Help me find a place to rent (Boston, Cambridge: appointed, rental)

[Howard.Roark]

Hi all! I'm a Torontonian moving to Boston. Visited Boston a couple times but really don't know much about the city.

I would be working in downtown Boston near the Arlington T station.

Where should I be looking to rent?
I can budget about $1000 for rent. Prefer a neighborhood with other young professionals or grad students etc. with a decent night life. Safe area where I can jog outside at night. Close to a T station and supermarkets where I can buy food to cook. Would prefer not to buy a car. Preferably a condo or loft for myself- is that possible for $1000?

[bostonguy1960]

You have a too open-ended title to your post, I think, to attract many browsers here. But with many maple leafs in my family treen, I should give you some basic advice:

You'll be very disappointed with your $1,0000/mo. rental allowance in or near Boston. I don't think any other posters here could give you much encouragement, either. Maybe a studio in the Fenway neighborhood or the basic parts of Beacon Hill or the North End, in an older (1920s) building, but good for jogging and yuppies/students. Malden (orange line) is doable, but not in a luxury bldg. It has a few yuppies, but mainly Americans, Chinese and now Indians and some Moroccans. Arlington has good restaurants, next to Cambridge/Somerville, quiet, and has studios on Craigslist for under $1,000. Consider Arlington.

Otherwise, Quincy (6-11 miles away from Arl. T stop area) would allow you a 1br in a non-descript bldg. at that price. Yuppie buildings in Quincy cost over $1200-$1500 for 1BRs. You could avoid a car in Quincy, Malden & Arlington if you work regular hours. Also check Craigslist for apts. in the Jamaica Plain (JP) and Brighton neighborhoods of Boston. Also, West Roxbury, Charlestown, South Boston and even better pockets of East Boston may be possibilities -- but limited at that price.

[Howard.Roark]

Thanks for the help Bostonguy! I'm looking at the areas you mentioned on Craiglist and happily there are lots of listings.

One additional question. In Boston, can one claim rent as an expense when doing income tax?

[BriInNH]

Originally Posted by Howard.Roark

Thanks for the help Bostonguy! I'm looking at the areas you mentioned on Craiglist and happily there are lots of listings.

One additional question. In Boston, can one claim rent as an expense when doing income tax?

You can deduct rent, yes.

[Howard.Roark]

Update: I arrived in Boston! Loving the city so far! I live in Somerville now at a place that I took over the internet. Wasn't a good move. I'm looking again and this time, I'm going to take my time and find a place that I really like.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by BriInNH

You can deduct rent, yes.

You cannot deduct rent on your federal tax return, which for most people is by far the larger amount of income taxes. You can deduct it on your Massachusetts state return, but the deduction is limited to the smaller of (1) 50% of the annual rent or (2) $3000, which is the maximum deduction.

If you pay $12,000 a year in rent, you can't deduct any of it from federal taxable income, and you can deduct only $3,000 on the Mass. state return. Essentially you'll not pay the 5.3% Mass income tax on that $3,000, so you save $159 a year.