Apartment Blog

Boston, The largest city in the commonwealth of Massachusetts and one of the oldest cities in the United States, offers a rich and inviting history.  Part of this history involves three storied sports franchises; the Patriots, Celtics, and Red Sox. All three are recent World champions in Football, Basketball and Baseball, respectively.   The hype surrounding each franchise reaches a fevered pitch once their season starts and that level of excitement is unlikely to die down anytime soon.

The Patriots are in the process of writing their story and three Super Bowl wins in the last decade is a great introductory chapter.  The Celtics are reviving their past glory and still remain the franchise who has won the most NBA Championships in history.  The new tandem of All-Stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen have already won a  championship ring together in 2008, but can’t wait for you to come watch them win a few more. Boston loves their baseball and the Red Sox have not disappointed in recent years. 2004 and 2007 were championship years for the Red Sox and they are in the hunt again this year.

The Patriots actually play about 45 minutes outside of the center of Boston, in Foxboro. However, there are many great apartments within minutes of Boston’s Td Garden Arena and Fenway Park.

Get more information and search tips on Boston Apartments, or view all Apartments for Rent in Boston, MS.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston

Who says golf isn’t entertaining?  A game of intellect, strategy and concentration, golf affords the general public an opportunity to witness some of the world’s greatest athletes in action.  This weekend the Barclays, a leg of the PGA, or Professional Golfers Association Tour, proved to be no different than so many others this summer. 

Saturday evening, finishing the third round of the Barclays, Tiger Woods closed the gap for the lead to 5 shots, playing a -4 for the day and sitting at a -4 for the tournament.  By the time he completed the 15^th hole, Tiger was once again on the prowl, pulling to within two shots of the lead at -7.

The first round of the FedEx Cup, a leg of the PGA Tour came down to the 18^th hole.  The Barclays golf tournament, part of the FedEx Cup, is played at the Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey.  Residents of this city are given a real treat every year in being able to attend this tournament.  Consider moving to New Jersey to partake in this distinguished tournament where Ellis Island, home of the Statue of Liberty, serves as a magnificent backdrop.   This was truly a match of suspense. 

The Barclays were infused with suspense.  The final round began with Steve Marino and Paul Goydos sharing the lead at -9.  But as with any major tournament, if Woods is within striking distance in the final round, the leaders sense this - and choke.  And as usual, opportunity after opportunity presented itself for Tiger to pounce.  But the story of the tournament was his putting.  He simply could not pull it together.  However, Steve Stricker and Heath Slocum took advantage and seized the lead, walking into the 18^th hole, both at -9.

Tiger made things interesting, closing in even more by making birdie on 16.  The on-lookers had never been as silent as when he stepped up for his birdie putt on 18. Releasing his stroke, the crowd, the announcers, even Woods thought this putt was going in.  But it just grazed the edge of the hole and rolled about 4 feet to the other side.  Disappointment.  Disbelief.  Woods couldn’t understand how he missed that putt.  Tiger just doesn’t miss putts from that distance with the match on the line.

Meanwhile, both Stricker and Slocum shot into the bunker on their first swing on 18.  The match wasn’t over yet.  But Slocum simply had luck on his side.  Entering this tournament ranked 124th, making the cut by the skin of his teeth, Slocum managed to make one of the biggest jumps in this tournament, winning outright by saving par making a 20-foot putt with a final score of -9 shooting a 67.  Stricker bogeyed on 18, finishing at -8, tied for second with Woods, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington.

Congrats to Slocum, but Tiger remains ranked number 1and will shoot for his sixth win of the tournament next weekend, with the field narrowed to the top 100 in the Deutsche Bank Championship beginning September 4^th in Norton, Massachusetts.

If you live in the Boston area, this would be an excellent opportunity to see some of the best golfers in the world compete to advance in the PGA tournament.  Thinking about moving?  Check out these apartments for rent in Boston, MA.

Do you know what you’re doing this Memorial day? Usually my memorial days consist of swimming at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach, barbeques where I eat too much and hanging out with friends. However, this year, I will be traveling. With the great deals on airline flights, one benefit from the downturn in the economy, my family and I are heading to Key West, Florida. Our three day weekend will feature parasailing, Duvall Street, visiting the Southernmost point of the US and the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum.  It’s going to be fantastic exploring the area and seeing how the locals celebrate. By the way, this would be the same locals that commemorate their large population of chickens by having a Key West Annual Chicken Festival (yea, I couldn’t make that up)!

But enough about my fun filled weekend (jealous much)! What about our readers? How do you plan on celebrating this honored holiday for those who have died while protecting our country? Friends of mine in Chicago, IL are going to attend the Memorial Day Parade in Daley Plaza. And we all know Boston is the city for runners, so other friends from Boston will be running in the Boston’s Run to Remember charity race (good luck to all the participants)!

So let us know! I’m curious to know what others around the United States are doing!

As tradition with last years post Best Cities for Singles, we have posted the newest version for all those single folks! These rankings, done by Forbes, are meant to be a guide for young, ambitious singles who can live and work wherever they want.

To determine the best cities out of the 40 largest urbanized areas in America they devised criteria of seven categories:  number of singles, night life, culture, cost of living alone, job growth, online dating activity and coolness (the last criteria being my favorite). In order to determine the coolness of each city, a poll was conducted in which participants were asked “Among the following U.S. cities, which one do you think is the coolest?” It is no surprise that New York was deemed the coolest city overall.

