Suffolk Law/ Where to live (Boston, Cambridge: apartments, rentals, student loans)

[lawguy24]

Hey everyone. I will be attending Suffolk Law this year and was wondering where to live. Beacon Hill, where Suffolk is located, is pretty expensive so I don't think that will be a possibility. I have heard that a lot of students live in Allston but that it is noisy because of this. Is Allston really that bad/noisy? I do need a quiet setting for studying. I was told the North End is nice. Also, I wont have a car so easy access to public transportation is a must. Any suggestions/insights? Thanks!

[Aurora616]

Well, I'm not too current on these things, but many years ago , my brother lived in Allston, and it wasn't very nice, pretty run down. And as I recall there are two sides of Beacon Hill, the good side and the other side(lol). And I would think travel from the North End could be pretty tricky. If you can afford it, yes, I would opt for the good side of Beacon Hill.(But try for a stone building, some of the old wooden houses are a bit of a fire hazard !). The winters get pretty slushy,snowy and mushy, so yeah, don't want to travel a long ways!

[holden125]

While Suffolk U is on Beacon Hill, Suffolk Law is on Tremont St, across the Common from Beacon Hill, and has the advantage of being within a couple of blocks of every T line in the system. This gives you a lot of options.

Beacon Hill is split into two sides, but the "other" (or north slope) side is not bad. It's got a lot of young professionals and it's perfectly safe. This was not always the case, but I wouldn't worry about it a bit today. While the apartments are often a bit small and can be more expensive than apts in more outlying areas, many on the side closer to Cambridge St are not nearly as expensive as the super-expensive area near Mt Vernon St. I would definitely not look in the "good" part of Beacon Hill since it's so expensive, there are comparatively few rentals, and it's farther from public transit anyway (though you could walk to Suffolk Law from there). The North End is a great area and it's a place you should spend time when you get to Boston, but the rentals are basically small and about the same prices as the north slope of Beacon Hill. Since it's farther away from school and you'd have to walk to the end of the neighborhood to get the T at North Station or Haymarket, between the two I'd go with Beacon Hill.

I would not recommend Allston. It's known as a "student area" but that doesn't mean all the students are dumped there. Allston is mostly home to BU and BC students since those schools are closer to it. It can get noisy and dirty. It's not that unsafe but there's a higher amount of annoying petty crime. More importantly, it's not that convenient to Suffolk Law since the Green Line B, which goes there, is slow and often crowded. There's no need to live there when there are other options with better access to your school.

I do recommend looking in Cambridge. The areas near the Central Sq., Porter Sq., and Davis Sq. T stations could be a good match. There's nightlife but generally not as much noise as Allston (especially on the side streets, many of which are very attractive), and they have access by Red Line to Park St station, across from your school, in 15 mins. The apartments will be cheaper, for more space, than Beacon Hill or the North End. Another recommendation is Jamaica Plain (JP), on the Orange line, though I'd avoid the Jackson Square station area. From Forest Hills, at the end of the line, to Downtown Crossing near Suffolk Law, is about 20 mins. This area has been discussed at length on this forum, so do a search for Jamaica Plain or JP.

[jad79]

I agree with Holden, Cambridge (Central, Porter, Davis Square) and Jamaica Plain (near Stony Brook or Green Street stops) are probably the best bets. The North End and Charlestown are also worth looking into. Cambridge, North End and Charlestown are more dense, JP has more green space, but still gets you to Suffolk Law in about 15 minutes on the Orange line and has plenty of bars, restaurants, etc.

[elizabethn2009]

Before you sign on the dotted line on the loans, I'd suggest you take a look at the following. It's really tough out there for law grads.

Hard Case: Job Market Wanes for U.S. Lawyers - WSJ.com

New Law Grads Urged to Have Backup Plans | ABA Journal - Law News Now

Also: www.abovethelaw.com

www.jdunderground.com

[holden125]

Originally Posted by elizabethn2009

Before you sign on the dotted line on the loans, I'd suggest you take a look at the following. It's really tough out there for law grads.

Hard Case: Job Market Wanes for U.S. Lawyers - WSJ.com

New Law Grads Urged to Have Backup Plans | ABA Journal - Law News Now

Also: www.abovethelaw.com

www.jdunderground.com

True enough, and it's a major undertaking even in good times, but this person won't graduate until 2012 at the earliest. Who knows what the situation will be then. It's the 2009 and 2010 grads I worry about more.

[elizabethn2009]

By 2012, the fact will still remain that Suffolk is a lower-ranked law school. If you take a look at the data from the WSJ article linked above, the OP has about a 1-2 percent shot at a high paying job. 98-99 percent of all graduates -- in good times and bad -- from low-ranked law schools face a very challenging job market and discrimination throughout their legal careers. Law is a very snobbish profession.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by elizabethn2009

By 2012, the fact will still remain that Suffolk is a lower-ranked law school. If you take a look at the data from the WSJ article linked above, the OP has about a 1-2 percent shot at a high paying job. 98-99 percent of all graduates -- in good times and bad -- from low-ranked law schools face a very challenging job market and discrimination throughout their legal careers. Law is a very snobbish profession.

I did not see the data indicating a 1-2 percent shot at a high-paying job and the number seems low. While a job at Ropes & Gray is not as automatic for a Suffolk grad as it is for, say, a Harvard grad, there are 30+ Suffolk grads at Ropes and 20+ at Wilmer. There are also "high paying jobs" out there short of becoming an associate at one of the largest firms. Suffolk grads have a Boston area network to tap into and are thus better positioned than grads of a school from the same rankings tier that is in a place like Nebraska. I know the elitist nature of the legal profession pretty well, but it's entirely possible to go to Suffolk and thrive. I think the OP came looking for advice on neighborhoods, not whether or not to reverse course and ditch the idea of going to law school. In any event, my advice would be to do as well as you can (the top of the Suffolk class does have infinitely more opportunities) and make as many contacts as you can while in school.

[elizabethn2009]

I speak from personal experience as one of the 1 percent who made it. But it is incredibly tough out there and getting tougher every day. I think there is an incredible gap between the perception and the reality of practicing law, and as a member of the profession, I feel obligated to point out the reality to anyone about to embark on a legal career. Most people have absolutely no idea what they are getting into and no idea how hard it is to repay those student loans.

[kay &!*]

i currently live in the Longwood/Mission Hill area and LOVE it. i lived in allston last year and hated it. noisy, run-down, and just rubbish for the price you pay for. not to mention-- 30-40 min. commute to park street!?

try to find apts. no further than Brigham Circle stop on the Green E line. that's where i'm currently living right now and commute is 15-20 min. and it's relatively safe and quiet.