Best towns to live in- Biotech (Boston, Worcester: apartments, for rent, houses)

[msharris0826]

Hello. I'm hoping to get some info regarding best north eastern towns to live in which have a decent number of biotech companies to work for. I will graduate next May with a Masters and will most likely seek positions as a research scientist, QA specialist, etc. (basic bench work for a new grad). I live in the south and would like to live somewhere that can offer me a bit more culture and adventure and has the convenience of a larger city (i.e. a metro). I have read several articles lately which note New England towns as being the site for new and emerging bioclusters (around Boston, Philadelphia, in CT and near DC. Other places outside of NE are mentioned as well such as Ohio, Minn, Missouri).

Here's what I'm looking for: A historic city with many festivals, an appreciation for the arts and easy access to nature (parks, mountains close by, lakes maybe). A place that perhaps looks and feels small until you take the metro into the main city where you can always find new things to do. A bit of a granola or hippy culture (this is probably the least important factor. I just find that I'm attracted to the same places as hippy-ish folks :P). Somewhere with at least a few established biotech companies so that I would have options in my career. GOOD FOOD. I love good food and wine so I need to be within a metro ride of the bigger city for some good eats and night time entertainment. Somewhere walkable and safe-ish. I'm a 25 yo female if that helps.

I appreciate hearing your view points and will be posting in many New England forums.

[shiver]

Are you looking to buy, rent? What's your budget?

There are definitely a lot of biotech companies in the immediate Boston/Cambridge vicinity as well as immediately outside of the city. The Boston area is pretty expensive - for rents think $1,000/month+ for studios/one bedroom apartments. But it depends.

If the cost of living is something you can deal with, I would certainly apply for jobs and see how it goes. You'd want to look for the job first and then look for the right place to live. Commuting can be brutal around here and you don't want to move first and then find out that you have an hour+ drive to work. A commute that on paper should take 20-30 min can easily take triple that. Also, some of the biotech firms are in town and parking may not be provided forcing you to rely on public transportation which could take a lot of time.

[konfetka]

Beverly has a cluster of 40 life sciences companies in and around Cummings center, which also houses a Biotech Innoventure center that helps emerging companies.

It also happens to be a historic oceanside town with many festivals and appreciation for the arts - with an art college, art galleries, artist studios, even having an Artsfest this weekend. There are outdoor summer concerts, farmers market, lots of restaurants for every taste, farms, conservation land for hiking or biking, waterfront park with kayaks in the summer, a downtown where you can walk to the beach and a train station, and be in Boston in 30 minutes.

Plus it's at the foot of Cape Ann - a summer vacation destination with lots more to do, and right next to Salem, a tourist haven of the North Shore.

You can find an apartment for rent starting at about $1,200-1,300.

[hamster21]

Cambridge, Lexington, and the North Shore are the three big areas. Depending on where you get a job and choose to live you could be setting yourself up for a horrendous commute so be careful. Makes more sense to find a job first and then find a place to live. Or find a temporary place to live until you find a job and then go from there.

Living in JP (up your alley in terms of everything you're looking for) and working in Cambridge is a good combination. Takes about 20min to bike to Cambridge, or you can take the subway. If you drive though it'll take 45min the way there and 1-1.5hours back (took 3 hours back one day with 2" of snow on the ground to go 5 miles). Allston/Brookline/Brighton are similar to JP but not as crunchy counter culture, a little more mainstream with younger ppl.

[brightdoglover]

Brookline is much more safe, appealing and cosmopolitan than Allston/Brighton.
I would not want to be female biking from JP to Cambridge, rather, wouldn't want to rely on biking if out after dark or in bad weather.
I agree that it's critical to get the job and then decide where to live. The North Shore towns mentioned would be very nice for OP. Would Cambridge itself be too much urban crowding? If I worked in Kendall Square, I'd love to live in Cambridge for culture, food, etc.
Best wishes to OP. It's a bright future.

