Onward and upward

I found my apartment in Boston!

I spent most of Wednesday with a rental agent looking at twelve different apartments all over Boston. I saw several great places and had a really hard time deciding between different types of apartments (old, modern, walk-up, high-rise...) in different parts of town (Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End, Waterfront, Financial District...), but in the end I went with a high-rise on the Waterfront.

Harbor Towers are the two tall white buildings on the right. I'll be living in the one on the left.

I'll be renting a condo on the 22nd floor of Harbor Tower II - the ever-so-slightly shorter (396 ft, 121 m) of the twin buildings designed by I.M. Pei in the early 70s. Because the units are individually owned the interiors can vary quite a bit. I first looked at a unit that had not been updated since it was built and it really felt uninspired, but the second unit had been completely remodeled into gorgeous condition. When I viewed the apartment the owner still had his furniture in there, so what you see in the pictures below isn't my furniture but should give you a good idea of the apartment.

The dining section of the living room. I really like the new cherry wood floors and the large windows facing the water.

The view through the living room window overlooking the waterfront and Logan airport in the background

Looking back through the living room

Kitchen with cherry wood cabinetry, granite floor and counter tops

Bedroom with a view - same warm cherry wood floors as the living room

Marble floor and subway tiles in the bathroom

When I lived in Boston in the 90s we almost never went to the Waterfront. It simply wasn't very nice then, but with the completion of The Big Dig the ugly highway that went through the city has been placed completely underground, and replaced by the Rose Kennedy Greenway making the area much more attractive and accessible. Around the same time, there was also an initiative to make the water more accessible and the concept of the HarborWalk was created, extending throughout the city

Part of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in front of the Harbor Towers

The Waterfront is still a bit disconnected from my old stomping grounds (Back Bay, Beacon Hill...) by having the Financial District lodged in-between, but it's still less than a mile from Boston Common so it's an easy walk. Boston is such a compact city that nothing is really too far away. The North End (Italian neighborhood, great food) is only a few hundred yards away from my apartment and so is Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market (although that's a bit too touristy for my taste). And, the Aquarium T-stop (subway) is right next door which gives me easy access to the whole city.

In short, I'm very excited about the move - I only have one week left here in Arizona so it's all happening very quickly. Whoop whoop!