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Advice for Boston Renters

Finding a nice apartment in Boston can be rough. It can be difficult to find a suitable apartment, especially if you’re not associated with one of the schools so you’re not looking to move in September. Many apartments here turn over in September, which leads to Allston Christmas, the time when students who are moving out throw their unwanted furniture and appliances out on the curb. Some of the Allston Christmas debris is just old junk that no one wanted to haul home, but if you take a walk by the colleges around September first, you’ll find almost-new furniture for your new Boston apartment. (Well, I mean, do that in a non-covid year, it’s probably not worth the risk for a free bookshelf in 2020.)

If you’re planning to move in September, book your moving truck and anything else you might need as early as possible. In New York, you can easily find someone with muscles and a truck whenever you’re ready to move, but in Boston, there’s not an available moving truck for the month of September.

According to Zumper, the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment here in Boston is $2,140.

Right now, the average rent for a studio apartment in Boston is $1,775, while the average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is to $2,600. In a city with so many students, not to mention visiting faculty and researchers for all the universities here, it makes sense that two-thirds of the housing is rental and only about a third is owner-occupied.

Zumper lists available rental housing in Boston, as well as many other cities, including available houses, rooms, and apartments. Listings have photos and renters can apply directly through Zumper and do their credit checks there too. Zumper has new listings all the time, and renters can search by location, price, bedrooms to see what’s available. There are also searches by a particular amenity, if you’re, say, willing to walk further to the train if your apartment has a dishwasher. The site will also show you comparative rents in Boston, by apartment size and neighborhood, so renters who are new to the city know what a reasonable price is.

The listings are constantly updated and renters can apply to rent specific apartments. So, that should reduce that shady business where you go to meet with the potential landlord, and somehow the beautiful, affordable apartment was just rented, but since you’re already here for a viewing, they do have a junky one to show you.

While talking about Boston apartment advice, it’s almost impossible not to mention the annual Storrowing. There’s a famously low bridge on a major road, which has caused the tragic death of many moving trucks. It’s especially rough for new residents, who might not be familiar with the annual Storrowing or with their rented moving van. This story on Boston.com begs new residents not to drive a moving truck down Storrow Drive. Remember, when you crash a moving truck on the Storrow Drive bridge, you’ve enlivened office conversations all over the city and probably dozens of office betting pools.