My new job will be 1 Boston Plaza with zipcode 02108 - APT hunting help! (Cambridge: for rent)

[RelocatingVerySoon]

Well my thread title is pretty much self-explanatory.

I recently received a job offer from a firm located in 1 Boston Pl. and weighing options between this job offer and the one I got from Chicago firm.

Husband and I have never been to Boston, so we are clueless as to where to begin.

Our primary questions would be -

Do you recommend owning a car in Boston? Is this a walker friendly city? (Currently, we are located in Atlanta and own 2 cars)

Is 1 Boston Pl. considered a "downtown"? Say, if I want to look for apt in craigslist, which keyword should I enter?

What are the good neighborhoods that are relatively close to 1 Boston Pl?

Thanks everyone!

[boston mark]

If you're looking to live in the city, I would go carless for the time being. Boston is very walkable and the public transportation is one of the best in the country. Neighborhoods near by 1 Boston Pl would be Beacon Hill, The North End, Back Bay, South End or even Charlestown and South Boston and you wanted to stretch out a couple miles. Another reason to go carless is parking is very limited in these neighborhoods.

[RelocatingVerySoon]

Thanks boston mark for your reply.

For those who live a bit off-the-city, how do majority of them commute to their work? Public transportation, I assume? Do you recommend keeping at least one car in that case? (I'd assume you'd still need to drive to supermarkets etc in suburb?)

Thanks again!

[RemiJP]

I've found it helpful when looking at places on Craig's List to look at both Google Maps and the MBTA maps at the same time. You'll see that the subway extends pretty far out beyond the city and the commuter rail system extends out even farther.

In general, if you need to take the commuter rail into the city, that could potentially be a signal that you will need a car to do errands. If you are within the subway (the red, orange, green, blue and silver lines) you do not necessarily need a car. This is just a generalization though, once you start exploring neighborhoods a bit more in depth, you'll begin to learn which areas are bad for parking (such as the ones previously mentioned) and which make it a little easier (parts of Cambridge, Somerville, Jamaica Plain, Roslindale).

You could certainly walk to work if you wanted to live in Beacon Hill, Back Bay or the North End, but these areas are very expensive! Most people use public transportation to get to work, it's usually faster than driving, cheaper, more environmentally friendly, and will allow you to get from door to door with out getting too wet and cold in the winter!

If you let us know what you were hoping to pay for rent, folks on here can guide you to specific neighborhoods to help your Craig's List search.