SOYOUWANNA FIND AN APARTMENT IN BOSTON?

2. PICK A NEIGHBORHOOD OR SUBURB

Getting around

The Boston metro area is blessed with about 18 neighborhoods in and around the city, all of which are reachable by a good underground transportation system commonly called the T (no relationship to Mr. T). The T is absolutely the easiest way to get around, so when you're looking for a place, consider its accessibility to the T. But keep in mind that the T can be really confusing for a newbie resident, so take the time necessary to figure it out.

Some of the 18+ neighborhoods are not really part of Boston. Cambridge, the home of Harvard University, for instance, considers itself a "Republic" (those pretentious snobs). Be warned that you must be very specific about the area you want to go to when giving directions or taking a cab, because many municipalities have streets with the same name. Boston itself has half a million people but the metro area contains at least 10 times that many. The city is doable by bus, bike or T, but most residents have cars for weekend trips to nearby ski slopes, beaches, and scenic New England states like Vermont. If you decide you need a car, remember that street parking can be a major hassle as certain neighbors are very territorial about "their" spots, especially during the winter when cars have to be shoveled out.

The driving conditions in Boston are legendarily atrocious. The city is filled with one-way streets, people who drive like maniacs, and roadways that are too skinny. One of the most common phrases associated with Boston is "you can't get there from here." So give yourself plenty of driving practice if you're going to challenge the streets on your own.

Boston's neighborhoods

Once you know where you are going to work, figuring out where you want to live is easy. Ask yourself about your commute, friendliness, and familiarity needs.

• Commute: The T, a bus, or your own car? If you're gonna take public transportation, make sure that you find a place that's near a stop. The last thing you want to do is walk 15 blocks to a T station in a Boston winter.
  
  
• Friendliness: Is it a priority to live in a neighborhood where "everyone knows your name" a la Cheers, or will you be slaving away too much to do anything other than crash when you get home?
  
  
• Familiarity: If you already know people who live in Boston, you definitely want to ask them for their opinion. But you also might want to live near them, just so that you'll be nearby someone you know.

Next, get familiar with the city by buying a map or checking out an online resource such as Google Maps. Two landmark streets to get familiar with are Massachusetts Avenue, which runs north/south from south Boston over the Charles River into Cambridge, and Commonwealth Avenue, which runs east/west through Boston. Determine how far you want to be from work and figure out which neighborhoods fall into that radius.

Boston's main neighborhoods can be characterized as follows: In the heart of downtown lie the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the North End, the South End and Fenway/Kenmore Square.

• The Back Bay is full of red brick townhouses next to the Financial District and Newbury Street, the chi-chi shopping strip. It's stratospherically expensive to live there.
• Beacon Hill is a centuries-old historic setting with cobbled streets and gas-lit street lamps near the Statehouse and Boston Common. This area is also very expensive.
• The North End is a web of tiny, quirky streets jammed with Italian restaurants and virtually no parking. The area abuts the harbor, so some pads enjoy a waterfront view. Developers have taken advantage of this by rehabbing historic buildings and building modern condominiums.
• The South End is near the Back Bay but boasts more of a Victorian style as well as a thriving artistic community.
• Fenway/Kenmore Square has the schizophrenic ingredients of major art museums, dance club-heavy Lansdowne Street, and Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox. It also has brownstones, but residents may want to coordinate their driving with the Red Sox's schedule because traffic can get snarled.

The next layer away from downtown includes Allston/Brighton, Brookline, Cambridge (home of the aforementioned Harvard University), Charlestown, Dorchester, East Boston, Somerville, Jamaica Plain/Roxbury, and West Roxbury.

• Allston/Brighton is chock full of students attending Boston College and Boston University, with apartment buildings, Victorian homes and some industrial buildings.
• Brookline has Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village with upscale boutiques, large houses and apartment buildings. (Note: We know someone who rents a gorgeous house with three roommates here and pays $325 a month! And yes, he likes it there.)
• Cambridge has many multi-family homes and some apartment buildings. With several academic institutions, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it has a large student population, which tends to gather around Harvard Square and Central Square, both of which are shopping and transportation hubs.
• Charlestown is east of Boston over the bay, and features a mix of yuppie professionals and blue collar residents. It has apartment buildings, beautifully overhauled former Navy yards-turned-waterfront condos and quaint townhouses. (Competition for parking spots is fierce. Scratched cars and glued shut locks are not unheard of.)
• Dorchester is Boston's largest neighborhood, with many triple-decker homes and Victorian architecture, and residents with Irish, Hispanic and African roots.
• East Boston has the bonus of being next to Logan Airport, which can also be a huge drawback with jets screaming above at 2 a.m., offset by an offering of multiple-family homes and cheaper rents.
• Somerville is a city north of Cambridge, and shares much of its characteristics. Its dense, multi-family housing is interspersed with squares for dining and shopping. Tufts University is nearby. Again, parking is awful.
• Jamaica Plain is becoming an increasingly gentrified urban neighborhood with plenty of character and quiet streets. Roxbury is next to Jamaica Plain but closer to Boston and a source of high crime and economic revitalization efforts. As a result, rents are low.
• West Roxbury is miles away on the western side of Jamaica Plain and is virtually a suburb with both single-family and multi-family homes.

Other communities near Boston - but not quite the 'burbs - include Arlington, Belmont, Medford, Milton, Newton, Waltham, Watertown and Quincy. Some are more blue-collar than others, some retain more of an urban feel, others are straight out of American Beauty, but all represent potential housing. Don't overlook them in your search, especially since they are all reachable by public transportation, either via the T or by commuter rail.

When you're reading about or visiting neighborhoods, keep the following factors in mind:

• Is the rent affordable? Are the stores, shops, gyms, movie theaters and bars in the area affordable? (No matter what they say ahead of time, most people spend their money in nearby establishments.)
• How close is the public transportation you will use, especially if you don't have a car?
• If it matters, what are the nearby schools like?
• Who lives in that neighborhood? Yuppies? Students? Crackheads? Celtics fans?
• Where will you park your car? If the apartment you're looking at doesn't include parking, how easy is it to park on the street?
• Who pays for utilities? And how are they powered? Gas is cheaper than electric, and oil fluctuates along with OPEC.
• What is the average winter utility bill for the unit? Remember, Boston can get ass-freezing cold.
• Does the apartment come with major appliances like a refrigerator or a washer/dryer?
• What is the crime rate like? Call the local police office to double check, as your landlord could be less than honest on this one. Come back at night to see if you feel safe there.