Author Topic: Apartment Advice  (Read 5177 times)

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Apartment Advice
« on: April 08, 2010, 04:32:36 PM »

Offline Evantime34

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As I do with most of my big life decisions I'm turning to Celtics Blog. I am looking for an apartment with 3 friends in the Boston area. I wanted to know if anyone knew any good places to look for apartments or good realtors in that area. Or just any first non college apartment advice in general.

I'm looking for 4 Bed Rooms, in a youngish neighborhood that has access to either the red or green line.
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Re: Apartment Advice
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2010, 04:47:32 PM »

Offline indeedproceed

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My only non-college apartment advice is that you're looking for a place to live, not a place to crash..

Never underestimate how important personal space is. Try to find a place where everyone gets to have some elbow room.

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Re: Apartment Advice
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2010, 04:49:51 PM »

Offline GroverTheClover

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I typically use Craigslist and choose not to use a realtor. I personally wouldn't spend a month's rent on a fee when there are tons of listings that are fee-free/direct from the landlord. Good luck. If you need advice on areas (Central Square/Mission Hill/Roxbury/Bay Village/Malden/Watertown) feel free to PM me. I've lived in each of those areas.

Re: Apartment Advice
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2010, 04:52:44 PM »

Offline Chris

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Well, if you are over the whole "annoyingly loud college kids stumbling down the street and yelling gibberish at 3am" thing, I would recommend staying away from Alston...otherwise, you can get decent bang for your buck there.

Also, why do you want the Red or Green-line?  If you don't mind buses (which are at times more convenient anyways), or switching from the Orange-line, I have a lot of friends who love JP.  You can get a lot of space for not much money, and if you are in the right neighborhood, it is relatively safe.

What area are you working in, that you would need public transportation to?

I also suggest using Craigslist, rather than going through a realtor.  A lot of times you can avoid the fees that way, and save a bunch of money. 

Re: Apartment Advice
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2010, 05:02:53 PM »

Offline Evantime34

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Well, if you are over the whole "annoyingly loud college kids stumbling down the street and yelling gibberish at 3am" thing, I would recommend staying away from Alston...otherwise, you can get decent bang for your buck there.

Also, why do you want the Red or Green-line?  If you don't mind buses (which are at times more convenient anyways), or switching from the Orange-line, I have a lot of friends who love JP.  You can get a lot of space for not much money, and if you are in the right neighborhood, it is relatively safe.

What area are you working in, that you would need public transportation to?

I also suggest using Craigslist, rather than going through a realtor.  A lot of times you can avoid the fees that way, and save a bunch of money. 
I work in Copley and live in Watertown so I currently take a direct bus to work. Most of the areas I would like to live (Harvard Square, Davis Square, Brookline, Brighton). I haven't really looked into JP, but that would be huge because the Back Bay station is near me so the orange line is perfect.

I don't really care about loud college kids, just about the quality of the apartment. I notice that a lot of the places in college student areas are dumpy which is why I wanted to avoid those areas.

Anyone with knowledge of JP want to tell sell me on it? So far Harvard is my favorite area but in order to live there I need to find a place that is a bargain for the area.
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Re: Apartment Advice
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2010, 05:18:01 PM »

Offline Chris

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Well, if you are over the whole "annoyingly loud college kids stumbling down the street and yelling gibberish at 3am" thing, I would recommend staying away from Alston...otherwise, you can get decent bang for your buck there.

Also, why do you want the Red or Green-line?  If you don't mind buses (which are at times more convenient anyways), or switching from the Orange-line, I have a lot of friends who love JP.  You can get a lot of space for not much money, and if you are in the right neighborhood, it is relatively safe.

What area are you working in, that you would need public transportation to?

I also suggest using Craigslist, rather than going through a realtor.  A lot of times you can avoid the fees that way, and save a bunch of money. 
I work in Copley and live in Watertown so I currently take a direct bus to work. Most of the areas I would like to live (Harvard Square, Davis Square, Brookline, Brighton). I haven't really looked into JP, but that would be huge because the Back Bay station is near me so the orange line is perfect.

I don't really care about loud college kids, just about the quality of the apartment. I notice that a lot of the places in college student areas are dumpy which is why I wanted to avoid those areas.

Anyone with knowledge of JP want to tell sell me on it? So far Harvard is my favorite area but in order to live there I need to find a place that is a bargain for the area.

Yeah, if you are going to Copley, JP should definitely be an option.  It is much cheaper than Harvard square, and you can take the Orange line, or the bus (I forget which one, but I think there is one that goes right to the Pru) right in to work.  I definitely think it is an easier commute than from Alston/Brighton.

I also would say that you can find much nicer apartments in JP than in Alston anyways (In Brighton, there are some nicer places). 

The main question is about the type of area.  I would say that JP has a lot more hipster types, and a lot of the bars/restaurants are kind of geared towards that crowd, while in Cambridge in general, you would get much more of the yuppie crowd. 

The other place you could look if you want a really short commute is the Brookline Village/Mission Hill area.  There are parts of the area that I wouldn't recommend, but if you pick the right spot, and check it out first, you can sometimes find some great apartments, and it is a very short trip up to Copley, with plenty of bars/restaurants along the way (not to mention, a short walk to Fenway). 

I often help my employees find apartments around here, and while its very hit or miss, there have been some really impressive places.

Re: Apartment Advice
« Reply #6 on: April 10, 2010, 10:44:56 AM »

Offline Overrated

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My advice is to browse Craigslist. Lot of listings to sort through. It's a great tool for finding apartments and homes and I've had success several times.

Re: Apartment Advice
« Reply #7 on: April 10, 2010, 11:01:59 AM »

Offline cdif911

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as a formal rental agent myself in the Boston area I'd say if you do use a realtor make sure the landlord pays the fee - most are willing to.  This gives you the ability to have the 1st months/last months rent and security ready

I personally like the Allston/Brighton region for your age range, and it's right on the green line.  Stay away from Brookline proper if you have parking needs, they're very strict and it's sort of a weird age/class dynamic, plus its walking distance from Allston/Brighton if you really want to go there for the food, shows and stuff.
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Re: Apartment Advice
« Reply #8 on: April 10, 2010, 11:58:50 AM »

Offline stoyko

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Davis Sq and Porter Sq are both worth checking out.
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