Where to live in Boston? Logistics for New Students!

Hello again!

As you already know, I decided to go to Boston for my Master's degree. However, I had no idea about where to live, I had never been in Boston before and I barely knew something about it!

It's very easy to get lost using Craigslist (http://boston.craigslist.org/) but it might be a good idea to sort out prices (beware of spammers in Craigslist, it's very common to receive automatic mails from people who don't exist, so always reply and make sure the person is real). There are other sites but aren't so good, the best option you have is to ask someone who already lives in Boston for some advice. 

If you'll study at Hult, the closest areas are East Cambridge and Charlestown/Bunker Hill. But to give you a quick idea, I live in East Cambridge and my room (which is one in a three bedrooms flat 10 minutes walk from school) costs around $800-$900 a month excluding utilities such as internet, gas or electricity. Including all that, you can get easily to $1000 to $1100 depending on the season, because in winter it gets really cold. Check out this picture I took after the snow storm "Nemo" in December:

You can see in the right the window to my room:

This means one thing: you'll spend a lot of money in heating your apartment. But anyway, it will be offset in summer where things look much better and the temperature will be around 24 Cº (or 82 Fº). Something like this:

Coming back to the location spot recommendations, I will show you a quick map from where I live:

This is just to illustrate the fact that you should make sure to have everything close by (school, supermarket, laundry place, the subway --in Boston is called the "T"--, pharmacy, and liquor store -for some of you-). You might think that 30 or 40 min from the nearest supermarket is no big deal, but when you're at -24 ºC (or -11 ºF) every minute in the street counts!

Here's a Google Map for you to understand where's the school located in relation to Boston:

View Larger Map

If you can visit the apartment before moving in it would be perfect. If it's furnished then it's even better, otherwise you might have to go to IKEA to buy stuff and that will mean renting a car and taking a 40 min trip to buy everything you need. If you have never been in IKEA before, is a very interesting experience, the place is a maze but you can find literally everything you need to be 100% equipped! Click here for more info about the closest IKEA store to Boston!

Cambridge and Boston are separated by the Charles River. However if you want to live in Boston, you can access Cambridge through the green or red lines of the T. The closest stops if you want to go to Hult are Community College (Orange Line) and Lechmere (Green Line) - Check the T lines clicking here! (I also recommend you to download an app called Boston T). Usually, when people see you getting off the green line for the first time they are like:

But is not so bad!

Finally, I must say that living in Cambridge is cool because it's quiet and residential and you have Boston nearby using the T, however living in Boston itself (Back Bay, Fenway, North End, Beacon Hill, Brookline, etc.) is much more active and close to the city's main attractions. It will most likely be more expensive too, but you can always find good deals, I have a friend that lives just 5 minutes from my place and pays around $650 per month!, I also know people that pay over $2000. It all depends on how much do you research and what your standards are. Keep in mind that the best way to find what you need is to talk to friends or people who already live there and are probably moving out or know someone who will do so (first networking exercise of the year!)

Anyhow, once you have chosen a place to stay (please beware if you will have roommates, try to really get to know them through Facebook, LinkedIn or just by talking to them before closing the deal). You are ready to start knowing the city. I can tell you that Boston has a lot of things to see and enjoy, in my next post I will talk about the city and the things I liked and disliked, giving you some tips to get the best out of it! stay tuned!