Tools for Finding Roommates Outside of BUMC
In addition to BU-specific resources, Boston offers a number of excellent roommate-matching websites and services to students who are interested in expanding their roommate search beyond just one university.
Craig’s List
http://boston.craigslist.org/roo/
Craig’s List is the largest housing search tool in Boston, and also provides a high concentration of potential roommate listings as well. Most of the roommate listings in the Craig’s List database will come from tenants who are already renting an apartment, and need a roommate to join them in the unit. This can make the housing search quick, because students only need to decide if they like the potential roommate and apartment, and then their search is over! However, because Craig’s List is the largest system in the city for both roommates and housing, students are urged to use slightly more precaution when finding roommates here. Speak with potential roommates at least a few times via email before providing a phone number, and when meeting in person for the first time, plan to meet in a public location like a café or restaurant.
Boston Roommates
Boston Roommates is a website designed to link students from several area colleges together for shared living situations. The system does require students set up an account, but it is free, and provides access to a number of roommate listings and shared apartment listings (like Craig’s List, above). The system requires that all participants have a valid .edu email address, so students who feel more comfortable browsing potential roommates who all have connections to some university will find this system preferable to Craig’s List much of the time.
Harvard Medical School Trading Post
http://mycourses.med.harvard.edu/tradingpost.asp
A public-use website designed to help students and staff at the Harvard Medical School and Longwood Medical Center find apartments and roommates. While the layout is not the easiest to use, the system is free and sees a lot of traffic from Harvard medical and public health students, as well as a large population of BUMC personnel who live in or around Longwood. For students interested in living in the Brookline, Mission Hill, or Fenway neighborhoods, this site can provide a number of excellent roommate options.
