It's just a jump to the left (Cambridge, Somerville: apartment, lease)

[personalmoniker]

And then a - ok, that's enough of that. The line's just there to get people to click on the topic.

I've come to you, denizens of city-data, with a quest. A quest for a better neighborhood. In my rush to replace my daily 70-mile commute from NH to Cambridge last year, I pulled the trigger too quickly on an apartment in Upham's Corner and have been eyeing the escape clause on my lease uncomfortably ever since. My apartment comes with some wonderful things like a washer/dryer in unit, amazingly thick walls (I've heard my neighbors I think twice in the last 8 months, and we're all young folks here, with the occasional shindig) and good space for the money (somewhere in the 650-700 sq ft range - big studio). It also comes with a neighborhood that I'm....disinclined to wander in much after dark, as you might imagine - I exit my apartment to the sight of Columbia@Dudley. Although, honestly, I've had excellent luck thus far. The building's nice, the other residents are friendly, and the bus stop is right there. I just want to be able to wander around in the evenings without having to first wander to another part of town. Especially since work is only just now getting to the stage where I have enough free time to really wander around to places not directly adjacent to work and home.

That's the background. Here's the stuff that matters now. I work in Cambridge, within spitting distance of the Galleria and about equidistant from Lechmere and Kendall. I've got about $1300 a month to work with comfortably, a motorcycle that I'd really like to haul out of my parent's shed in NH and bring down here without worrying about it while I'm at work, and legs used to walking. Ideally I'd like to be able to get to work inside of 45 minutes or so by foot, bus, subway, or a combination of the above; being able to get into downtown without too much effort would be a bonus for when I take bus trips back north. Any recommendations for neighborhoods I should look at as I start up my search? My lease doesn't complete until the end of May, so I've got a few months to hunt.

Thanks in advance, folks. If I've skipped information that will help you help me, ask away and I'll get back to ya quick-like.

[holden125]

You should be able to find something in your range, in a fun neighborhood with a good commute, in Somerville. There is pretty quick bus service to Lechmere from Davis, Inman, Union, Ball or Teele Squares. Davis is, I think, the 88 and 87. Inman Square is on the 69 bus. Ball or Teele are near the 80 bus. You could probably walk to work in less than 45 minutes if you wanted to. You might be able to arrange parking for a motorcycle more easily than a car too.

Any of these places have bus service to the Red Line, which will get you to South Station for the bus north.