The Neighborhood of Allston

Allston is one of Boston's more vibrant neighborhoods. Its most thriving business is its nightlife where bars and restaurants comprise the center of the neighborhood providing "super-cool" niches throughout the community... whether you prefer playing late-night, dive-bar darts or sipping early-morning coffee in funky cafes. Hard-partying frat boys share Allston-Brighton with hard-working entrepreneurs, and the neighborhood’s architecture is just as diverse where well-lived in college apartments abut well-tended Victorians. Whether your scene is ragged jeans or refined garb, you’ll find something to love in this conveniently located neighborhood. If you are planning to buy a home in the area, stick to Brighton for a quieter and more stable environment. Unlike Allston's shops and services, Brighton offers parks and open space, tree-lined streets, and a more family-oriented, “community” feel. Brighton is much more likely to have the wooden, triple-decker houses, and more families residing in them, than small apartment buildings and students.

Diversity

Housing is varied in the area, but the section of Allston along Commonwealth Avenue offers a number of small brick apartment buildings. Farther away from Commonwealth, off of Brighton Avenue and closer to Brighton are more wooden triple-decker houses. You should be aware that, In the Allston zip code of 02134, only 13% of the housing is owner-occupied, compared to the national rate of 66%. Most of Allston is rented, predominantly to students. The quality of housing in Allston is mixed, varying from well maintained to worn down. Landlords and property owners who do not rent to undergraduate students (a fairly common business practice in Boston) tend to have slightly better maintained buildings than those who do. Allston is “funkier” than its neighbor, Brighton. It has a diverse makeup with many middle-class families living in single and dual-family homes. Free parking on the street is tight, but available. A residential parking sticker is required in some areas. Pictured below is a "co-op" building in Allston.

The Sub-Neighborhoods of Allston

The combined area is also made up of a number of smaller sub-neighborhoods. North Allston is located to the north of the Massachusetts Turnpike, and hosts Harvard’s Business School and field. Allston Village, located at the eastern section of Allston, is a popular party spot for students and musicians and probably the most popular section of the neighborhood for BU undergraduates. North Allston is less urban than the Allston Village area, offering a number of single-family homes (one of the few areas in the neighborhood that does). Rowhouses or brownstones are relatively rare in this area. Most of the people living in North Allston are either long-term residents, or Harvard (see photo below) students and staff. Because the turnpike cuts Allston in half, North Allston shares little in common with Allston Village, except for a branch of the Boston Public Library. The #66 bus does connect the two sections of the neighborhood.

Other Info About Allston-Brighton

While 47% of the population of Brighton drive to work, 36% use mass transit, compared with 71% and 2% respectively for the United States as a whole. This is probably due in part to the number of bus, subway, and commuter choices available. The B section of the Green Line is accessible from many parts of the area.

Access the City of Boston's official website, including the neighborhood of Allston-Brighton. If you have school-age children, Allston lies in the Boston Public School district. Its transportation policies are outlined here. It is always wise to check if there is reported criminal activity in the area in which you plan to live. The Boston Police Department has a web page dedicated to Brighton/Allston which you can access for their latest news. To keep up with daily goings on, in general, you can check in online with the Allston-Brighton Tab, The Patch, the Boston Guardian, or, of course, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.

If you have a specific property in mind that you think you might like to buy, the City of Boston maintains a database for the City Assessor which you can access to see what value the City gives the property and what the annual taxes are. Boston does offer a residential tax break for primary residences for which you should apply upon your purchase.

Searching for Allston Real Estate

This is Allston's best real estate site to search for: homes, land and foreclosure properties. It is seriously the only site you will ever need to find your next home or investment property! Bookmark this page and check back anytime to see what is currently available in Allston. Unlike other search sites which includes properties already under contract, this site only shows properties that are truly available. This site is updated by the official REALTOR®’s database every 15 minutes.

Here, you can save searches, and get daily email alerts of new listings, price changes, sold data, and market reports. Use our map search which allows you to search and view properties on a map! After you open the map search feature, zoom in or out on your preferred area and then, click on the hexagonal symbol to the top far right of the map, click on the map where you'd like to mark your outer limit search, then continue clicking to end and begin the each line segment until you have created a search box. Alternatively, click on Revise Search and enter the town and area you wish to focus on. Click here to open the Interactive Map Search.

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