Attic rooms in Boston

March 9, 2017 6:44 PM

For the past several years, I have lived in attic rooms due to my noise sensitivity. It's incredibly difficult for me to sleep if I hear footfalls above me, or there are doors slamming on the same floor. Attic rooms work great for me because of the lack of people-made noise.

I moved to Waltham this month but want to be closer to Boston. However, Craigslist appears to have slim pickings - the rentals are either far from the T or really expensive (attic/top floor rooms seem to carry a premium). I don't have a preference for room size, only the level of noise (as well as wifi, decent heating, and reasonable roommates).

Are there alternatives to Craigslist, that would yield better results? Should I try contacting university centers or looking into other housing resources?

In general: if you know of other ways of securing special snowflake housing, please share!

posted by thesockpuppet to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Best answer: I'm a member of a Facebook group in Philly called "affordable housing philadelphia".People can post their housing requests on there. Maybe Boston has a similar group?
posted by bearette at 6:59 PM on March 9, 2017

Best answer: Indeed, I just did a search for housing groups in Boston on Facebook and there are a bunch!
posted by bearette at 7:00 PM on March 9, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Are there alternatives to Craigslist,

Also check Zillow for rentals. The attic units are often a lot because they're bundled with 2nd-floor units, as an owner can rarely get an attic zoned for single occupancy because of fire exit problems.
posted by Miko at 7:31 PM on March 9, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: You might have some success with padmapper.com, too!
posted by inatizzy at 8:11 PM on March 9, 2017

Best answer: Would an apartment with loft sleeping space work? That might increase your chances of finding something suitable.
posted by studioaudience at 8:30 PM on March 9, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The rental market is super competitive around here so word of mouth is huge. In addition to joining Facebook groups and contacting colleges, mention it to any local acquaintances you're on chatty terms with - so many of these situations turn up a "oh, my neighbor's looking for a guy."

A lot of units are the second and third floor of two-family houses, with the bedrooms on the top, so you may have better luck focusing on rooms in 3-4 bedroom units.

Do pay attention to fire exits, because it's a real problem around here as Miko mentions. Make sure your room has a window you can climb out of (and get one of those folding fire ladders).
posted by Metroid Baby at 3:21 AM on March 10, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Since you mention "decently heated" I would strongly suggest asking the owners about insulation: is there any, and if so when was it installed or last replaced. I spent several years in an attic room that I loved for all the reasons you mentioned, except for bone chilling temperatures in the winter (and blistering heat in the summer.)
posted by prewar lemonade at 4:25 AM on March 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Yeah what you need is the cheapest bedroom in a 3-4 bedroom apartment in a two-unit building. Brighton (especially Oak Square/Brighton Center, not so much the Allston-adjacent parts), Somerville, Cambridge, JP, and Dorchester have lots of these types of houses.
posted by mskyle at 6:39 AM on March 10, 2017