Here are the top 10….

1. Atlanta, GA

2. San Francisco, CA

3. Dallas, TX

4. Minneapolis, MN

5. Washington D.C

6. Seattle, WA

7. Boston, MA

8. New York City, NY

9. Orlando, FL 

10. Phoenix, AZ

Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, tops the Forbes list of the best cities for singles mainly because of its great night life, high number of singles in the area as well as the great job growth market! In the eight years Forbes has been ranking America’s cities for singles, Atlanta has been in the top ten all but one year. Making it one of the friendliest cities!

Want to see if your city made the list?

Check out Forbes.com’s complete list of the Best Cities for Singles 2008 here. You can even sort by top cities for culture, nightlife, singles, job growth, living cost and online.

ForRent.com is at it again. In the hopes of providing you with the ‘insiders scoop’ of another highly visited metropolitan area, we have decided to interview one of our own who was born and raised in the downtown Boston area. I picked her brain about the local scene to provide some useful tips for those of you planning a visit or relocating there soon.

Q. When is the best time to visit Boston?

A. Boston has all seasons so depending on what season you prefer, Boston has something to offer. The winter is cold with snow, but trees are lit in the Common, Garden and Faneuil Hall. In contrast, the summer can get hot but you can go sailing on the Charles River. And the Fall foliage in New England is pretty self explanatory.

Q. Where do you go if you want to eat cheap?

A. Try Faneuil Hall marketplace; there is a strip with about any type of food you could think of. There are even small diners around town that are worth it; the South Street Diner is open all hours as well as a slightly more posh diner on Charles street; “The Paramount”. Both of these are some of my favorite spots to dine in Boston and won’t be a large strain to the wallet. If you like Italian food, the north end has tons of great pizza/pasta joints…but be mindful that some get more expensive but are completely worth it.

Q. Where is there to go shopping?

A. I happen to love Newbury Street for shopping although it does tend to have your more high end designer shops as well as small intimate cafés and restaurants. The Copley and Prudential Malls are not far off, offering more to the general consumer.

Q. Where is the ‘hip’ place to live?

A. For college students and young professionals on a tighter budget, probably Cambridge/Allston-Brighton, and Somerville areas. If you are able to afford more expensive living arrangements, Back Bay and Beacon Hill are known for their Boston charm.

Q. Where is the best ’singles’ locations/clubs/bar/etc?

A. Again, since young professionals and college students all seem to swarm to Cambridge and Somerville, those bars offer a lot of opportunity to meet other singles. Personally some of my favorite bars/clubs etc, are Gypsy Bar, The Liquor Store, 33 Bar and Restaurant, Jose Macintyre’s, Coogans, and The Middle East. If you want to possibly run into some Boston sports players, Daisy Buchanan’s is known for that.

Q. What are some really cool attractions that would be considered ‘must see’ if visiting Boston?

A. Fenway Park; Old Ironsides; THE CAPE; Harvard Square; Freedom Trail; Sam Adams Brewery; Boston Tea Party

Q. And lastly, what is something weird or quirky about the city!?!

A. Truly considered “Americas College Town” with more than 100 colleges and universities.

The Big Dig (a project to eliminate traffic in Boston bringing major highways under the city itself) is one of the largest construction projects in the world, yes WORLD (as well as one of the most expensive).

Boston has quite a few firsts; including America’s first public school, The Boston Latin School (1635) (where I happened to attend), and first college, Harvard College (1636). Boston is also home to the first subway system in the United States, the T.

Get more information and search tips on Boston Apartments, or view all Apartments for Rent in Boston, MS.

Special Thanks to:

Name: Jessica Lambert
Age: 24
Hometown: Downtown Boston

Tired of spending an arm and a leg on gas? Want to eliminate the amount of hours you spend in traffic? Well the perfect solution is simple, move closer to your job!

I was reading this article “Renters go downtown to save on gas, commuting” by J.W. Elphinstone, and it appears that people are getting the idea to move closer to their jobs or mass transit areas in order to save money. This seems to be a nationwide trend, therefore, making rents higher in those metropolitan areas. Cities where this trend seems to be the strongest are Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Seattle, Baltimore, Minneapolis and Portland, OR.

Young renters and empty nesters alike want to move within walking distance of their jobs to save time and gas. Although the rents for apartments in downtown are increasing, the math is quite simple. You already spend $900+ on rent and an additional $200-$300 on gas due to your daily commute. So moving closer to where you work might cost more in rent, but you’re saving in gas and essentially getting more hours added into your life by eliminating the long commute.

Apartment seekers need to think about how they will narrow down their apartment search based on the aforementioned reasons. Landlords, management companies and apartment owners are advertising their properties with maps and brochures to showcase where they are in relation to landmarks and public transportation. The informed apartment hunters will do the research about location and ask questions regarding mass transit so they can find the perfect apartment for their needs.

Currently I work in downtown and the rents within walking distance of my job are so much more than what I pay now. However, if I were to eliminate the cost of my car (repairs, gas, insurance and maintenance) the cost would be about the same. And I would save an extra 45 minutes to an hour of my day from commuting. Plus, another added bonus would be extra ‘going green’ efforts by saving on consumption of fossil fuels! So maybe this is something I should think about…..

What are your thoughts?