Physicccc OP t1_j62fhus wrote
Reply to comment by Pinwurm in Looking for a good neighborhood to live in near-ish to Boston College (early 20s woman) by Physicccc
Thank you so much for all the information! This is very helpful
ZipBlu t1_j63803e wrote
Overall Pinwurm has given you great, accurate advice about neighborhoods in the area. I’d just add a few things related to car ownership, since you mentioned it in your original post. Snow isn’t that much of a problem. There will only be like 5 days a year on average when you can’t drive because of snow. A car is a pain in the ass, because most places won’t have a driveway, but I wouldn’t want to live near the end of the B or C line without one.
BC has huge parking garages in the middle of campus and prices are fairly reasonable for grad students, (prices are tiered—they are crazy expensive for undergrads, but like 1/5 the cost for grad students) so I don’t think it’s crazy to have a car. BC is at the end of the B and C branches, and these lines are slow anyway. It can be a long wait for trains, and there’s also frequently maintenance on the weekends. It’s really hard to do things like grocery shop without a car, and the T will only bring you into and out of the city, so if you want to do something in the suburbs it’s practically impossible. (There is the commuter rail, but you would spend nearly an hour just getting to it before you even start towards your destination. The trains are infrequent and only serve a few communities and in most cases you’d need a car to get to your final destination once you leave the station.)
cetaceanrainbow t1_j63ou4q wrote
I agree the snow isn't a reason to not bring a car, but I do live near the end of the B line without a car, have for almost 9 years, and it's fine. The trains go to the grocery store, and I use Zipcar to get out of the city. Some neighborhoods it's a nightmare to have a car so it has to really be worth it, this is not one of them, so it does come down to personal preference more, but I wouldn't say it's "really hard to grocery shop".
TwoforFlinching613 t1_j63uizh wrote
2nd that grocery shopping is easy in that area. Buy reusable bags, only one person, one bag should be fine. At least it is for me when I go to the grocery store. Also, there are multiple grocery delivery services Instacart, Amazon, Imperfect Foods, etc.
Have lived in Boston for 20 years without a car without issue.
wallet535 t1_j65hy39 wrote
Agree. You can rent a LOT of cars and take a TON of Ubers for the price of car ownership.
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