My D has an internship in Boston. She doesn’t know anyone and her intership starts on May 21st and goes until August 17th. Can anyone help me with housing options that aren’t ridiculously expensive?
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
Where is the internship? What is her budget?
The internship is in the financial district. As for the budget, I will be covering her rent, Boston is just too expensive so Im looking for the most economical but safe place for her thats not going to be to far from work.
Maybe $1500/mo or hopefully less
Malden Center is right on the Orange line. Mostly blue collar working area, safe.
Some of the colleges are ending for Spring about then. What about a sublet? Look on Craigslist.
Some colleges rent to kids for the summer…but May 21 might be a tad early…but worth a call…Boston University, and MIT come to mind.
MIT fraternities open doors to students of all genders during summer. Some of them are more expensive then others but generally run for between $1800 to $2500 for the summer and they don’t prorate if student stay for the shorter term. MIT dorms are very expensive for summer at about $3200
My daughter was interning in financial district last summer and it was few stops on a red line from the MIT fraternity she was staying at.
She should try her college alum network. They can be a good resource for information about local rentals. One of the alums in Boston may be able to put her up while she house-hunts, or even rent her a room for the summer.
I don’t know if the same is true in Boston, but in DC, several colleges open up dorms for college students from other areas to rent for internships for the summer – George Washington, American etc.
So, check online to see whether BU, Northeastern, maybe Suffolk, Emerson, etc. may do summer dorm housing. The advantage is, there are roommates/dorm mates who are typically doing internships, so something of a ready made friend group, and there are often options as to kitchen access, gym access etc. My kid in DC had 3 random roommates for summer housing at GW, and they had a blast living in the city together.
Just looked up BU’s calendar - they finish commencement May 21st,. I would definitely contact the colleges. BU would be a great choice as the dorms adjoin the T and would be an easy ride to the Financial District. As above, other colleges may have summer housing. If I were in your shoes, I would send an email to the housing department of BU, Northeastern, Emerson (closer to financial district, but may be further from the T and small) and MIT/Harvard. I bet BU has housing cheaper than $1500/month!
I checked BU and MIT they don’t have housing for the duration of the time that I need and BU for a single is $427/week which was more than I was hoping to pay.
BU summer housing opens on May 21, in the afternoon. A student could do airbnb etc for the weekend before, and then move in at the end of the first day of internship.
You may have to do hotel or airbnb at beginning and end of internship since many schools end their summer internship housing earlier in August.
http://www.bu.edu/housing/summer/calendar2018/
Northeastern is from May 20 to Aug 11. https://www.northeastern.edu/eecp/intern-housing/
Tufts does intern housing May 31 to Aug 11 http://conferences.tufts.edu/interns
Suffolk is May 18 to Aug 11https://www.suffolk.edu/summerhousing/about.php#dates
Malden Center would work location and safety wise however I don’t have a clue where you would find rent that cheap or short term. My nephew’s friends did an internship in Boston and found a place in Cambridge. I think they sublet an apartment together for June, July and August. I know they had an issue with the end of May and stayed at my nephew’s house one week (in the suburbs north of Boston).
BU and MIT frats is where my kid found housing back in the day. Watching 4th of July fireworks from the rooftop was a nice perk. 
At minimum, a sublet of a room in a shared apartment in Boston will run $800/month, and that is not necessarily in a “safe” area or a very nice apartment.
In Malden Center mentioned above, studio apartments rent for $1100/month. I just happen to have that fact at my fingertips!
Thanks so much for all of your help. I want to compare places across the board and Im having a hard time finding the Malden Center you have mentioned. Is it a part of a university, a section of Boston?
Malden is a town about 6-7 mikes from downtown Boston. It is on the Orange Line T, which goes directly to downtown. It is safe and not too expensive. It is a good place for young people to rent. Look on Craig’s List.
D2 lived in Malden when she first moved to the Boston area. She did not like the area at all because it is mostly residential and not a lot going on. It was fairly cheap and close to the T. But she moved as soon as she could.
D2 has moved several times including a sublet for a summer. She found most of her places through Craigslist. She has also found roommates from Craigslist. Since it is almost April, I’d start looking for a summer sublet.
Malden is certainly not a hip neighborhood but you will pay a LOT of rent in hip areas.