Apartment Search in Boston

First, I would like to provide a few essential impressions and information about the American housing market and renting an apartment in Boston, which I gathered during my search.

1. In America, lease contracts usually only last one year and must be extended afterward.
2. A floor plan with the exact dimensions of the apartment/house is relatively uncommon. Especially in older homes, there are usually none. If you are lucky, you will at least be given the approximate dimensions.
3. In addition to a broker’s fee, the deposit and the first month’s rent are often due immediately to finalize the apartment agreement. In some cases, the last rent must also be paid simultaneously. 
4. The start of many lease contracts is linked to the academic year, particularly in the Boston area. Therefore, many contracts start either on August 1st or – as in my case – on September 1st. 
5. From Frankfurt, I was already used to a tough rental market with high prices. But Boston beats that by far! Due to the large number of students, who all have a similar budget for a room or apartment, the corresponding “minimum” prices are very high. 
6. Due to the high demand, the landlords hardly have to worry about the apartment’s condition, as there is always a new tenant. Therefore, although the most necessary maintenance measures are done, modernization tends to be postponed.
7. Furthermore, more and more attention should be devoted to fake advertisements. There is no way around a real estate agent in case of uncertainties.
8. You often need an SSN (Social Security Number) to connect gas and electricity to your new home. Especially at the beginning, most of the time, only US citizens have these. International students can only apply for one if they have a job and thus an income.

I hoped for a one-bedroom apartment when I first started looking for accommodation. However, I was able to dismiss this dream from my mind very quickly, as you have to pay at least $2,000 for such an apartment – unless you are fortunate.

My next thought turned to on-campus housing directly offered by the university. However, the number of available rooms is very limited. Additionally, I wouldn’t knew my roommates beforehand, and no pictures of the accommodation were available online either.

There was little left to choose from, and although I never intended to live in a shared apartment, I couldn’t see any other option. On the positive side, I have lived in a shared accommodation and will have my own experiences now.

However, you also need roommates for the shared flat; finding them from Germany is complicated. But I also found a solution to this problem: Tufts University offers a platform where you can look for flatmates. Similar to a dating app, you create a profile about yourself, and you can also specify the desired characteristics (e.g., tidiness, sleeping pattern) of the potential roommates. Fortunately, I found my three flatmates through this website. Of course, my search for housemates had its problems. However, in the end, we formed a good group of four girls, consisting of 2 Americans, 1 Mexican, and myself. Then, we were able to start looking for an apartment. In the end, finding flatmates was the easiest part.

Although we now had enough people, we still needed an apartment. In addition, it takes a lot of work to discuss money – rent – with more or less strangers. Besides the different financial means, everyone has different expectations of the apartment. Finding and viewing apartments when no one comes from Boston or currently lives there is not easy and involves various risks (fake apartment ads). Our apartment showings took place online, and for me, in particular, they were combined with long days due to the time difference from the US. Furthermore, everyone had to feel comfortable in the apartment, which was challenging. But in the end, we managed to find an apartment and just had to take care of things like electricity and Wi-Fi.

In general, it’s easier if you move into an existing shared apartment. Things like electricity have already been sorted out, making everything more accessible. However, I would ensure that I’m one of many people who want to live there for two years (in my case). Otherwise, you either have to move after a year and face the whole housing dilemma again or look for new flatmates, which can also be exhausting, depending on how many you need.