advice please on apt hunting for sept

[http://users.livejournal.com/__the_dude__/]

hi folks,

yes, sorry to say, another housing post. i'm currently in ann arbor MI but will be moving to the somerville/cambridge/medford/maybe even arlington area in sept to start a job in the alewife area of cambridge. i was all set to fly out the weekend of june 8-11 to look for sept housing when i noticed crazy high airfares and low hotel vacancies...and found out it's graduation weekend for MIT and harvard. urgh.

so my question to you locals: should i wait a weekend to avoid the craziness of two big graduations (tufts doesn't graduate that weekend too, does it)? or will i be able to drive around and look for apartments that i've found on craigslist (that's also assuming that landlords/realtors don't shut down for the weekend)? you might be able to tell from my questions that graduation here is a HUGE deal and you don't drive anywhere near the campus unless absolutely necessary (kinda like those GD football games at the big house...but i digress). more importantly, i suppose, is whether june 8-11 is a good time to find housing for sept 1 move-in, or do listings come up later/earlier...?

i read the post that the good apts are found by referrals from friends or, absent that, current tenants moving out, so if any of you happen to know of a 2 BR, 1-cat friendly apt "near" the red line for around $1500/mo, i would really appreciate hearing about it.

thanks in advance davis sq peeps!

Comments

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

I agree that you'll do the best if you start looking end of June. Two months out, these days, is really when the landlords are trying to fill places. It used to take longer about 7-8 years ago, I recall.

You can definitely do what you're looking for. We aren't moving out, but do have a 2BR, cat-friendly apt within a half mile of the Davis and Porter stops for $1525.

[http://users.livejournal.com/__the_dude__/]

hmmm, you sure you don't want to move??

just jokes :) thanks for the advice - i used to live in boston, brookline, mission hill, and JP before i moved to MI and remember looking for sept 1 rentals in june, so that's what i was basing my current search on.