Hey All,
Chances are I’ll be at Northeastern, or at least in the Boston area, next year as a freshman.
Coming from Louisiana, I am addicted to my car.
If I end up living in Boston, despite the wonderful public transit/trains, I will want to have my car for whenever I drive out of state (SO is at Yale, and a 2-hour car ride is much cheaper than a $70 Amtrak ticket).
In fact, I was even planning to zigzag the car up to Boston this summer, as a senior road trip/move in/killing two birds with one stone sorta ride.
But it seems like Boston, and especially Northeastern, is not particularly accommodating when it comes to driving. In fact, I even saw something saying that freshmen are not allowed to buy the crazy expensive overnight parking permits.
Moreover, the family is moving to Oregon this summer, so it will be difficult to leave the car with them.
So I’m here looking for advice. Will I be able to find a place to keep my car at northeastern? Should I park somewhere else in Boston? Should I just suck it up and sell the car?
Thanks in advance
J
Boston is second only to NY in the US in terms of parking craziness and cost. It is also I believe the highest cost of auto insurance city in the US. People who live there actually own deeded spots and pay more for them than the average home price in the US. The $70 Amtrak ticket every so often will seem cheap when compared to the costs (parking, insurance, etc) of keeping a car there. Plus, there’s always zip car or the equivalent if you really need to drive somewhere. I would sell it and become a city slicker.
Boston is a really bad city to own a car in. Freshman can have a car / parking spot, but I just think it would be a very significant hassle that turns out to cost you, even more than those Amtrak tickets. Between gas and the permit, you’ll spend easily over $2,000 a year. Not to mention upkeep and the work it will take to shovel it out in the winter. So you could go visit your SO for $70 at least 30 times a year. That’s fifteen times a semester, far more than most people will have time for. Essentially you could go every week excluding finals/midterms and not lose money.
Virtually no students here have cars. I know of two, one a fifth year and one a junior. The T is truly all you need. Trust me, I know it sounds weird. I came from Florida where you HAVE to have a car to get anywhere. It’s really not the case here.
Not to mention the headache of driving / navigating Boston streets. It’s much easier on foot / T.
Depending on a few factors, I would sell the car, the money will be much more useful towards your college education or personal spending.
- How much can you get for the car? If its only a few thousand, I would try to keep it at home.
- Do you need money for school or are you financially set? If you're well off, keeping the car may also be worth it.
Consider those two when deciding whether to keep it or sell it, but I would highly advise against bringing it to Boston.
Sell the car. Parking is a nightmare and in the winter you’ll have to dig it out. Learn about MegaBus. https://us.megabus.com/expandboston.aspx Fairs are extremely cheap when purchased in advance–$1 if you are lucky, probably $20 if you don’t hit that lucky time period. Four daily departures to New Haven. Welcome to Massachusetts! You will have so much fun.
As everyone has pointed out, Boston and the northeast have much better ways to get around than a car when you’re a college student. Especially as a freshman, it’s going to be waaaay more headache than it’s worth to have a car here. It’s a very different place than Louisiana in a lot of ways - including being way lss car-centric. But I think you’ll love it here!
Student parking at Northeastern is not really any different than at other Boston schools: very expensive and very limited.
Totally agree with what everyone said, with one small exception. You don’t need/want a car as a freshman, but you may need one when you co-op.
DS’s co-op adviser in EE told the whole class they would need a car and he was right. Parking is half price when you are co-oping. DS has learned a ton about driving in the snow. His commute on his first day took 4 hrs each way, he is down to 1 1/2 hrs round trip now. Granted it is a historical winter in Boston, but if possible avoid having a car.
I totally understand where you’re coming from with wanting your car - I am from Maine, spent 5 years at NU without my car, still live near Boston without my car, and STILL hate not having my car. However, I don’t have my car because having a car in Boston is a living nightmare. You can buy a semester parking pass to park on campus, but I believe it is around $900 or something ridiculous. Parking spots on the street/in garages throughout the city are not priced much better, and often much much worse. The only way I could see it being worth bringing your car to campus is if you are co-oping somewhere that you need to drive to every day, as you can get a half-priced parking pass if the location is not accessible by public transportation. Otherwise, avoid bringing you car unless you don’t mind spending a LOT of money to keep it in a garage most of the time.