and parts of the South End. Both of those areas are pretty convient to both schools. The #1 bus and the CT1 go right down Mass Ave so the Back Bay would also probably work.

I don't think it's that bad either. I can't imagine anyone drawing a border at Tremont in 2008. Mass Av itself is dirty and a bit seedy, but not the side blocks like Concord, Worcester, Springfield. Of course Mass Av from Huntington to Tremont is a little scruffy too. For a woman alone at night, I can see Mass Ave and the immediate Harrison to Albany blocks being a bit desolate, but my roommate on Worcester Square was a single woman, about 5'2" from the middle of nowhere who felt perfectly fine. West of Mass Av is definitely cheaper but that area strikes me as a little scary because there are practically no pedestrians and a lot of vacant houses or empty lots. The Fenway would work for BUMC and for NU, with the 47 bus.