the new boston apartment!

i decided to go with choice #1 from the previous post.

it's located here:

View Larger Map

it's considered "walker's paradise," with a score of 95/100:
http://walkscore.com/get-score.php?street=78+phillips+street+boston%2C+ma&go=Go

although it's within walking distance of tons of things, the ones that matter most to me are:

• 600 feet to the subway (redline)
• 1,100 feet to whole foods grocery store!
• 1,100 feet to a parking garage that allows monthly parking
• 1,400 feet to the park (boston commons -- oldest in the nation)
• 850 feet to post office
• 1,000 feet to gym
  
• in the heart of tons of restaurants and shops

the main attributes of the place:

• 1 bedroom
• my own private parking spot behind apartment, 24/7
• washer and dryer within apartment
• no dish washer
• free heat and hot water
• $1,600/month
  
• 4 month lease, can extend in increments of 1 yr at a time
• 1st and last month rent upfront, $800 finders fee, $500 security deposit
• pointless notes: ive become friends w/ the realtor, and landlord is an mit prof

it's small, so i made a sketch of my tentative layout. the dimensions of every object are as accurate as i could get... should generally be within a ~8" error:

new boston apartment!

i'm looking for a place in beacon hill neighborhood.

wednesday, i flew in by 4pm, and checked out 3 apartments
thursday, i spent 10 hrs checking out 14 apartments

here are the best 5 i have found so far...

i've learned:

• personal parkings spots don't exist in beacon hill. (if so, they rent for $200-400 a month and sell for $200k+)
• people park in nearby garages ($100 per month) or on the street (free), but street parking may take 30 minutes
• i want a 1 bedroom, and the default price is $1700 - $1800

all of the following are:

• 1 bedroom, and are either on 1st or 2nd floor.
• within 1,000 - 2,000 feet from the parking garage

here are the top 5 so far:

1. $1600.
   pros: WITH A PARKING SPACE and laundry in house!! the realtor said this is his 2nd place w/ parking in his 10 yrs.
   cons: weird design... the living room is almost unmanageable to do something w/ it. can barely fit a futon widthwise
   vid:
   
   
2. $1550.
   pros: little complex w/ a cool maintained courtyard. great layout of room...
   cons: smelled a lil like urine, but "it should go away"; laundry is across street. very close though
   vid:
   
   
   
3. $1530
   pros: price. pretty big
   cons: fake fireplaces. decent layout but living room and bedroom are actually identical
   vid:
   
   
   
4. $1575
   pros: price. good kitchen i believe
   cons: odd layout. 2 adjacent rooms IMMEDIATELY in front of you as you walk in
   vid:
   
   
   
5. $1500
   pros: looks really cozy and good layout. working fireplace (most places dont allow them)
   cons: a little small? 2nd floor. closest laundry is 600 feet away
   vid:
   
   

if you could live in any of them, which would you pick? leave a comment.