This summer my son is interning in Littleton, MA and are looking for a place to live from mid May - mid August. I have seen people giving great advice on this site and hope to get a little help. We realize it is a good 40 min commute to Boston but think it is worth the drive to live near other young people and lots of stuff to do. I have heard of NE and BU offering dorm rooms for the summer but how is parking a car near any of those campuses? Any advice or ideas are greatly appreciated! Thank you.
I used to do this drive but that was like 100 years ago. I used to live near BU. Back then I had to pay $60 per month for a parking at a service and gas station. I don’t believe things are better now. In fact when I came back in 2010, there were a lot more people than I remember.
I think you are underestimating the time involved. I haven’t lived in Boston for many years, but I consulted in Belmont and Concord, and it took time. I would a place in between the two would be preferable. I’ve taken the train from Cambridge to Lincoln, which is easy, and your son could do that on weekends.
When the locals check in, they can offer more specific suggestions of areas around 128 to live.
School is ending at places like BU…but a summer sublet would be perfect, if you can find one at this sort of late date. My kid put his summer sublet on Craigslist. But I also know, he had the spot filled by March.
My S is moving permanently to Boston at the end of the month but just sublet for the summer while he looks for an apartment. He was offered a free company apartment for 9 weeks while he looked but it’s in Framingham and he didn’t want to live in the 'burbs, either, so I understand why your S want to be in Boston. Those more experienced with Boston can give you advice on summer housing but the one thing my S told me was that to park on the street outside in apt. his car must be registered in MA. Since he is moving and car would obviously get registered there - he has to get it registered by day 1.
I live in a neighboring town and the drive to/from Littleton is 40 minutes on a good day when NOT in rush hour. During rush hours that drive can take up to 90 minutes–depending on where you are going. That being said, if your S lives in Boston, he will be going against traffic most of the way. I think living in the city and renting a room at one of the BU or NE dorms (check MIT too–some of the fears rent rooms in the summer) is a good idea. There really isn’t much for a single guy in Littleton. Also, housing would be hard to find for such a short time–there are not many apartments in the area. Feel free to sent me a PM if you want more info about the area.
Agree that it would be good for summer student to live around other young people.
It’s morning rush hour now.
According to Google Maps, right now,
Littleton is 21 minutes from UMASS Lowell, 33 minutes from WPI, 33 minutes from Bentley College, 34 minutes from Brandeis, 37 minutes from Holy Cross, 38 minutes from Clark, 44 minutes from Tufts, 45 minutes from Babson, 46 minutes from Harvard, 48 minutes from Boston College, 52 minutes from MIT, 53 minutes from BU, and 54 minutes from Northeastern.
I think Waltham has unrestricted street parking, so a sublet around Brandeis or Bentley might be good. Cambridge, Somerville and Boston all have resident parking, so you would need off-street parking for a summer sublet. Brookline has no overnight parking at all, and if I recall Newton (near BC) allows overnight parking. Watertown, where some Harvard students live, allows overnight street parking. Not sure about Medford but they may have unrestricted parking. There are some neighborhoods around Brighton (Boston neighborhood between BU and Newton) that are far from the Green Line that have unrestricted parking where a lot of BC, BU students live.
Boston to Littleton, no. Waltham or Worcester would work. Concord if he likes richer people and tourists. Lowell if he’s more interested in character and ethnic/economic diversity. Of these, downtown Waltham has a reasonable assortment of younger people but it’s not anything like Boston itself. There are some college areas in Worcester - like Clark - but not as much street life and then you’re a long way from Boston.
Traffic and parking in Boston is an absolute nightmare. Fortunately, his commute would be in the opposite direction of the intense traffic since most people work in Boston and live in the suburbs. I’ve lived in the Boston area my whole life and I have kiddos living in Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville. All of those places have resident parking only.
CRDad–IME those Google map times from Littleton to various points in Boston are underestimates. My H did the commute from a neighboring town to Boston (Financial District) for 20 years. If you get out on the road before 6, you can get to th not easy and the traffic has just getting worse. The only positive for OPs son is that it’s
He s
Depending on where he works in Littleton, I was going to suggest the commuter rail, say from Somerville/Cambridge. Then he would not need a car, but it looks like the the train does not travel outbound in the morning and it would be be costly.
http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/trip_planner/default.asp
Expect to pay much more than $60 a month to park overnight and weekends in a garage.
Try craigslist to find a rental. Lots of students in the Fenway area of Boston, may be able to find a sublet there. Good luck.
Hit send too soon–my point is that the commute from the city to Littleton is a long one and is a factor that OP’s son needs to consider wheni king for a sublet.
I agree that being around other students would be best, but the commute will be long and parking difficult. I don’t know about dorms.
Yes, it’s a reverse commute, but in the morning he will still have to go through city traffic to GET to the reverse part. The commute will be closer to an hour or more, depending on location. Somewhere on the western/northern side of Cambridge near Route 2 would probably be best for traffic, so he can avoid 128/95 or 495.
Street parking in Boston & Cambridge requires registering your car locally. That might have insurance implications, too. Brookline doesn’t allow overnight street parking. Best bet for parking would be a sublet from someone who has an off-street parking space–lots of students sublet, though often just June-August (but they might leave earlier). Search in craigslist for sublets and add the keyword “parking.” There seem to be a lot of sublets, various locations and prices. Good luck!
I calculated those times just after I commuted to work and it was a beautiful morning with relatively light traffic. They wouldn’t surprise me. I’m familiar with some of them. Littleton is definitely in the preferred direction (away from Boston).
I still think Waltham around Brandeis would be a good option.