How is Jamaica Plain? (Boston, Brookline: best neighborhood, apartments, rental) - Massachusetts (MA) - City-Data Forum

timbofirstblood · 06-17-2008, 04:47 PM

I'm going to be starting grad school at Northeastern in September. I'm looking for an apartment right now, and I've found a few in Jamaica Plain that look appealing and close to the school. I have several questions:

1. A friend of mine told me that Jamaica Plain can be an unsafe neighborhood. Is there any truth to this?
2. Are there other neighborhoods in Boston that I may want to avoid due to safety concerns?
3. What are some good areas to look for apartments near Northeastern?

Thank you very much for your time.

eevee · 06-17-2008, 07:03 PM

amerideaf · 06-18-2008, 09:39 AM

Thanks to "eevee" (Senior Member) so I have to adjust my habit on using the City-Data website. I will read the list you provided.

timbofirstblood · 06-18-2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eevee

Thanks for the info. I'm new here, obviously.

Boston Bill · 07-31-2008, 08:28 AM

Hi, I've lived here in JP for over 16 years. It is a wonderful place to live. Dare I say the best neighborhood in Boston? I guess it depends on what you're looking for.

One of the things I have noticed about JP more than any other neighborhood is the cohesive sense of community. There are organizations everywhere. People are very active. There is tons of green space. Excellent transportation options. 25 minutes drive out of town till you're in the woods. It's amazing. If you would like to learn more about JP and all the recent changes - message me.

psu2005 · 08-04-2008, 12:19 PM

Have you considered Dedham or Norwood? They are on the commuter rail, which has a stop right at Ruggles (NEU) and offer a more "suburban" lifestyle while still being fairly convenient.

goyguy · 08-04-2008, 09:09 PM

Roslindale's even closer in, with lower rents than JP (although that's changing.) The "better" sections are along South St between the Arnold Arboretum and Roslindale Square ("Roslindale Village" to 21st-Century "urban planners," "Rozzi Skway-ya" to long-timers), and away from Washington St and Cummins Hwy beyond the square. Not only are there "tons" of buses servicing Washington St into the Forest Hills terminal on the Orange Line (to Ruggles, in NU's "back yard"), there's a commuter-rail stop in the square.

Any place at any time can prove to be dangerous. But the odds of trouble's finding you in JP are the least in your favor east of the Orange Line, and between Hyde and Jackson Squares along Centre St. It's a safe community by and large. Egleston Square, along Washington St as it enters Roxbury, is the sketchiest area along with Jackson: a heavy concentration of public and subsidized housing "developments" complete with resident - and rival - gangs. The Southwest Corridor "park," in many parts little more than a shrub-lined paved bike path, is definitely to be avoided after dark. It parallels the Orange Line and commuter-rail tracks.

It's a "mixed bag" south - and east - of Centre St, then east of and around South St beyond the WWI monument headed toward Forest Hills. You'll find everything from sylvan enclaves filled with restored Victorian mansions to grubby streets with "three decka" apartment houses lined up shoulder to shoulder. This portion of JP is in seemingly perpetual gentrification mode and is largely risk-free at night. Between Centre St and Brookline, the neighborhoods are the quietest and coziest, also the priciest. Aside from the now-"shaky" Perkins Square complex of stucco apartment houses, the housing is in good condition and shelters people you'd like to have as neighbors. The neighborhood's northernmost sector, anchored by the VA Hospital and SPCA, contains sturdy two-family houses and brick apartment buildings (many "gone condo") and refurbished brick rowhouses along South Huntington Ave and its side streets. Farthest to the west is Moss Hill, a mid-1900's subdivision that continues to be a "good address" and where you stand next to zero chance of finding rental property.

Most apartment ads make reference to "Pondside" or "Monument area." The focal point of western JP is Jamaica Pond, a popular (sometimes too popular, lol) place to walk or jog or go fishing or simply relax. It's part of the Olmstead "Emerald Necklace" series of "green spaces" that extends from Franklin Park to the Charles River. A "Pondside" apartment may be six blocks away from that body of water, but it's almost assuredly west of Centre St. The Monument area is situated south of what's termed "Pondside," between the pond and arboretum, with its approximate center being the South/Centre St intersection that has the aforementioned WWI monument as its landmark.

I spent several happy years dwelling on South Huntington Ave - loved being steps away from Joseph's, a local "institution" that's been serving delicious fresh pizzas and subs until 3 AM every day for longer than anyone can remember. But now, even as I extol Jamaica Plain I include Roslindale in the same breath. IMHO it's gotten so that JP has become overpriced and overrated. Few people can't exist without Indian and Thai bistros, decorative-accessory and antique shops, and the like within easy walking distance. The fate of JP is that of many close-in and yuppified city neighborhoods, it's a victim of its own success. Most of the "funky" feel to the community is gone as commercial leases get more and more expensive and residential rents follow suit.

Closer still to NU are Mission Hill and the South End. In both cases the high rents aren't reflected by crime-free environments, and certainly not by a sense of tranquility, nuff said. A desirable, but hard to find a place in, enclave is the Gainsborough/St Stephen/Symphony Rd neighborhood. It's wedged between Hemenway St, Mass. Ave, and Huntington Ave, within spitting distance of the NU campus. Hemenway itself is largely student housing, "official" and otherwise, and is a din of rowdiness on weekends and most warm nights. But the streets headed away from there are mostly laid-back in atmosphere. The entirety of Gainsborough St is condo-ized, with a security team sponsored by the owners' association augmenting the BPD. A good number of the units are absentee-owned and rentable, with Symphony Rd and St Stephen's St much the same way.

Happy home hunting! Now is definitely the time to do it - in fact, you're already running behind.

Charliekeet · 08-05-2008, 09:22 AM

by goyguy!

maggiekate · 08-08-2008, 09:54 PM

rWhat a great Post about a nice place, with some problems!

much thanks! At the Mission Hill where the dentist I did go, I felt safe, and did love going into the Mission Church-what a great place!