Moving to Boston

[Jsoftz]

Hey folks, know I don't post too terribly much but I figured I'd ask for y'all's help. I've been interviewing for an entry-level sales position with a major IT Information Management company which is in the Boston area (Franklin, to be exact). I went up there last week to interview and was offered the job. Honestly, I'm still debating whether or not I will accept as law school is still kind of on the plate. But that is a different subject all together...

Anyhow, take into consideration that my salary first year would be from 50-60 grand. I'd make considerably more than that after I get my territory in my third year, and thus I would only be living in Boston for about 2 years. I'm from Houston and intend to look for a territory in Texas once I complete the 18-24 month training program at said IT giant so I'm not looking for anything real long term.

All that said, what are the good neighborhoods to live in Boston for someone just starting out? I'm told that none of the first year employees live in Franklin, all live in the city. Honestly, I'm not quite sure what I want out of a neighborhood but here's what I do know: within my budget, relatively young/hip area, decent in terms of crime.. I'd say nothing too out of the ordinary for someone who is 22, single, and just starting their career.

I really appreciate any help you guys can give!

EDIT: If anyone has any opinions of this major IT company in Franklin (I'm not sure if I want to name it outright but many of you may be familiar with it), I'd more than welcome those as well.

 

[Connemara]

You should live in Southie.

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Jamaica Plain sounds ideal, Chelsea has some excellent spots, there is quite a bit going on in Quincy, but its a commute. East Boston is getting quite cool, and you get lots of space for the money, but you are on an island by the airport and, again, there's the commute to consider. Chalrestown and Back Bay are pricier, but doable on your salary (less space, but more citified). Northie has the smallest apartments, but some say the charmingest area; don't live there if you have a car though. South End is for teh gheys. I'd say stay away from Allston and Brighton unless you really enjoy a college crowd (BU kids + BC kids = worst place to live ever, IMO). Lotsa college kids in Cambridge and Somerville as well, but I like it better personally (Somerville sucks for public transit though).

A good way for a young professional to find aplace in boston is to get your hands on a map that shows all major colleges, and then look to rent in one of the few slices of area that are out of the immediate range of any school. You'd think that in a town as small as this, all rental markets would be inflated by the glut of students, but you'd be surprised how lazy and stationary many of them are, and just a couple blocks further from school can mean a less aggressively competitive rental scene. (witness the difference in rent between Cambridge/Somerville as compared to Watertown/Arlington)

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by Joel_Cairo

A good way for a young professional to find aplace in boston is to get your hands on a map that shows all major colleges, and then look to rent in one of the few slices of area that are out of the immediate range of any school. You'd think that in a town as small as this, all rental markets would be inflated by the glut of students, but you'd be surprised how lazy and stationary many of them are, and just a couple blocks further from school can mean a less aggressively competitive rental scene. (witness the difference in rent between Cambridge/Somerville as compared to Watertown/Arlington)

Ahem, says someone who lives closer than I did (15 minutes walk) to the school we were associated with.

 

[Jsoftz]

I've heard that about Jamaica Plain before... more than once. How "citified" is it? I live in the suburbs now and would like to experience a more urban lifestyle at least once in my life. It seems like it could be a good match for me, especially since it seems to have a lot of history and I'm a bit of my history nut (major poli sci, minors in sales and history)

I was in the Back Bay area during my short trip to Boston and it struck me as very nice but out of my range. Of course, I could settle for a very small apartment/studio. I have to decide how much I like Back Bay.

Northie.. what part of town is that? North End? I spent some time there and it was indeed very charming.

Commute is important to me, EMC's offices in Franklin are like 40 miles from Boston. I'd also be making a reverse commute.. so that might rule out public transportation? Have to drive my car, I guess. I don't mind driving a little more to a nicer place but don't want to go way out of my way.

Appreciating all the advice!

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

Ahem, says someone who lives closer than I did (15 minutes walk) to the school we were associated with.

well it's different if you work at one of Boston's many laurel-draped institutions of higher learning, then you gotta bite the bullet and compete with the students for housing if you don't want to commute. If you can avoid it, though, I'd try to avoid the clearly identified school zones, such as places called "harvard square" or "lesley intersection", BC's Brighton, BU's Allston, Northeastern's Symphony, MassArt/Harvard Med's Longwood, etc. etc.

