<p>DH is a candidate for a NU job, and we are wondering which neighborhoods are easy commuting distance(using Boston's terrific public transportation). I want to rent first--we would have a house to sell in CA :eek:</p>
<p>TIA for ideas about this!!</p>
<p>Define ‘easy’</p>
<p>I suspect you are going to have to figure on a light-rail + ‘T’ combination, depending on your rent allowance. Also remember that heating and cooling costs in Boston are likely much higher than you are used to paying in CA.</p>
<p>Do you want to live in the city or in the suburbs? </p>
<p>If you’re interested in the suburbs, the Needham, Franklin, Providence and Stoughton commuter rail lines all go thru Ruggles station, which is on NEU’s campus. On the Franklin line, the Norwood area has a lot of apartments. The closer you get to Boston, the more you pay, of course. There are even apartments or homes for rent in Franklin, at the far end of the commuter rail line, it’s only about 45 minutes on the train from Franklin to Ruggles.</p>
<p>In the city, Roxbury is nearby and affordable, but also tends to be a high crime area (don’t flame me, it’s better than it used to be but still… ) The Back Bay is also quite nearby and is lovely if money is no object. Slightly further out but still mass-transit commutable are West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain (JP), which are fairly family-oriented neighborhoods, featuring a lot of double and triple decker homes. </p>
<p>Mass Transit in Boston is run by the MBTA, and is known as the T. Here’s the link that has subway, commuter rail and bus routes and schedules:
[MBTA.com</a> > Official Website for Greater Boston’s Public Transportation System](<a href=“http://www.mbta.com/]MBTA.com”>http://www.mbta.com/)</p>
<p>Good luck, welcome to Boston - GO SOX!</p>
<p>There are lots of different kinds of neighborhoods to live in. I lived in Somerville right out of college. Cheap, safe and near the city. Wouldn’t be a straight shot on the T to Northeastern though. A lot of young adults live in Allston and Cambridge. There are a lot of nice areas right in the city, it really depends on your comfort zone, how much money you want to spend and how much time you want to spend commuting. Mission Hill is right next to NU, but while it is better than it used to be it still has some bad areas. The South End is also next to NU and has some nice apts, but you wouldn’t go walking around there at night. Quincy and Southie have lots of apts, but also will not be a straight shot on the T. </p>
<p>If you can’t come here and spend a day or two looking I suggest you try and find a short term rental through the school and then once you get a feel for the area start looking. Welcome to Boston!</p>
<p>Brookline is the easiest commute, safest place outside of Back Bay (which is Boston). My neighbors work at Northeastern. One drives, one walks much of the way. There are many rentals. Try looking online to see if the prices work for you. </p>
<p>But Boston has many nice areas. A lot depends on your income and desires. If you have a kid in school, then you’ll likely be thinking more about Brookline - for the schools - and if you don’t then maybe more in town or elsewhere.</p>
<p>There are many options but you need to be more specific about your circumstances/preferences - kids in school vs not, urban vs burbs, commuting time, etc.</p>
<p>Allston and Brighton are big student districts, reasonably safe, easy public transportation.</p>
<p>Mission Hill is the nicer part of Roxbury-- not as high crime, and right on top of the campus.</p>
<p>Brookline is great in every way but expensive. It’s its own town and not part of Boston.</p>
<p>Brookline may not seem that expensive to someone moving from California, in particular LA or the immediate Bay Area.</p>
<p>Coincidentally after reading Jamaica Plain (JP) post last night, I saw the neighborhood on an HGTV househunting show. Had never heard of it before. Looked nice. </p>
<p>Consider posting your question on the Northeastern threads too.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention JP. Many of the houses are nice and the shopping area has improved a lot over the years. It is quite accessible to Northeastern, but the schools are Boston. The prettiest areas in the hills feel rustic and Jamaica Pond is a great place to walk or run.</p>
<p>If you want to live in the city, I would look in the South End. It’s pricey, but if you’re coming from CA, then prices won’t shock you. It’s urban living–great brownstone condos. You can walk to NU as well as to grocery stores, restaurants, shops, etc. etc. There’s a great dog park there too. My older D and husband live in the South End and love the area. You should be able to find a rental there and see if you like it. Even if you decide to move to the burbs, it would be a great place to live and get to know Boston.</p>
<p>I am grateful for the responses, and you made me see that I need to be a lot more specific. We have 2 college students, so we have no school district requirements, but we still want to have 4 bedrooms or 3 and a den for an office. Our house in Southern CA is old and in a convenient but not upscale neighborhood, and DH’s current commute is only 15 minutes. But this is a very discouraging time to live here, and if there is a place where recovery is beginning, that would be exciting. </p>
<p>DH has been invited for the next level of interviews, but we still do not know the salary range.
So our question at the moment is not what WE can afford, but where can one find 4 bedroom/2.5+bath homes or, even condos, and how much do they cost. We are nowhere near the $1,000,000 level. 
And in our situation of owning our home for many years, the real estate taxes we will have to pay in Massachusetts will be a shock. Your input helps us understand what is practical and which questions to ask to determine if this is a move we can afford to make, should the opportunity arise. </p>
<p>So thank you so much for your responses!</p>
<p>Take a look at Waltham. It’s a somewhat funky town outside of Boston, but a reasonable commute. Taxes are relatively low. Watertown is another town worth a look.</p>
<p>Northeastern is on the Orange Line, so anywhere along that line will work for you. Otherwise, the southern commuter rail areas are an easy commute to the Ruggles T stop along the commuter rail. You can find houses of they type you’re considering in Canton, Sharon, Foxboro, Stoughton, Norwood, Dedham, Walpole. Closer in, you can find them in Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain (both sections of Boston). The further out you go on the commuter rail, the more house you’ll get for a lower price. </p>
<p>Check out [MBTA.com</a> > Official Website for Greater Boston’s Public Transportation System](<a href=“http://www.mbta.com%5DMBTA.com”>http://www.mbta.com) for the Franklin and Providence lines, both of which stop right outside Northeastern. For an idea of what you can get and for how much, look at those towns on [Boston</a> Globe](<a href=“http://www.bostonglobe.com%5DBoston”>http://www.bostonglobe.com) in the real estate section.</p>
<p>And congrats to your H for the second round of interviews!</p>
<p>I really like Jamaica Plain and Brookline for someone working in NEU. Both have fair numbers of rental properties. You could also consider Cambridge, though it’s on the Red Line, so you would have to change to the Green Line at Park Street.
Real estate taxes in Cambridge turn out not to be as high as some other communities. It’s $7.56 per $1,000 of assessed value, so a house assessed at $1,000,000 would incur a property tax of $7,560. I think Brookline has higher property taxes.
The area around Davis Square in Somerville is also rather attractive and prices are lower than Cambridge. It’s on the Red Line, just two stops from Harvard Square.</p>
<p>Still need more info. How long would he be willing to commute? Would he prefer to drive in or take the train in. How much land do you need? Would you consider owning a two-family house? Would you consider a two-family house that has been converted into two condos? Do you need new or is old (or very old) ok or even preferable? How many cars do you have? do you need a garage or two, or are you willing to clean the snow off of your car every day in the winter? Do you even need offstreet parking or are you adventurous and willing to ■■■■■ for parking every day on the street. </p>
<p>After you’ve figured all of that out, go on [Real</a> Estate Listings, Homes for Sale and Rental Property Listings ? REALTOR.com](<a href=“http://www.realtor.com%5DReal”>http://www.realtor.com) and plug in what you want within 10 miles of Northeastern’s zip code 02115. You’ll see a variety of things from inner city to suburban.</p>