So my question is unrelated to what has been discussed thus far. I am currently looking for housing and have kept my searches for apartments in Brookline and Brighton at the behest of friends from Boston. However, several of the realtors have told me that it may be best to look at apartments near South End, since it is closer to the medical campus. Should I ignore their suggestions and listen to my friends from the area? I am looking for a really great 1BR, and honestly a 30min commute is not a major deterent. Any information on the best places to look for an apartment?
Hi guys, I would highly recommend living in or near the South End. Time your commuting is time you're not studying. Here's some more info, I hope it helps!
HOUSING
1. What is the best living solution? Do most people live on campus?
Unfortunately the best living solution is not the cheapest. The majority of students live in and around the South End of Boston (not to be confused with South Boston, or Southie) which is the home of the medical campus. Formally, the South End runs from the eastern side of Massachusetts Avenue (Mass Ave.) and extends eastward to Arlington Street. The southern border is generally considered to be Albany St. and the northern border is Columbus Ave. In general anything within these bounds is considered safe with respect to a large city. BU has one building for graduate student housing called Harrison Court, which is directly behind the medical school. It is a very safe building, but it is rather expensive and many feel it is not as nice as comparably priced apartments in the area. Despite that fact it is a good place to live because everyone in the building is a graduate student and are very respectful of peoples studying needs (i.e. the building is very quiet). Most people live in non-campus housing and choose to rent from either local management companies or individual owners.
A small number of students choose to live in the surrounding neighborhoods or along the BU shuttle line because it can be cheaper. In general we would discourage this because the winters can be rather severe in Boston and your commute time is often unpredictable. Some students have loved living away from campus, whereas others have seen a sharp rise in their GPA after moving closer to campus due to having more time to study with a shorter commute. Since some of the MAMS courses are not blocked or consecutive, you will often find yourself with a few hours gap between classes. It is nice to live close to the South End to be able to run home for a hot meal, to be able to study somewhere where youre more comfortable or even to take a nap.
Lastly, the majority of you will live in the South End, and the social life generally exists in or near the South End. Public transportation ceases at 1am, but bars close at 2am, so you should factor the cost of a taxi home into your budget if you live outside the South End. Taxis can range from $10-20 to the surrounding areas.
2. How to find housing?
BUSM maintains a housing website to assist in finding housing and roommates:
http://www.bumc.bu.edu/Dept/Home.aspx?DepartmentID=375
You should also search Craigslist as well as the Student Doctor Network forums. Many outgoing students as well as current BUSM students will post if they are moving out of their old apartment and need to find a tenant. If you want to see how far a potential apartment will be from BUSM, use the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) trip planner:
http://www.mbta.com/rider_tools/trip_planner/
For your ending address, use 715 Albany St. Boston, MA 02118 (the instructional building for the medical school). The MBTA Trip Planner is an important tool because even though Boston is a very small walkable city, areas that are only 3 miles apart can take over an hour to get to. For example, it takes about an hour to get from the South End to Coolidge Corner in Brookline. Keep this in mind when deciding where you want to live and how much time you want to spend commuting each day.
Additionally, if you are interested in living on the BU Shuttle line (which runs between the main campus and the medical campus), information on where the shuttle picks up can be found at the Boston University Shuttle (BUS) website at:
http://www.bu.edu/thebus/
Keep in mind that this shuttle can often be very crowded, particularly in the mornings and often you will have to stand in the aisles and will not have a place to sit down. In other words, the shuttle is very convenient, but you will most likely not be able to use that time productively by looking at flashcards, reading, etc.
3. What are the most important things to consider when looking for an apartment?
Be sure to ask what is included with your rent (heat, hot water) and ask the previous tenants to see a years worth of utility bills to gauge how much you will have to budget for utilities. Most electric bills will show a years worth of activity on one bill. Some apartments have more efficient heat sources/AC than others. Central air conditioning is preferable to a window unit. Also many of the apartments are old with poor insulation, window sealant, so if you may have to worry about energy efficiency and hearing a lot of noises from the street below (this may be important in deciding whether to live on a main street or a quieter side street). Also be aware, that Boston in general has a pest problem (mice), so it may be better to live in higher floors vs. basement apartments and to be sure your landlord will invest in pest control should you have a problem.
4. What do I do if I want to live in Harrison Court? I hear theres a waiting list.
If you are interested in living at Harrison Court, even though the management may tell you there is a waiting list to get in, you can get into Harrison Court by other means. Students that are leaving their apartments are responsible for finding a replacement tenant. The only way the waiting list would get used at Harrison Court is if an entire apartment is vacated at once, which does not often happen as most students are at different years in their schooling. Vacancies are often advertised by tenants through the Student Doctor Network and Craigslist. If you have a chance to visit Boston early to search for housing, we highly suggest gaining access to the building (you will need someone to buzz you into two sets of double doors) and check the glass case next to the elevators. Vacancies at Harrison Court are often posted here as well as in the basement of the medical school. We will also try to keep a listing on MAMS PAC website when vacancies arise.
