If you haven't heard it already, I will be the first person to tell you that the North End is where it's at. Of course other Bostonians may disagree, however each neighborhood in and around Boston is very different and caters to a variety of people in different ways. Luckily, there are several neighborhoods around here leaving plenty to choose from!
When I decided to move to Boston I tossed around the option of living on Beacon Hill or in the North End - both are very nice neighborhoods.
I was first attracted to BH because of the beautiful brownstones, and unique buildings that surrounded the area. It's close to the Common, and has Whole Foods, shopping, and anything else you would need right at your finger tips. Win!
I didn't really pour much interest into the North End at first glance because I wanted to be literally right, smack, dab in the middle of Boston (not that the NE isn't).
My main thing was: safety, and close proximity to downtown Boston.
disclaimer: If you don't want to hear me gloat about my love for the North End, then skip this next paragraph.
As I began to look at units in the NE, I instantly fell in love with Boston's little Italy. The location was perfect! Right on the water, yet still right in the city. Quincy market and Faneuil Hall are a stones throw away, and let's not forget Haymarket on Fridays and Saturdays (Fruit and Veggies galore)! The North End is also home to a ton of history including Paul Revere's House (oldest building in Boston) and the Old North Church. This place is chock full of ethnic eateries, pubs, cafes, and ITALIAN RESTAURANTS. They have it all! It is on my "to-do" list to eat at every restaurant in the NE. In the summer we celebrate several feasts days and host festivals right on the main streets where everyone and their brother sets up a tent and serves up their choice of Italian deliciousness. The community here is great as well! I love leaving my windows open and waking up to the sounds and smells of this place. Residents sitting on their benches outside of their buildings sipping coffee, in the winter everyone breaks out their snowblowers and plows away… it's amazing. I feel like I'm living out of a story book. Not to mention, the North End is VERY safe. While we still DO have crime here, the place is filled with police, and is very "cleaned up". The North End is like a little town itself. You have laundromats, grocery stores, general stores… it's perfect. Not to mention, "The Town" (along with several other movies) was filmed right on Parmenter and No. Margin Street! Too Cool!
When it came time to decide whether or not we were going to renew our cute as a button apartment on North Margin Street, we regretfully had to decline.
Why? Well simply because we needed to upgrade. The apartment is CUTE CUTE CUTE! It has a beautiful brick wall, located on a GREAT street and was on the top floor! However, 350 sq. ft. was getting small, and I needed more space.
So I'm here today to pay tribute to this adorable shoebox!
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Whenever anything was dropped on the floor, it would roll downwards towards the middle of the apartment. No level floors for us.
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Whenever anything was dropped on the floor, it would roll downwards towards the middle of the apartment. No level floors for us.
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I bought some pumpkins for Halloween from Haymarket and was bound and determined to carry them both back to N. Margin myself. Long story short, I once again overestimated my strength and ended up dropping them, rolling them, swearing at them... all throughout the NE. Eventually someone saw my struggle and came to my rescue. The pumpkins sat on the fire escape for a month and rotted away.
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My roommate and I had bought a real Christmas tree, and come time to dispose of it (in January), we were unsure of how to properly do it. In Boston, they want everything in a 2-ply black trashbag. But a Christmas tree won't fit in that! SO, we did the mature thing and drug it downstairs and put it in front of some random building on trash night. The next morning when I was leaving the building, lo and behold there was the Christmas tree. Right back in front of our apartment. How? I don't know. Why? I don't know.
Either somebody was watching us as we dumped the tree the night before, or somebody followed the pine needle trail back to our apartment.
...and in case you were wondering... the trash did come and pick the tree up.
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The fire alarms in the building were not up to code and would constantly go off whenever they felt like it. This resulted in daily/weekly visits from the fire department. Bless their hearts. One time the FD came three times in the same day all from different units in the building. And when they come, they come! Full on sirens, water tank truck, fire truck, men suited up... snaking their way through the tiny NE streets.
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One morning I woke up to only having power on one side of the apartment. That was strange.
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My roommate and I had bought a real Christmas tree, and come time to dispose of it (in January), we were unsure of how to properly do it. In Boston, they want everything in a 2-ply black trashbag. But a Christmas tree won't fit in that! SO, we did the mature thing and drug it downstairs and put it in front of some random building on trash night. The next morning when I was leaving the building, lo and behold there was the Christmas tree. Right back in front of our apartment. How? I don't know. Why? I don't know.
Either somebody was watching us as we dumped the tree the night before, or somebody followed the pine needle trail back to our apartment.
...and in case you were wondering... the trash did come and pick the tree up.
--
The fire alarms in the building were not up to code and would constantly go off whenever they felt like it. This resulted in daily/weekly visits from the fire department. Bless their hearts. One time the FD came three times in the same day all from different units in the building. And when they come, they come! Full on sirens, water tank truck, fire truck, men suited up... snaking their way through the tiny NE streets.
--
One morning I woke up to only having power on one side of the apartment. That was strange.
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Sometimes in the middle of the night around 4am, some random guy would yell up/at to our building for some girl. Demanding for his money and whatnot.
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We have a basement in our building, however my roommate and I were both petrified to go down and check it out. Eventually 11 months and 3 weeks later, we ventured downstairs to discover that every unit had a huge storage container to store stuff in. What? Would have been nice to know that a couple months ago.
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All packed up and ready to roll!
Scored in the moving department!
Living/Kitchen area
Are you jealous of that wall? You should be.
The bathroom was a coat closet.
My bedroom
My roommates bedroom
Locking up and walking away from our beloved apartment for the last time.
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We have a basement in our building, however my roommate and I were both petrified to go down and check it out. Eventually 11 months and 3 weeks later, we ventured downstairs to discover that every unit had a huge storage container to store stuff in. What? Would have been nice to know that a couple months ago.
--
All packed up and ready to roll!
Scored in the moving department!
Living/Kitchen area
Are you jealous of that wall? You should be.
The bathroom was a coat closet.
My bedroom
My roommates bedroom
Want to see how we dressed it up, check the apartment tour out here!
Looking forward to the new apartment!! One street over!
