[moving.North of Boston.query]

[wispfox]

This isn't going to be until summertime, but I'm starting the process of investigating having to move due to the probability that my current living situation will (continue to) be too stressful as far as parking.

I have an additional constraint on where I can live than I did the last time I moved, because my roommate has no car. So, my question is this:

In addition to searching on rent.com, apartments.com, and apartmentguide.com - which are all appearing to be mostly apartment complexes - and checking newspaper classifieds (which are mostly online, yay!), where else would y'all suggest I look?

craigslist is useless for someone not actually _in_ Greater Boston, which I am not and do not want to be, partly because of the commute to work, and partly because I don't want to require a roommate in order to continue living there. The 'city' thing may not be something I can avoid while still being near an MBTA stop, so that's less of a factor. (ie, Lowell is an option)

Having a cat may or may not be more of a constraint than being near the T, but I'm not sure. It's not negotiable, though, any more than my needing a parking spot is.

[edit: Ok... perhaps I _am_ willing to consider places which are on subway lines, instead of commuter rail lines. If current roommate can commit to being able to afford to room with me while on one of the various northern bits of subway, the having to have a roommate financially argument won't actually matter anymore. And if I'm considering the possibility of Lowell or Lawrence... Hmm. I'm not at all certain about this, but I might just be willing to consider the Boston area. But I need to be 40 minutes drive or less from Westford. And I need to wait until ayalanya has a better sense of her finances...]

Comments

[dancingwolfgrrl.livejournal.com]

My roommate and I had good luck with realestate.boston.com (http://realestate.boston.com) for newspaper classifieds, although there are also many to be found further out on Homefind (http://hf.heraldinteractive.com/). You might consider Arlington (for which there are definitely Craigslist postings) -- the center is serviced by several bus routes and Alewife is pretty accessible from there via the Minuteman bike path, which is a nice walk or bike ride as well -- but it still has a suburb/town feel. And for you, reverse commute!

[fraterrisus]

if you're looking into near-boston, arlington provides very nice living standards, bus service, a short drive to the T, and outrageous rent. belmont (i.e. where ladytabitha lives, or thereabouts) might be a good compromise.

if you're more interested in staying further out, there are parts of lowell that are perfectly reasonable to live in -- i lived there for a little while, so i can point you in some good directions. (also i can point you away from the parts you don't really want to live in.) chelmsford is obviously also really nice, but a little less accessible to the T. (don't even bother with the LRTA bus service.) parts of billerica are also perfectly nice.

[cutieperson]

i disagree about Arlington having outrageous rents. it's all a matter of your needs/wants and taking the time to look. i know tons of people who live there instead of Davis because the rent is cheaper. but in that case, Medford could be a decent option.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

there are parts of lowell that are perfectly reasonable to live in -- i lived there for a little while, so i can point you in some good directions. (also i can point you away from the parts you don't really want to live in.)

That info would be good! Especially if you happen to also have info on places within 1 mile of the commuter rail (won't matter if Courtney doesn't remain my roommate, but does if she does).

And, noted about Arlington and Belmont.

[wolfkitn.livejournal.com]

well... we looooooove melrose. it's lovely. i just checked, it's ~ 37 min drive to westford, FWIW. we are 2 miles from a T stop (oak grove), 10 min walk from a commuter rail, and all cars in melrose have to have a legal, off-street parking spot because on-street overnight parking is not allowed.

[wolfkitn.livejournal.com]

(not that this actually comes anywhere close to answering your question. but it seemed that the threads had branched out into "nice places to live and/or look into", so i thought i'd add my piece. :) )

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Nice places to live/look into are good info, too. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

10 minute walk from commuter rail? Wow, yay! Melrose might just be a good option. Thank you!

[wolfkitn.livejournal.com]

melrose has *three* commuter rail stops. all the same commuter rail line, but still, *three*. you'd have to work hard to find a house/apartment that isn't close to one of them, or on a bus line to one. (and it's a pretty small town, as well as being a pretty, small town! :) )

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Wow. Very much noted. I'm currently still trying to get a spot where I live, because I don't _want_ to move, but that's good to know if I do have to!

[cutieperson]

if you choose a town that has a college (any college) you should be able to search their site for a link to off-campus housing. sometimes you need to be a student to rent the places listed, but not always. it's worth checking out.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Noted! And I'd have forgotten to check that, almost certainly.

You Should Appreciate This

[carocrow.livejournal.com]

http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp02152005.shtml

If you want to move to an area, you might consider making day trips and looking around, seeing what the traffic is like, the area, etc. While you are there you can stop into a gas station or grocery and pick up a newspaper. We lived in Salisbury after we moved from Newburyport, which is on the T Line. Haverhill is also on the T Line, and Salem. I know a lot of people like to live further in, but I enjoyed living away from the city.

Re: You Should Appreciate This

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Salem is too far away from work for me. Haverhill is one of the places I'm looking. Where is Salisbury? Is it on the Salem line?

As for day trips, I first need to get a better sense of where I'd be looking, which is part of the goal right now. I won't be actually moving until late July/early August, so there's time.

comic: Heh. Indeed. :)

[angelovernh.livejournal.com]

There's a back way to Westford from Nashua, NH, that takes about 20 mins. and only 35 or so on the highway. I'd so much prefer Nashua to Lowell for sure.

[angelovernh.livejournal.com]

35 mins is the clocked time during rush hour most of the time, though it can be more sometimes depending on if it's down to one lane for construction or not. If they finish the Route 3 widening contruction it will be much better..

[yulecat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's a good route, and 20 minutes, just like you say. Sure beats Rt 3. :) And New Hampshire - Live Cheap Or Die!!! That's an option I'd look into, as long as you don't mind moving further away from the Boston scene.

Lowell? Bleh. I'd be afraid of you getting shot. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Problem with NH is the lack of T stop access for my roommate. It's also further away from the Boston area.

Lowell: Yeah, that's part of my concern with both Lowell and Lawrence. Thus my intent to ask people who know those areas where would be reasonably safe and where not. Also, anywhere I live where there'd be danger of that would also have problems with being too damn loud at night!

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but that's further away from the boston area, and my roommate needs to be able to get into Boston w/o a car. There's no T in Nashua.

[missdimple.livejournal.com]

Well, you probably would be able to find places to rent with parking in Lowell with little to no problem. If you're looking for urban living without the hassle of Boston, then downtown Lowell might be up your alley. There are some new condo-ish rental apartmens with boat loads of parking in the downtown. I'm not sure what you'd consider affordable, but I can give you some direction of where to look there. It's within walking distance of the commuter rail station. If you want to email back and forth about it, let volta know and tell him I said it was okay to give you my email address. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

It's within walking distance of the commuter rail station.

Do you have a good sense of where in Lowell is safe to live? That would help, too, but knowing about places within walking distance to the rail station would still be good!

Email would be fine, although this works for me, too. (should you decide you prefer email, I have a paid account. wispfox @ livejournal.com will work)