Overall, I was happy enough here in a second floor apartment and stayed 7 years!

Positive attributes: pleasant and fairly quite shady tree-lined street is kept clean all year, apartments are floor-throughs so you can keep windows open and let breezes blow through in the summer, excellent location near Back Bay shopping and 2 good supermarkets, is possible to find street parking if you're willing to drive around the block most times (I did it for 4 years - Back Bay parking sticker,) responsive management, recent kitchen & bathroom updates, heterogeneous neighbors including a few fixed income elderly in owner-occupied rowhouses or non-coverted apartments, sometimes will hear cheers from Fenway park in the summer

Negative attributes: 80's renovation, walls and grey wall-to-wall carpet show wear of previous occupants, brick walls "interesting" though made me feel I was living in a garage, back alleys behind apartment rows are clean but grubby so few people use the back porches, neighbors keep to themselves and there are no social activities that would facilitate interaction, I happened to live next to a middle-aged alcoholic who would scream obscenely at her alcoholic partner every few weeks, there are rats on the street just like everywhere else in the Back Bay, cabs speed down the street and trucks occasionally block it, can sometimes smell fumes from the Mass Pike in the Summer.

I recommend either the 2nd or 3rd floor since you can leave blinds open for light and air and still have privacy. On first floor or in basement, need to keep shades drawn for privacy from people on sidewalk. Basement apartments are probably cheaper but also get very little sunlight, which could be depressing.

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