

Where to live in Boston? - frodo01

I'm moving to boston in January, and have to start looking for apartments. I like startups, hackers, bookshops, theatres, sports (skiing, skateboarding). If anyone could tell me which places I shouldn't miss checking out, it would be great.<p>I checked the past discussions and it seems that Cambridge, Somerville and Harvard Square are nice places. Is there anywhere else I should definitely look at?<p>I'm single and can pay about $1.5k in rent.
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desigooner
I think Davis Square is a little too far removed from quite some Boston areas
.. I'd suggest Harvard Sq or Central Square if you liked Cambridge ..

I've been happily living in Brookline (Coolidge Corner) for the past 2 years.
Not as much of student population as Cambridge or certain other areas of
Boston. It's quiet and safe. Only downside: No overnight street parking

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djb_hackernews
I lived in Central Square, and in my partial opinion, it was perfect. The
Square itself has tons of shops, bars and restaurants, and is right on the red
line and more importantly major bus lines. It's in the middle of MIT and
Harvard, tons of startup activity here. Parking was always easy to find and
neighbors were all young people. Whole Foods, Shaws and a Whole Foods knock
off I can't remember. Trader Joes in neighboring Cambridgeport. It was a 2
mile walk to Fenway, a walk I made many times. For 1.5K you _might_ be able to
find a one bedroom, definitely find one that is not directly in the square.

I also have to make an argument against South Boston. It's like a whole
different city, you seriously need to get on a highway to actually get into
the city if you aren't taking public transportation. Plus parking is terrible
and rents are inflated.

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cschmidt
Davis Square in Somerville is nice. It is on the Red Line of the T, so can pop
into Boston without driving.

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djb_hackernews
I had many friends who lived in Davis, it really only made sense if you went
to Tufts or worked north of the city. Besides that rents were inflated because
of Tufts and you are pretty far removed from Boston proper.

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nostrademons
It's been about 4 years since I checked, but at the time, Davis was
significantly cheaper than Central/Harvard or anything downtown.

It's about a 20-25 minute subway ride on the red line from Davis to downtown.
Judge for yourself if that's too far. It's definitely more removed from things
than the Harvard/Central/Kendall area, but that's nothing compared to some of
the commutes that people are willing to put up with in the Bay Area (where
it's an hour, with no traffic, to get from San Francisco to Mountain View).

The other thing I liked about Davis is that there seemed to be a burgeoning
micro-startup scene there, with a lot of tech minded people working out of
coffeeshops. Granted, that was 2006-07, so I'm not sure if it's still there.
But there were many more young people than in, say, Central Square or
downtown.

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fjabre
Cambridge/Somerville - Porter Square, Harvard Sq, Central Sq

Boston - Allston/Brighton/Brookline.

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mickt
There's also Back Bay, parts of the Fens, and Downtown.

Downtown is where all the subway lines meet. Back Bay & the Fens have a bit
more nature around them, and easy access to the slow Green Line.

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venturefizz
Cambridge is great - especially Harvard Sq. You might want to check out South
Boston. I lived there for four years and liked it. Good luck with the move!

