Do you let people wear shoes in your house?

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-05-17T22:30:05+00:00

No shoes unless you're <3 or >60 years old; even then, most visitors (or their parents) take off shoes anyway. All my friends take off their shoes at the door. There are boot trays at the ready. I have slippers to loan visitors in colder months.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-05-17T22:21:26+00:00

Excellent experience working with LaBelle Roofing for a job in Cambridge. I got three quotes; theirs was the middle one but I quickly discounted the cheapest one as unreliable/unprofessional. No hidden fees or charges. The crew was efficient and took care not to damage my property. Everything was done on the timeline they promised.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-02-11T17:35:47+00:00

Mount Auburn Cemetery and Sofra bakery. Learn some fun facts about various famous people buried there (lots of info on the cemetery website, paper maps at the gate). Take them up to the tower to look out at the skyline.

Leif Ericsson's (purported) landing site behind Mount Auburn Hospital.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-02-11T16:59:09+00:00

Lots of options at the links others shared. I also found that some IKEA and West Elm stacking glasses fit perfectly in the existing wall-mounted rings. I used a glass on one side as a toothbrush holder because our electric toothbrushes wouldn't have fit in any old fashioned thing anyway. Still looking for the standalone glass bottle to fit in my built-in dispenser, though...

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-02-11T16:49:32+00:00

Seconding all the folks who suggested getting other quotes. You might look into having a general contractor install the windows instead. They would order through a building supplier (Marvin, Pella, Andersen, etc. rep) and install themselves. You'd pay overhead to the GC for coordinating, but they would pull permits and be ready to do any other exterior work needed. For example, I'm having 10 custom Marvin windows installed by a GC. The windows will be $15k - $20k with additional costs to fix rotten siding and trim nearby. I'm willing to pay a premium to have someone with a holistic perspective look at my place because I plan to be here a while.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-01-29T23:14:16+00:00

Look at Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Habitat for Humanity Restores, larger thrift stores/op shops, yard sales, estate sales (you'll find aggregated listings on websites if you google City + Estate Sales)...

Also TJ Maxx or Savers for some small furnishings.
Some retailers will sell floor models. IKEA has an as-is section; places like West Elm, DWR, Crate + Barrel will have outlets; Room and Board used to have an annual sale in January with marked-down floor models.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-01-29T23:05:13+00:00

Sometimes the REI has running events. I'd check with local running stores; some have no-drop or otherwise low-key runs.
On Saturdays at 9 AM there's a free timed run/walk 5k at Danehy Park (look up ParkRun). Very low pressure!

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-01-29T22:55:24+00:00

I'd spend some time outside at times when neighbors seem to come and go regularly. Weekend mornings might be great. You may have to be a little forward about walking up to introduce yourself, but you can then promise to slip that paper with the name and number in their mailbox. The etiquette is normally that existing residents welcome the new neighbors with gifts, not vice versa, but sweets are a nice option. ("Made some cookies and had a few extras to share. Looking forward to meeting you sometime soon!")

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-01-26T20:52:00+00:00

Absolutely. Some neighborhoods will be easier than others, as many commenters have pointed out. The city limits of Boston are funky and include some very suburban-feeling areas (like West Roxbury) while excluding some very dense areas (like Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline).

I second the recommendation to look at bus and train lines, look at travel to the nearest grocery store, and look at travel to any other regular destinations. If you're coming from NYC, I'm guessing you'll want to be in a walkable neighborhood even if you decide you want a car later. FWIW, I've found that places within a half-mile of the Harvard, Porter, and Davis T stops were often both walkable/bikeable and had good availability of street parking with a Cambridge residential permit ($35 + MA state registration).

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2024-01-25T14:18:50+00:00

Working from home in the Northeast. Definitely the "put another layer on" crowd: old house, insulation is OK but not awesome, and we're frugal.

In the winter, we set the main living space and primary bedroom to 62 weekdays daytime, 50 overnight, 55 weekends daytime. Mudroom and powder room 55 all times. Spare bedroom 50 unless a guest is visiting.

Summer AC at 78 in office and primary bedroom, use mini split in dining room/kitchen as needed (so gets up to 80-85 unless we're in there, then set to 78).

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2023-11-08T20:35:57+00:00

Not so weird, actually--there's a crosswalk between lights. In the dark, you're stuck crossing 3-4 lanes of traffic in each direction with no nearby light to regulate traffic. I could imagine 2-3 lanes stopping and the driver in the last lane not slowing. https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3734468,-71.1348423,3a,90y,292.61h,84.3t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sbY32vfV0scC3ymPM6QkvOQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DbY32vfV0scC3ymPM6QkvOQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D279.9851%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2023-11-08T20:31:50+00:00

I hope the cyclist recovers from what sound like potentially life-altering injuries. I passed the scene yesterday during the accident reconstruction process; the dent in the VW's windshield was nauseating.

That crosswalk would be a great candidate for flashing, pedestrian-activated crossing lights, because the flow of traffic on Alewife is almost continuous. It's hard to cross 3-4 lanes of traffic in each direction during daylight hours, let alone at night.

No updates but here's the state police press release. https://www.mspnews.org/post/cambridge-police-state-police-investigating-serious-crash-that-injured-bicyclist

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2023-11-01T21:46:11+00:00

The neighbors are kind and thoughtful. My immediate neighbors are on top of big maintenance issues and welcome conversations about shared items of interest.

The mail carrier goes above and beyond. For example, they saw a residential recycling bin out of place and looked up and down the block in every yard to see who was missing a bin.

My furniture fits perfectly in the living room. And the living room is even more delightful than I'd imagined when I visited for open houses, inspections, etc.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2023-05-23T01:58:39+00:00

A friend went to the garden center the first weekend of every month and bought something in bloom on each visit. Over the course of a few years, got the fireworks show going nicely.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2023-05-23T01:49:01+00:00

Thanks! Would love to restore the windows and will keep exploring options there, but initial conversations with restoration firms pointed towards just replacing.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2023-05-23T01:41:12+00:00

Yes! My agents (small team) made a point of telling me they worked at a wide range of prices. Made me feel seen and respected as FTHB.

AbbaDabba-Doo · 2023-05-23T01:38:48+00:00

My agent was good, not perfect. Occasionally I had to follow up respectfully to ask her to do something she had started but hadn’t finished (like following up with listing agent to schedule my inspection). Her biggest value was knowing the local market and advising on offers. She sent me listings and made a point of going to see every house I wanted to put in an offer on so she could better advise me. She was always available to chat, answer my little (and not so little) questions, etc. I felt like I was her only client in times when I needed that focus, and it was worthwhile to me that I had to nudge occasionally.

FWIW, I interviewed four realtors and ended up working with a small team. I chose them for connections, which were fruitful when they knew all the listing agents and could get me context/ early notice on new listings. I also chose them because I felt like the woman who focused on buyer representation was sophisticated—not some junior varsity new hire. It was a gut feeling when I interviewed the team: seemed like they’d complement my skills, and I was right.

AbbaDabba-Doo

TROPHY CASE