Inman would be better that staying near Boston College for transit. If you stay by Boston College the green line out there is super slow.

Yeah, I agree with this 100%. I think that's exactly why people are behaving this way.

I’ve never understood that. I always assumed there was some super grouchy Bostonian who just sits here and immediately downvotes every post as it comes in.

Since the pandemic it feels like some drivers have become much more aggressive and some have become much more careful—and that just makes the aggressive drivers even madder.

I kind of feel like this sort of stuff has significantly died down because of those earlier busts. I live on a very busy street and the bike groups came down my street 3-4 times in the summer of 2021 but 0 times in 2022.

The Haven in JP is one of the best Scotch bars around. They have a ton of independent bottles and a lot of other rare and hard to find stuff like Octomores and Ardbeg special releases. If you’re a scotch enthusiast that’s the place to go (and they have Scottish food, which is excellent). Hops and Scotch in Brookline and Wink and Nod also have really big selections of Scotch, too.

Just saw a car on my street get two tickets in the same day so nope.

I’ve been to this campus a few times for conferences and I got the same vibe you’re describing from my short visits. I just didn’t really want to be around campus. And that feeling is more important than you’d think.

Freshman year is a difficult time and for students to make it through, it’s important that it’s a place that feels welcoming and they can make a community of friends. It seems to have more of a community college vibe, which could make that difficult for a traditional first year student.

Another problem with UMass Boston is how heavily they rely on part time faculty. Every college uses some, but UMass Boston relies on them more than other schools in the area. Some part time faculty are incredible teachers, but they are paid very little so they spend very few hours in campus and are nearly always balancing multiple jobs and they have less job security so they aren’t invested in the college (and might not be there when you need a recommendation later). I was part time faculty for a year (elsewhere) and it was awful.

Wow that is so weird. Did you forget to renew your registration? Do you have unpaid parking tickets?

It was super crowded at lunch time on Saturday because of all the hype. If you’re going today, get there early.

Don’t go this weekend. It was an hour wait at noon yesterday

If you’re at the Arboretum you should also check out Jamaica Pond. There’s a nice path around it that’s very similar to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

Damn have people had good experiences with Baramor? It was the most disappointing poutine I’ve had in the Boston area. They used the wrong kind of cheese and the fries were mediocre.

Just want to say avoid Baramor. They were terrible.

Side note: all the poutine I had in Ontario had cheese curds too, so this is not only a Quebec thing.

Their poutine was surprisingly excellent.

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.)

Amazing selection of scotch there!

What are you looking for? Kitchenwitch in JP has some Zojirushi products.

The Seaport

Yup they have pizza. It’s good!

Pretty much. They swapped out the filet for an Ardbeg infused steak (I forget which cut). Fish and chips, shepherd’s pie and haggis are all still on the menu. There’s a lot more scotch than there used to be, too.

Yeah it's huge. It's a great space, and it still feels fairly cozy. I do miss the old one a bit.

The Haven in JP.

The Haven in JP is showing the World Cup…not sure which games specifically.

https://thehavenjp.com

Agreed.