Staying with Marion was great! I slept on the couch in the living room, and it was very comfortable :) The neighbourhood is safe and pleasant, with lots of bike trails, running people and people walking their dogs at all hours of day and night. Marion's house is about five minutes away from the T station Alewife, and the train will take you to downtown Boston in 20-25 minutes - so everything is very close. And Marion herself is a pretty cool host!