There are benefits, of course; on a clear night, I can hijack Harvard Divinity's wireless internet, and this neighborhood (if you take the right streets) certainly has a distincitve aesthetic feel (I definitely didn't own nearly as much tweed when I lived across the river) and who could discount proximity to Drinkwater's?

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by Jsoftz

I've heard that about Jamaica Plain before... more than once. How "citified" is it? I live in the suburbs now and would like to experience a more urban lifestyle at least once in my life. It seems like it could be a good match for me, especially since it seems to have a lot of history and I'm a bit of my history nut (major poli sci, minors in sales and history) I was in the Back Bay area during my short trip to Boston and it struck me as very nice but out of my range. Of course, I could settle for a very small apartment/studio. I have to decide how much I like Back Bay. Northie.. what part of town is that? North End? I spent some time there and it was indeed very charming. Commute is important to me, EMC's offices in Franklin are like 40 miles from Boston. I'd also be making a reverse commute.. so that might rule out public transportation? Have to drive my car, I guess. I don't mind driving a little more to a nicer place but don't want to go way out of my way. Appreciating all the advice!
Jamaica Plain is really nice, but not necessarily super urban. It's very diverse: one one side is Brookline (one of the top 200 richest towns in the US and the zip code with the nation's lowest citizen-to-police officer ratio ) and on the other is Roxbury (where Boston's murders happen). There are both apartments and old duplex victorian houses. If I were to buy within the city of Boston, it's where I'd want to live. The closer you get to downtown Boston, of course, the more urban it'll feel. Look into it, and keep an open mind about Dorchester, which has some of Boston's most dangerous neighborhoods, but is also a really huge sub-section of the city, and there's a lot of undiscovered/emerged areas that are stll cheap because, bluntly, a lot of renters are afraid of the prospect of unruly neighbors (North Dot is irish, south Dot is black, pick your prejudice). Northie is indeed the north end, and I'd think it agood place to call home if you are here only for a couple years. Seriously, though, a car would be a total deal-breaker there. Streets are narrow, apartments small, parking nonexistant. Ditto Fenway (though apartments there can be somewhat bigger. If you want urban, and can swing a couple hundred a month for parking, it'll open a lot of doors. Look into the Commuter Rail; you might no need to drive each day. (the area anachronistically called "central" on this map contains the north end on top as well as stuff like Chinatwon, the financial district and Fort Point)

 

[whodini]

^^^

Weird map. Why does Brookline somehow escape its wrath?

 

[Serg]

Brook line and has apartments with parking and access to the T so I would not cross that off your list without taking a look.

 

[montecristo#4]

I'd be looking at Allston/Brighton, Belmont, Watertown and Waltham in the low budget range. Brookline and Cambridge if you want to spend more.

Waltham will give you the best commute probably.

 

[alliswell]

That's a map of Boston. Brookline's a separate town.

I'd vote for JP - proximity to the T and bars, plus cheaper accomodation. Your commute from north of the river would be much more difficult.

Originally Posted by whodini

^^^

Weird map. Why does Brookline somehow escape its wrath?

 

[Joel_Cairo]

Originally Posted by Serg

Brook line and has apartments with parking and access to the T so I would not cross that off your list without taking a look.

I lived a year in Brookline and quite liked it. Being such a ritzy town, the apartments tend to be well maintained and its green & leafy (due, again, to all the money). The trick with Brookline is to get away from Allston/Brighton and the Commonwealth Ave. B line of the T. That side is totally overrun with college kids and just generally sucked my will to live. You want to be over by the E or C line of the T, by Beacon St. The commute into downtown (and hence the hub of any public transit that could get you to Franklin) will be literally twice as fast on the C line than the B from Brookline locations that are equidistant from downtown.

 

[Jsoftz]

Great information, folks. I really appreciate the data, y'all are making my options way more clear. To be honest, for the past 4 years my best friend has gone to Berklee but he has stayed on campus almost exclusively and knows nothing of Boston at all. He's been almost totally unable to help, though he tried.

The more y'all talk, and the more I browse through Craigslist apartment listings, the more JP seems to be the most reasonable choice. Of course, I'll never really know until I accept the offer and actually see it for myself. What's the deal with parking there? Public transportation is all but alien to me being from Houston, where we are married to our cars. According to Google Maps, the nearest station is two mile walk from EMC's office and across 495. I don't know how pedestrian friendly that sort of situation is.