The apartment is spacious and the roommates have generally been great. The room itself is newly renovated and very comfortable. As for the area, my expectations were low, but its tough to find an affordable place with offstreet parking in this city. I've lived in Boston for three years and was advised to stay away from this relative area. I'm happy to say it didn't live up to its reputation. It's not Back Bay, but it's not the crime-ridden area i was led to believe it was. I think it had problems in the past but it's not that way anymore. Just leave the occasional ratchet person alone and they'll leave you be as well. Outside of that, it's the closest I've ever lived to a grocery store, Marshall's, and a YMCA. Those were huge benefits to me.