<p>DD is graduating and moving to Boston in july for teaching job. She knows that she will need to live with room mates on her salary. I 'm avoiding helicoptering but room mate ads on craiglist boston are privately driving me to that second glass of wine ever night- my favorite so far has been “clothing optional” from male professional stating " 55 is the new 35". Any ideas/experience with craigslist room mates, room mate matching services, or suggested neighborhoods not undergraduate crazed? She may take a car, but not a priority if bus/t accessible. She will be teaching near jamaica plain.</p>
<p>I can’t tell your D where to live since I’m not familiar with all the different neighborhoods, but it seems to me that she could somehow contact all the colleges up there that have graduating seniors that may also be looking for roommates. Just a suggestion.</p>
<p>I did this with our son last year and it was not a fun experience for me, especially as he was working (contract) while I was looking for a place for him to live at. We did find something that he likes but it was pretty expensive but it allows him to focus on his job.</p>
<p>One of my former co-workers did the Craigslist thing. They rented a house and roommates came and went and they’d have to find new roommates on a regular basis. They had the usual problems with roommates that they would have to work out. I don’t have any personal experiences on Craiglist roommates (I did do the roommates thing back in the 1980s but I think that’s not applicable) but I’m interested to see what others suggest as it might be useful in the future.</p>
<p>One of my nieces did do this - she found a roommate for an apartment near Harvard Square that was about $1,600 (I think that less than $1K/roommate is a win) - the realtor may be the person that did the matching. We tried to use her realtor for our son - it didn’t work out. He did Cambridge and our son need Boston. It was only a several miles away but it looks like realtors can be experts in their own areas and not very good in other areas. The price of going through a realtor is typically a month’s rent.</p>
<p>One other thought: perhaps the district that is hiring her maintains some kind of housing assistance list or maybe there is an online forum for teachers with a for sale/wanted area.</p>
<p>My son was apartment hunting in the Cambridge area last year. He said that it is just about impossible to find anything without an agent. He did spend a fair amount of time on Craigslist looking. (I think it’s possible he ended finding the place himself but was still beholden to the agent.) She may want to see what MBTA stops are near her school and go from there. (Maybe the green line?)</p>
<p>I lived in Jamaica Plains, near the Reservoir, and took green line to work. Some areas near reservoir and the town center were safe. I chose to live in a large apt building, which had many working people and other interns/residents. I haven’t been there in years, so would need an agent’s advise. I took a green line to work.</p>
<p>Son lives in Cambridge. He was on list with several agents, and we checked Craig’s list often. Most apts. were shown by agents. Places near Harvard SQ and Porter Sq were beyond their budgets. The nearer to green line, more expensive. However, compromise between rent and safety.</p>
<p>Perhaps your DD can chat with a school secretary, who could put her in touch with at least 1 young female teacher, in order to gain ideas.</p>
<p>Where is your daughter teaching? To some extent that should guide her decision. Rush hour traffic can be a killer. Popular areas in the city for young peoe are: the South End, Back Bay, and Brighton. Cambridge and Somerville also have sizable student populations. My D lives in the South End and works in a suburb (Concord)–which is a reverse commute and it’s not so bad. Personally, I think the South End would be a great place to live. You can walk to stores, restaurants and there are lots of young professionals. Could your D ask her new colleagues for tips on finding roommates and/or apartments?</p>
<p>Have her check with her school and see if they can send out an email or have a list of places for her to rent or people looking for roommates. There may be other young teachers in the district as well and they may also be new or in need of a roommate. I don’t blame you for not trusting the Craigslist ads.</p>
<p>Our daughter and another graduate from her college used a realtor to find a decent place in Cambridge. It’s pricey, but they both are glad for the proximity to public transportation, the short commute, as well as the safety factor.</p>
<p>You need to identify where she’s teaching because that determines access by the T, meaning the trains not the bus. The Orange Line is very different from the Green Line. Say she’s teaching near the Orange Line. The safer and more fun neighborhoods to live for the Orange Line are more in town, meaning the South End and maybe Back Bay - which requires a bit more of a walk. </p>
<p>The thing to do is take the place and map that to the MBTA routes for trains and buses, understanding of course that buses are usually a worse choice because they get stuck in traffic. (This is not necessarily true of the E branch of the Green Line, which runs on the street and not in its own space.) </p>
<p>Beyond that, I’d focus on the schools that are near the job. So for example, it sounds like Northeastern and the other schools on that side of town may have more leads and roommate possibilities than BU or BC or Simmons, etc.</p>
<p>What’s your daughter like? Has she lived in a city before? Does she like to walk or run? Bike? </p>
