I used to take the 350. Since you’re by the mall, you could take that to work. I’d recommend living near in East Arlington with roommates since you’ve said you want to live frugally. In my experience it has some cheaper options than the nearby neighborhoods.

My rent was cheaper than almost all of my friends in Greater Boston when I lived there. Part of the reason rent is cheaper there is there is absolutely no street parking overnight. Some streets do get away with it, others are heavily patrolled at night.

Keep in mind that you will need to factor in type of heating system to overall cost. Oil heating is extremely expensive now and most oil heated places have cheaper rent. So factor in the costs because you might not end up saving overall compared to another place.