I lived in that area for a year without a car when I first moved here. I commuted to Longwood on the 66, waking to the stop in good weather and taking the T to Harvard Ave in bad weather. It was fine. I was there during on of the bug B branch shut downs to update the intersection at the BU Bridge. Taking the T into downtown sucked during that period, but wasn’t too bad otherwise. There’s a Whole Foods at Washington St and a Star at Packards Corner, so groceries are easy enough without a car. Socially, I spent a lot of time in Somerville and Medford. Usually took the buses to get across the river, connecting with the Red line at Harvard Sq, but almost always took an Uber home.