by Eduardo
As stated in our previous post greater Boston is a city that holds around 250,000 students; it means that there are a lot of housing options and landlords and real estate agents are familiarized with the students’ housing needs, but it also means that the good places run out fast, very fast. Keep in mind that all the schools start around late-August / early-September, so everyone would be expecting to move in the 1st of September. In searching for a house in Boston you have to be i) proactive, ii) know what do you want but be flexible to accommodate to similar options, and iii) whenever you see something that you like and fits in with your budget take it immediately, it could be gone in the afternoon and you will have to start all over again… Boston is a relative small and convenient city but the public transportation is not the best one; cabs are expensive, the Subway or the “T”, as it is called, is America’s oldest subway (opened its doors in 1897); it has a wide network of stations and is well kept but some of its lines, such as the Green that would take you to BC, have a lot of stops (from Downtown to BC could easily take you around 1 hour) and having to wait your bus in the middle of the cold winter is not the best idea. The best idea if you are planning to study at BC, and you are not thinking to buy a car, will be to live at a walking distance, a couple of metro stations away, or closed by to the route of the free shuttle buses of the university. Bicycles are a great option during the non-winter months, the parking spaces are free and convenient and the city is basically flat. The neighborhoods that you should keep in mind are Chestnut Hill, Allstone/Brighton, Brookline, Newton and Jamaica Plains. Start by using the University off campus housing office but also some local real estate agents.
Student Perspectives on the Graduate Programs and Carroll School Community
