Possible Move to Boston (Cambridge, Lynn: fit in, apartment, rentals)

[Maggie&Jerry]

I was wondering if I could have a little information on where we'd best fit in the Boston area. Here is a little information about myself:

I am a 20 year old female and my boyfriend of four years is 19. We are looking to make the move from Albany NY (myself, originally from Buffalo, NY) to a major city on the East Coast for his career. He just graduated college for TV Production and is currently working at our local news station as an intern.

He is done with the internship in October and instead of taking our planned trip to Amsterdam, we are passing it up for now to move to a major city. I have been looking into Philly, Chicago, Boston, Miami and of course - NYC.

We are young and fun. We love to be outdoors. We are friendly, not big on partying, actually we only drink a couple beers once every few months at most, but we do like a nightlife scene just incase, and of course we'd like a nice neighborhood with people our age.

We, more than anything, want something relatively safe, a one-bedroom with a max. of $900.00/month before utilities, ABSOLUTELY somewhere that we wont need a car to get around (we want to sell them before we leave Albany), and definitely somewhere close to Public Transportation. Is there somewhere that you can specifically think of where we should look for an apartment? Please let me know! Thank you so, so much for your time!

[ogre]

Is your boyfriend seeking a job in his field in all these cities? My suggestion would be to go where he and you can find the best combination of jobs for the two of you. However, you do have to be able to live comfortably in whatever city is the place you find jobs, so it's good to do what you're doing and get the details.

Keep in mind that several of the cities you're considering have high costs of living. NYC would generally be the highest, and Boston second, Philly probably the cheapest, which may be a big plus for Philly. However, these are generalizations, and you might find a place that works for you anywhere with a careful search.

In Boston, you're more likely to find a rental in your price range outside the actual city. 900.00, even for a one-bedroom, would be tough to search out right in town, especially in the nicer neighborhoods. Even in some closer suburbs you may have to do some serious searching. I would suggest checking craigslist for rentals in your price range. Some more urban small cities reasonably close to Boston, and served by public transit, would be Watertown (public transit would be by bus) and Cambridge. Some places with an urban/suburban mix you might consider: Newton, Arlington (both nice clean safe towns; as with Watertown, public transit in Arlington would be by bus), Quincy.

There are also a few places with plenty of students which you might want to consider if you don't mind noisy parties going on around you at times. Think hard about this. Even when you're young, your attitude about having students and noise in your neighborhood can change pretty quickly when you're working full time for a living. If you would consider such areas, you might look into Somerville, Medford, or the Allston and Brighton sections of the city of Boston. Good luck with the job search, and with finding the right place.

[eevee]

Maggie&Jerry, I thought you've already decided that Boston was too "snotty-patootie" and unfriendly for you? seems like since you've already dismissed Boston as a "Scranton w/ rich people", and have stated you would rather live in Chicago and NYC over Boston, I'd figured you've already made up your mind and you've already decided you wouldn't like it in Boston

[eevee]

*sigh* I guess I'll be a nice Bostonian (I swear, we exist!!) and answer your questions as ogre has...

first off, if you wish to live car free, I'd take Miami off of your list. Miami, AFAIK, does not have a large public transportation system, surely one not as comprehensive as Boston, Philly, NYC, and Chicago.

a budget of <$900 may also cross off Miami, though I don't know the city well enough to know this for sure. it's very unlikely you'll find something safe and nice in NYC w/ that budget, unless you're willing to rent a room in a shared apartment. you can definately find something nice for that price in Chicago (I live in Chicago now and rent a 2 bedroom apartment w/in a 10 minute ride to downtown for around $700. granted, it's a "up and coming" area, but even in the nicer areas of Chicago, $900 will be enough for something decent). I'll assume you can find somethng in that price range in Philly, though I've never been there myself. you'll be able to find something in that price range in the Greater Boston area (BGA), but not likely in Boston proper itself. best bet is to check out East Boston, Lynn, Malden, Revere, and Quincy. your options expand if you up the budget a bit or consider a studio apartment. note that the "best" places for people your age, basically the undergrad crowd, are areas that tend to be a bit more expensive due to their proximity to local colleges. areas like Allston, Fenway, Brighton, Mission Hill, etc, have large student populations and plenty of nightlife around

you'll need to consider job choices before deciding on a city to move to. if your BF wants to work in television, NYC and Chicago has a major pressence in that area, NYC obviously moreso than any other city outside of LA. but if he just want to work in a news station, any city has those and previous experience should help get his foot into the door. of course, you can move to another city w/o a job, but it's very stressful to do if you aren't prepared

[boston mark]

Scranton w/rich people??

that's funny.

