Comparing Davis to Far-Off Places
Jul. 28th, 2006 08:02 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
midsummernd.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
davis_squareI need some help with housing decision-making, and I'm hoping ya'll can give me some advice.
I just moved up to Davis a month ago, on a two-month sublet. I lived here last summer, and I adore Davis Square. The plan had always been for me to move in with a friend of mine come September. Problem is, she wants to live in the Brookline/Brighton area. I work in Watertown, so that's not a terrible stretch for me commute-wise (might it even be shorter?) - but if anyone has lived on the other side of the river, I really could use some advice about how it compares to Davis.
What I want out of a living situation is this:
- Good value of apartment for the money - I don't want to live in a run-down place or a shoebox, but I'm young and pretty broke.
- Neighborhoody feel - I like that Davis feels pretty safe at night, and has all kinds of events on the weekends - not to mention good coffee and good food (oh and the green leafy things are awesome).
- A place to stash my car - either easy street parking or off-street parking.
- Good commute. I don't want to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic every day, and I'd love to be able to take public transportation whenever possible.
Is it worth leaving Davis for a good roommate? Or have all of you chosen Davis over other parts of the area for excellent, well-thought out reasons that will sway my opinion away from the other side of the river?
I should note, I spend a lot of my free time by Kenmore Sq. and thereabouts, but I hadn't been to Coolidge Corner (which seems the most Davis-like area) until last night.
I just moved up to Davis a month ago, on a two-month sublet. I lived here last summer, and I adore Davis Square. The plan had always been for me to move in with a friend of mine come September. Problem is, she wants to live in the Brookline/Brighton area. I work in Watertown, so that's not a terrible stretch for me commute-wise (might it even be shorter?) - but if anyone has lived on the other side of the river, I really could use some advice about how it compares to Davis.
What I want out of a living situation is this:
- Good value of apartment for the money - I don't want to live in a run-down place or a shoebox, but I'm young and pretty broke.
- Neighborhoody feel - I like that Davis feels pretty safe at night, and has all kinds of events on the weekends - not to mention good coffee and good food (oh and the green leafy things are awesome).
- A place to stash my car - either easy street parking or off-street parking.
- Good commute. I don't want to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic every day, and I'd love to be able to take public transportation whenever possible.
Is it worth leaving Davis for a good roommate? Or have all of you chosen Davis over other parts of the area for excellent, well-thought out reasons that will sway my opinion away from the other side of the river?
I should note, I spend a lot of my free time by Kenmore Sq. and thereabouts, but I hadn't been to Coolidge Corner (which seems the most Davis-like area) until last night.
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Date: 2006-07-30 03:21 am (UTC)I guess one thing to consider is that if you move to the Allston/Brighton/Brookline area, then to get to Watertown Square you can conveniently just catch the #57 bus on Comm Ave. If you live in Davis, you have to catch the Red Line to Harvard Sq and then the #71 to Watertown. One extra step that can sorta add up.
I find that there really aren't as many good coffee shops in the Allston/Brighton/Brookline area as there are in Davis. I walk all the way down to Espresso Royale near Guitar Center on Comm Ave to hang out at a good coffee shop.
And, yeah, as people have pointed out, if you move to Brookline make sure you find an apartment with a parking space included. Otherwise you'll have to rent one *somewhere else* in Brookline and it might not even be real near where you live.