Where should a BC law student live?
Adam As we are in admissions season, I thought it might be a good idea to get a string going on where is the best place for a bc law student to live. There are the usual student neighborhoods of Allston or Brighton, you could live closer to the campus out in Newton, or maybe with your parents in Weston or Watertown. But, I am asking where you might find the best apartment, restaurants, and bars without having to travel 3 hours on the Acela Express from your New York apartment or drop more than your tuition in rent. Do all 1Ls need to live as close to the library as possible, or is it possible to use libraries and coffee shops that are not dominated by law books and that person from your section who wants to know how long you have been there. People in our classes live everywhere from Jamaica Plain to Southie or even across the river in Cambridge, so tell your fellow students or future BC attendees where they should live and why.
Eagleionline Question of the Day: Where is the best place for a BC law student to live?
Reader Comments (9)
Don't knock Watertown, though; it may not have too many of those commercial corners people know and love in Allston, Brighton, or Cambridge, but it's close to campus, reasonably close to the city, and cheap.
Or if you don't know what to do with a mountain of cash, you could always live in the Sheraton inside the Circle of Death...
1) Sprint with 80 lbs. of books on your back, only to have the bus pull away right as you get there and head in the direction from which you just came.
2) Give up and go home.
In addition, law school students are like second class citizens when it comes to undergrad vacation weeks, good luck with the shuttle then.
As for where to live, I'm very happy living in A-B. I pay $1000/month for a nice 1br (central air and a pool outside) Plenty of street parking (can be a gamble during snowstorms) and its like a ten minute drive to campus.
As Noah says, having a car on the B-Line (or, for that matter, the C-Line and the D-Line) makes life a lot easier.
Still, it's still certainly possible not to have a car and commute (that's what I do).
Just as a rough estimate, I'd say that one could make it from Cleavland Circle to BC Law School in about 30 min. on most days.
As far as market prices go, it's anyone guess. In Allston-Brighton my best guess is that shared apartments will cost ~600 and studios ~900.
I pay approx. $1450/mth for a 2BR Colonial w/off-street parking, basement, and a backyard about a mile from the law school.
In terms of distance to the law school, it's about a 5 minute drive from I-90 (exit 17) to the law school, so it's a fairly easy walk if you live south of I-90.
Regardless of where you decide to live, try to find a place that includes at least heat, if not all utilities.
For 2L year, I moved to an apartment in Allston. My apartment there is larger (though more expensive) and definitely more convenient to shops, bars, restaurants, and the T. I also like that I have a neighborhood (gritty and over-populated with students though it may be), which I missed in Newton's suburbia. It takes me between 15 and 20 minutes to get from my apartment to the law school, but I enjoy the slightly-longer commute as a way to warm up for my early AM classes. It will also be much easier when I begin my summer job downtown to be on the T line and closer into the city, particularly when one is on the B-line (I've clocked my trip downtown at about 40 minutes door-to-door during rush hour).
If you are a prospective student currently living in a city and are looking for an affordable area with more of an urban feel, than Allston is a great place to be for law school. If you are more flexible, I know many students who lived in Newton their first year to be close to school and then moved elsewhere for their last two years. Just don't throw out your 1L moving boxes. :-)
Thanks,
Jake