How is the Broad Street area?

April 13, 2009 10:07 PM

How is Broad Street in Boston as a place to live?

Posting for my friend. He's looking at an apartment on Broad Street (#101, near the intersection with Franklin) and is wondering how the neighborhood is. Google Street View makes it seem pretty nice, and one of our friends who is from Boston is really positive about it. Any other opinions from the Hive Mind? How is the commute to Boston University (where he and his roommate will be attending grad school)?

posted by dondiego87 to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

This seems so far off base that I wondered if there was another Broad St. But if you really mean the area of Broad & Franklin, I almost can't think of a stranger place for a grad student to live in Boston. I don't think of it as a neighborhood at all. Unless something has changed radically, I think they will feel pretty isolated. It is not a residential area and certainly not a student area--even in the best sense of that phrase. What few residences there are will be luxury high-rise condos, generally for older and/or professional people. I think even the loft scene has been elbowed out.

I worked in that area until three years ago. It's right in the middle of the Financial District and really clears out after business hours. I can't think of a grocery store, laundromat, or hang-out, except some bars that will be full of Financial District- or politico-types and, later on, bike messengers. The commute to BU won't be bad per se--a walk to Government Center or Park St. to catch the Green line, or closer to the Red line at South Station and then a change to the Green line. There are worse commutes--say from JP or further out parts of the Red or Orange lines--but the appeal of living in those areas can justify the commute. Even a half-decent commute doesn't win me over on this area. What sort of lifestyle are they looking for that recommends that area? (I'm curious what the friend liked about it--again, maybe I'm missing something.)

For the money I imagine they are paying for a decent place to live in this spot, I'd be looking in Back Bay, Beacon Hill or the South End. (Definitely some assumptions on my part about what they're paying, but relatively correct.) Those areas are more residential, there will be a street life after hours, there are fewer high-rises, and more residential services. That said, if they are looking for pros to the area this is what I can come up with:
- Close to public transportation, especially South Station if they want to get out of town (e.g., to NYC) frequently
- Easy access to highway
- Not a student ghetto
- An experience of Boston that will be different from most
- Close to Chinatown
posted by cocoagirl at 1:51 AM on April 14, 2009

Broad Street is right downtown in the financial district of the city. Busy by day, the place is a ghost town at night and on weekends. Parking is a nightmare. The commute to BU will be tedious because of the switch from the Red Line to the Green Line.

I can't believe for the money this apartment must be costing that your friend couldn't find something in Brookline, Cambridgeport, or Brighton.
posted by birdwatcher at 4:41 AM on April 14, 2009

The commute to BU will be tedious because of the switch from the Red Line to the Green Line.

I don't think it's where I'd want to live there as a BU grad student, but there are a couple of Green Line stations well within walking distance.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:55 AM on April 14, 2009

I have no perspective on getting to BU, but I work around the corner from there. It would be a bit odd to live there, but I can't say it would be a horrible decision. There are a lot of restaurants, and you have all the shops at the Quincy Market at your disposal. I can't imagine where he would do grocery shopping, but Peapod delivers. There are a bunch of big high rises across the street, so many people are living in that area--so it's not pure madness. I guess your friend would pick up the Green Line at Government Center, which is about 5 minutes away. If he wants to live there, he has my permission. Hey, it's only a year, and he can move if he doesn't like it...
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:19 AM on April 14, 2009

On the plus side it is close to the waterfront, Chinatown, The North End, and Quincy Market. However the local area is a ghost town after business hours except on Friday and Saturday nights when it is crowded with the local nightclub scene. The T Blue line is at State and or Aquarium. Connects to the Green line at Government Center. There are a ton of really bad restaurants that cater to the lunch crowd. I would say it is a safe neighborhood. Quiet...too quiet.
posted by Gungho at 6:50 AM on April 14, 2009

I work downtown, too, and I think it would be a weird and very non-student-y place to live. The bars and restaurants will be full of lawyers and bankers and so forth, and the place clears out after 6 and on the weekends. As a student I would think he'd feel very isolated, as someone else said above. It wouldn't be a bad place to live, but the opportunities to meet people would be pretty minimal.

Possibly that's what he's looking for, though, as a grad student. If he prefers someplace that will be quiet and clean and without distractions, that area isn't actually a bad option. And the housing is definitely likely to be nicer than some place in a traditional "student" area.
posted by marginaliana at 9:23 AM on April 14, 2009

Nth-ing the "I didn't know there were residences there," and I'm a native Bostonian. As others have said, the upside is that it's certainly quiet at night. And the downside is that it's quiet at night because nobody lives there.

I'm wondering where one would shop for groceries and what-not. I had some friends who lived more or less in that area, and they had their groceries delivered, but she was a hedge-fund boffin and he was an actuary, so they had plenty of cash. On a grad student budget, it seems like living there would be a bit of a drain on the pocketbook.
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:05 PM on April 14, 2009

Another Bostonian who didn't know there were apartments in that area... and it's not an area I'd choose to live in. It's mobbed by day, and deserted at night, and the rent has got to be insanely high. The nearest grocery store is quite a long haul away, and the commute to BU would be a pain in the butt. Back Bay/ Allston would be much better places to look.
posted by sarcasticah at 12:36 PM on April 15, 2009

Response by poster: Thanks everybody for your answers. My friend decided not to go with this place. They thought it seemed pretty weird from a Google Street View inspection, and your comments confirmed it. Thanks again!
posted by dondiego87 at 9:44 AM on May 16, 2009