The short answer: Greater Boston isn’t one city. It is the City of Boston, with neighborhoods like the South End, Dorchester and Charlestown, surrounded by separate cities and towns like Cambridge, Brookline, Somerville and Newton. Each has its own rules for parking, taxes and permits. Most newcomers do best when they choose a commute first, rent for a year, and only then buy. There are a few Massachusetts specifics to plan around: the September 1 lease cycle, resident parking permits, registering your car and switching your license at the RMV, and the annual excise tax on your car.
At a glance
- Lease cycle
- September 1
- Most Boston leases turn over then
- Moving truck permit
- 15 days ahead
- Online, or 3 days ahead in person
- Resident parking permit
- Free
- In Boston, once your car is registered there
- Inspection sticker
- Within 7 days
- After registering your car
- Car excise tax
- $25 per $1,000
- Of value, billed every year
- Storrow Drive
- 10-foot height limit
- No box trucks
How Greater Boston is laid out
The City of Boston is made up of neighborhoods. Some sit right by downtown, like Back Bay, Beacon Hill, the North End and the South End. Others run along the harbor, like Charlestown, East Boston, South Boston and the Seaport. The rest stretch south and west: Jamaica Plain, Dorchester, Roslindale, West Roxbury, Hyde Park, Allston and Brighton. They all share one city government, one property tax rate, one parking clerk and one permit system.
Just over the city line are separate municipalities that many people think of as “Boston”:
- North of the Charles: Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Arlington, Malden and Everett.
- West: Brookline, Newton, Watertown, Belmont and Waltham.
- South and the harbor: Quincy, Milton, Chelsea and Revere.
The distinction matters in practice. Your resident parking sticker, property tax bill, excise tax bill, trash schedule and building permits all come from the municipality where you live. A Cambridge parking permit doesn’t work in Boston, and a Brookline address is not a Boston address. To see every area we cover in one place, browse all of our neighborhood and town guides.
Choose where to live by commute and transit line
Start with the trip you’ll make most often, then find the lines that serve it. The MBTA runs the subway (Red, Orange, Blue and Green Lines), the Silver Line buses, local buses, commuter rail and ferries. Each of our area guides lists the stations and routes that serve it, so here’s a quick way in:
| If you commute by | Areas to look at |
|---|---|
| Red Line (Cambridge, downtown, South Station) | Cambridge, Somerville (Davis), South Boston (Broadway, Andrew), Dorchester, Quincy |
| Orange Line | Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, the South End, Charlestown, Malden |
| Green Line | Brookline, Newton, Brighton, Allston, Fenway, Mission Hill, Medford |
| Blue Line (and Logan Airport) | East Boston, Revere, Beacon Hill (Bowdoin) |
| Commuter rail | West Roxbury, Roslindale, Needham, Wellesley, Natick, Belmont, Melrose, Winchester |
Do the commute yourself at rush hour, and in winter if you can. If you’ll drive, try the route at the time you’d actually leave.
Housing types and setting a budget
Housing stock differs a lot from one area to the next, and that shapes what your budget gets you:
- Brownstone and rowhouse condos fill the Back Bay, the South End, Beacon Hill and Bay Village. Many are units in buildings that were once single-family homes.
- Wood triple-deckers and two-families are typical of Dorchester, South Boston, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Somerville and Chelsea. A lot of them have been split into condos.
- High-rise and mid-rise condo buildings are concentrated in the Seaport, Downtown Boston, the West End and Chinatown.
- Single-family homes on their own lots are more common in West Roxbury, Newton, Lexington, Needham, Wellesley and Weston.
We don’t publish typical prices here because they move with the market and vary block by block. For a real budget, get preapproved with a lender and look at recent sales of the housing type you want in two or three areas. Also add costs that national calculators often leave out: condo fees, the property tax rate in that city or town (Boston also has a residential exemption for owner-occupants), parking, and heating costs in older buildings.
Rent first, and plan around September 1
Renting for a year is often the smartest move for a newcomer. You can learn the commute, find out how the neighborhood feels in February, and figure out which housing type you actually like before you buy.
The City of Boston notes that most leases in the city turn over at the beginning of September. Around September 1, then:
- If you’re aiming for a September 1 start, begin your search and moving plans early.
- In Boston, you can reserve curb space with a moving truck parking permit. The city says to apply online at least 15 days before your move, or in person at least 3 days before.
- Storrow Drive has a 10-foot height limit, according to the city. Don’t drive a box truck on it.
Parking: Boston resident permits
Many Boston streets are posted for resident permit parking. The City of Boston issues these permits free of charge, but:
Before you apply for a Boston resident permit
- Your car must be registered and principally garaged in your name at your current Boston address. In general, that means you need Massachusetts registration first.
- You need one recent proof of residency in your name, such as a utility bill, bank statement, insurance bill or a lease that starts within 30 days.
- You must pay any overdue Boston parking tickets first.
- You can apply online or at City Hall. For online applications, the city asks you to apply within 10 days of your move-in date.
Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline and the other municipalities run their own programs and have their own rules, so check the city or town where you’ll live.
Registering your car and getting a Massachusetts license
To register, you'll need
- A Registration and Title Application stamped by a Massachusetts insurance agent
- Proof of ownership
- For a car bought out of state, a sales tax exemption affidavit (Form MVU-29)
After registering, you have 7 days to get a Massachusetts inspection sticker.
You also have to convert your out-of-state driver’s license to a Massachusetts license. You can start the application online, but you must finish it at an RMV Service Center. You can choose a REAL ID, and you’ll need to bring identification documents for it even if your old license was a REAL ID. The RMV checks with other states and tells your old state to cancel that license. Requirements change, so read mass.gov’s “transfer your out-of-state license” page before your appointment.
The motor vehicle excise tax
Massachusetts charges an annual motor vehicle excise tax, billed by the city or town where the car is garaged. State law (M.G.L. c. 60A, § 1) sets it at $25 per $1,000 of value. Value here isn’t what you paid. It’s a fixed percentage of the manufacturer’s list price that falls each year: 50% in the year before the model year, 90% in the model year, then 60%, 40%, 25%, and 10% from the fifth year on.
| Year | Share of list price |
|---|---|
| Year before the model year | 50% |
| Model year | 90% |
| Following years | 60%, then 40%, then 25% |
| Fifth year on | 10% |
The minimum bill is $5. If you later move out of state and register the car there, you can apply for a prorated abatement.
Utilities and the rest of the checklist
Utilities and address changes
- Electric and gas: open accounts with the companies that serve your address. Your landlord or the seller can tell you which ones.
- Water and sewer: in Boston, this is the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. Renters often don’t hold this account. Owners do.
- Internet: check which providers serve the specific building, since it varies.
- Address and civic items: update your address with the U.S. Postal Service, update your voter registration through the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, and fill out Boston’s annual census (the city lists both on its moving page).
Buying once you arrive
When you’re ready to buy, the Massachusetts process differs from many states. There’s a written offer, then a separate Purchase and Sale Agreement, and an attorney handles the closing. Start with our first-time home buyer guide for programs and preapproval, then read how offers work in Massachusetts. If a condo is likely, see buying a condo in Boston. If a two- or three-family is on your list, read buying a multi-family in Boston. Before you make an offer, budget with Massachusetts closing costs.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm specifics with the RMV, your city or town, a real estate attorney and your lender.
If you’re planning a move and want help comparing areas or lining up a search, The Pettengill Group is happy to talk it through. Get in touch or start a home search.