<p>I lived in an iffy neighborhood of Boston (and another one in Cambridge) for years because I liked living alone. I was never particularly afraid, even late at night. I biked/walk/ran everywhere until I bought a car (in my mid-20s) because I had taken a job that was too far away to run (although I got there by bike most days). I could use the T but I hated it–too expensive, too crowded. </p>
<p>Yes, I am talking about a time 30 years ago, but I think too many of us assume that our kids will have cars. Both my kids have ended up living in cities, neither has a car (although my daughter shares one with her husband and uses it once a week or so), both get around on foot and by bike, mostly.</p>
<p>Jamaica Plain (JP) is very popular, and reasonably priced. It has morphed from working class to graduate student/new professional/medical intern and resident types. Older homes but charming. Should be able to find something reasonable there. Close to city but still has mostly trees and lawns. Try to find something walk/bike friendly.</p>
<p>I had a look at JP rental prices and the prices seemed comparable to other parts of Boston and Cambridge. I was a bit surprised as I was expecting lower prices.</p>
<p>If you let me know where she will be teaching, I could make some suggestions. Not the specific school, but for example, Newton, Brookline, Cambridge, etc.</p>
<p>JP is a fun, young area. Parts of it are a bit sketchy, but a lot of it is safe. Would be useful to see if she could commute by T (is the school close enough?). If so, it seems like it makes sense to stay in the JP area-- no reason to have a longer commute. The south end is nice, but much more expensive. Lots of people over there also bike. One problem with a july move is that most of the housing stock in the boston area is on a sept-sept lease schedule. Also, unlike most places, you have to sign a lease many months before moving in. Probably ~march for a june lease, april for a september lease. Friends have had pretty good luck with craigs list roommates-- that seems to happen much closer to move in date.</p>
<p>This link for map of T lines may help you
<a href=“http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/Documents/Schedules_and_Maps/Rapid%20Transit%20w%20Key%20Bus.pdf[/url]”>http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/Documents/Schedules_and_Maps/Rapid%20Transit%20w%20Key%20Bus.pdf</a></p>
<p>July makes it hard. Many people I know who have had to move in June or July have looked for sublets, moved for two months, and then moved again September 1, unfortunately.</p>
<p>I’m seconding all the people who recommend JP. i really like the area and the housing cots are decent. Definitely look at the train lines and the school location first, though – you want to make sure that she doesn’t end up at opposite ends of JP from it. I’d look for Northeastern students, but there are also a lot of young professionals in that area.</p>
<p>I would also check with Northeastern community since many of the students stay during the summer while co oping. She might even consider subletting since July can be an odd time for leasing , just for a few months. I would also consider proximity to her job and T stops making her commute easy and safe.</p>
<p>OP here with additional info. She will be working at one of 3 campuses of a charter school which looks pretty spread out to me. She may not know which one until shortly before school year starts . One campus is in east boston near -airport on blue line ; another is in roslindale; third is in south boston on elkins street.</p>
<p>The Roslindale location is hardest to reach and the worst neighborhood. The school is, I would bet, Edward Brooke Charter School - on Cummins Hghwy. Google that and you can search nearby for MBTA and see all the bus stops. If you go due north on Hyde Park Ave, you can see Forest Hills. That is where the Orange Line ends and it is a major bus station with commuter rail, etc.</p>
<p>If I worked there and didn’t have a car for a commute, I’d consider Roslindale Village, which on the map is a few blocks west. It’s not a bad area and has restaurants, stores, etc. The safest area around is probably parts of West Roxbury. Google where Tom Menino lives. But unless you’re really near Centre Street, it’s just house after house after house. </p>
<p>An option is commuter rail into Roslindale Village. I don’t know the schedules - because it’s not a T stop, just a rail stop. That’s a quick ride from Back Bay. Look up the Needham line schedule and make sure to check inbound (from Needham into Boston) and outbound (duh). </p>
<p>Avoid Mattapan and Hyde Park.</p>
<p>The Elkins Street one is buried deep in Southie, sort of. It’s on the edge of main part of the neighborhood, off Summer Street, which connects Southie to the Seaport district - which is technically Southie but isn’t in reality. I’d look in the Seaport into the Financial District, even into the North End, because some bus line runs up Summer into Southie and back. Otherwise, Southie is sort of removed from the rest of the city, with only bus connections, so it takes a long time to get all the way across to Elkins from the rest of the city.</p>
<p>As I think about it, the Financial District / North End would be a great location for the one in Eastie and possibly for the one in Southie. The Blue Line runs through Aquarium and you can walk along the Greenway and/or catch a bus that takes you up into Southie.</p>
<p>Thanks lergnom. I.will pass this on to her. This info. is very helpful!</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC</p>