[Maggie&Jerry]

Originally Posted by eevee

Maggie&Jerry, I thought you've already decided that Boston was too "snotty-patootie" and unfriendly for you? seems like since you've already dismissed Boston as a "Scranton w/ rich people", and have stated you would rather live in Chicago and NYC over Boston, I'd figured you've already made up your mind and you've already decided you wouldn't like it in Boston

I definitely feel it is too "snooty-patootie" and unfriendly for me. I also want to add that I come from the suburbs of Buffalo, New York where it's definitely not as wealthy as Boston, but the people are friendlier than you could ever imagine and that is why I love Buffalo more than anywhere else. I guess thats what makes me a little sensitive to the attitudes of "REAL city-folks" because no one here in Albany (where I live now) is offended by the attitudes of those in NYC and Boston because they are able to visit so frequently. I never left Buffalo until I moved here five years ago and even after that, it took me almost two years to finally go to New York and three to go to Boston.

To make things clear, I didn't say "Boston is Scranton with rich people." As far as I know they are talking about Scranton, Pennsylvania from The Office where I have never been. I was agreeing with the fact that by moving to Boston you would be paying a lot to live nowhere special. I never meant to offend anyone, my apologies. Anyways, I would not be moving there because it is "special" I would move there because my boyfriend loves Boston and if he could grow successful and I could get my job done there as well, then I'll deal with not being used to major city-attitudes.

I'm sure if you came to Albany, you would hate it and I would ****-talk it right along with you. You are right about one thing, I would MUCH rather live in Chicago than NY, and NY thant Boston, even moreso Philly than Boston or NY. But that's not up to me,. it's up to wherever our jobs take us. Just thought I'd throw that in there, I didn't mean to offend anyone.

[Maggie&Jerry]

Originally Posted by eevee

*sigh* I guess I'll be a nice Bostonian (I swear, we exist!!) and answer your questions as ogre has...

first off, if you wish to live car free, I'd take Miami off of your list. Miami, AFAIK, does not have a large public transportation system, surely one not as comprehensive as Boston, Philly, NYC, and Chicago.

a budget of <$900 may also cross off Miami, though I don't know the city well enough to know this for sure. it's very unlikely you'll find something safe and nice in NYC w/ that budget, unless you're willing to rent a room in a shared apartment. you can definately find something nice for that price in Chicago (I live in Chicago now and rent a 2 bedroom apartment w/in a 10 minute ride to downtown for around $700. granted, it's a "up and coming" area, but even in the nicer areas of Chicago, $900 will be enough for something decent). I'll assume you can find somethng in that price range in Philly, though I've never been there myself. you'll be able to find something in that price range in the Greater Boston area (BGA), but not likely in Boston proper itself. best bet is to check out East Boston, Lynn, Malden, Revere, and Quincy. your options expand if you up the budget a bit or consider a studio apartment. note that the "best" places for people your age, basically the undergrad crowd, are areas that tend to be a bit more expensive due to their proximity to local colleges. areas like Allston, Fenway, Brighton, Mission Hill, etc, have large student populations and plenty of nightlife around

you'll need to consider job choices before deciding on a city to move to. if your BF wants to work in television, NYC and Chicago has a major pressence in that area, NYC obviously moreso than any other city outside of LA. but if he just want to work in a news station, any city has those and previous experience should help get his foot into the door. of course, you can move to another city w/o a job, but it's very stressful to do if you aren't prepared

I meant to respond to those two posts together but I could only do one at a time because your second one was so informative! We would of course have interviews/jobs set up for whatever city we are going to move to. I have already crossed Miami off my list, these were just options we were exploring because there are so many. I absolutely hate hot weather and I'm not a beach girl at all. I'd much, much rather be hiking in the mountains of Colorado (hands-down, without a doubt our future home) or play in the snow than sunbathe.

I have been looking mainly at Chicago and I'm glad to see you've lived both places and know a lot about the two of them, it's really helpful. Thanks for the reply, I appreciate it - and sorry again, if I upset you with my comments about Boston. I didn't mean to offend anyone, it's just not what I'm used to. From what I've heard - Chicagoans have the same vibe as Buffalonians, that's just what I'm looking for. Thanks again!

[ctrres]

I'm familiar with all of these places.

You want Chicago or Philadelphia. Obviously the rents are best in Phil.

[eastcoastlady]

Move to Philadelphia. It's a little dirty but for your age you will like it. I loved it- had a great 1 bedroom apt right in Center City (15th and Spruce) for <$700 a month (this was 2 years ago). Never needed a car, could walk to practically everything. Tons of bars and students and a cool artsy scene in old city. Check out First Friday.
Boston is very expensive. You will not find a decent apt. (if any) for $900 a month.

[Suericio]

i say move to some sort of suburbs of boston, its has something for your price range, somewhat close to albany/buffalo. also there is new hampshire for ur outdoor stuff and the cape for the summertime.
but also check out atlanta, might fit u better.......