[msharris0826]

It's not the urban crowding I'm worried about. It's being "the little fish in the big sea" job wise. My degree can not
out compete harvard and MIT graduates therefore I think working in an outskirt town may be best. Perhaps there I would be the "big fish"

[hamster21]

Originally Posted by msharris0826

It's not the urban crowding I'm worried about. It's being "the little fish in the big sea" job wise. My degree can not
out compete harvard and MIT graduates therefore I think working in an outskirt town may be best. Perhaps there I would be the "big fish"

Coming from someone in the same field, if you look at it that way, that will happen, so don't paint yourself in that way just because you graduated. Don't forget, just graduating has its benefits too, to the eyes of an employer.

That being said, you should be open to contract jobs through staffing companies. There are plenty of those jobs available in biotech and if you pick the right ones you'll learn a huge amount in terms of new skills and you'll be exposed to different settings. People within the biotech industry understand it's hard to get a permanent position and they'd rather see you getting experience than waiting 9 months to find a permanent position, or closing yourself out for fear of not matching up to the crowd in Cambridge (which honestly isn't any different than the crowd within biotech in areas outside of Cambridge - people from Cambridge are applying to jobs outside of Cambridge too). Just know what you're worth & have confidence - there are plenty of companies out there willing to take masters-degree level people and stick them in jobs they are overqualified for, believe me, so you can compete even without a masters. These jobs can become permanent or open you up to a permanent opportunity. Even if you don't go permanent, usually contracts are extended after they end, if your performance is well enough, and if there is more work to do. Contact staffing companies directly, put your resume up on places like monster.com, etc, and you'll be contacted, most likely. Getting into that first company is extremely important, after that you at least have industry experience that can give you more leverage.

There are a blend of opportunities within and outside of the Cambridge area. Don't close out those options on yourself. It being near Harvard and MIT doesn't mean as much as you think it does. Study up on the industry. All this stuff is on the net, you can basically teach yourself the basics of what is going on in the lab by wikipedia and handbooks from companies like GE/BioRAD/etc who are trying to sell their lab products and include pretty good basic explanations of the techniques used for this or that product. Make your own notes on these techniques and study them. Know the basics when you go to interview, know the basics of what specific projects you may have contributed to at school. Make connections (not sure if you're in the area already but there's a biotech conference at the convention center this coming monday - BioSpace - with tons of biotech companies there to basically interview on the spot and network with). Get a foot in the door after doing this and you can out-compete people with masters degrees. It's a win for the company because you're cheaper than a masters degree, and it's a win for you because you get experience. You just need to prove you're into it, knowledgeable, motivated, etc.

Also, biking from Cambridge to JP as a girl is just fine. I was biking down Mass Ave for most of the time, and then Huntington, and once you hit JP, plenty of girls and people of all backgrounds are biking around. It's a friendly place in most areas near centre st - like any areas, there are some not so great sections, but JP is really bike friendly, and so is Cambridge. The biggest safety concern is being hit by cars, not being snatched up at night by someone. I do agree though that Allston/Brookline have more of dense younger population out and about over a larger area though. JP is a little quieter.

[Rhapsodie2014]

Hamster...

I assume you are in Biotech industry. Are you at all familiar with Clinical Laboratory jobs? Are there any boards that you know of to guide a person through moving to MA. I actually used to live in Greater Boston,,,and moved to CA. Bottom line is....I want to move back here. I have home in CA and want to put on market next year.
I am in Worcester County...looking at various communities here....a lot less expensive than greater Bos.

Question;

1. Is it imperative to have job first.....
2. How to get job from CA....
3. I am also in early 50s....had to start over due to being single Mom,,,,and some other negative events in my life.

Should I rent while CA home is on market.......or keep working in CA while home is on Market...

I really want to get the heck out of So. Cal....worried due to age....getting job, and re-establishing self here...

Thank you for any info....

[hamster21]

I've never dealt with securing jobs by long distances like that before. I'd imagine it'd be hard, especially if you're not in a high position, but who knows. You should speak to staffing agencies and apply to whatever jobs you see and see what happens. Best of luck to you

[Rhapsodie2014]

Thank you Hamster21