Roommate Finder in Roslindale, Boston, MA

Frequently asked questions

• Who is looking for roommates in Roslindale?

  Not students, which sets this apart from most of the Boston share market. Roslindale is 56 percent owner-occupied and one in three residents is between 35 and 59, against under 27 percent citywide, so the people sharing here are working adults rather than undergraduates: nurses, teachers, tradespeople, city workers and couples splitting a large floor. It is also markedly international, with about a quarter of residents born outside the United States. Roomster's roommate finder shows 97 people searching around Roslindale, many of them priced out of Jamaica Plain and looking one stop further out.

• What do roommates in Roslindale typically pay to split?

  Two people sharing a two-bedroom split a median around $2,863, which is roughly $1,432 each, against about $2,300 for a one-bedroom alone. The better arithmetic is in the bigger units: three or more bedrooms run a median near $3,500, which lands close to $1,167 a person, and Roslindale has an unusual supply of those because the Victorian houses were built with large floors. If you want to hold your share down, look for a third housemate and a whole floor rather than negotiating over a two-bedroom.

• Is Roomster a good roommate finder for commuter rail riders?

  It suits them, because the thing that needs matching here is a timetable rather than a lifestyle. The Needham Line runs 16 round trips on a weekday and 8 at weekends, roughly hourly through the day, so a missed train costs an hour rather than four minutes, and households tend to organize around specific departures. Say in your profile which station you walk to, which train you take, and whether you drive to the platform. Once your profile is confirmed by email and phone you can message someone for free, so you can settle the commute question before arranging a viewing.

• Which parts of Roslindale are best for finding a roommate?

  The blocks around Roslindale Village and the Ladder Streets between Walter and Centre hold the highest concentration of shared floors and put the station and the shops within a walk. Metropolitan Hill and Peters Hill are quieter and greener, with bigger houses and more of the large floors worth splitting three ways. The northern end toward the Jamaica Plain line is denser and turns over faster. The western streets feel like West Roxbury, with more single families and fewer shares, so expect slimmer pickings there.

• Is it better to take a room or split an apartment in Roslindale?

  Run both numbers, because the gap here is wider than in most of Boston. A room in a shared house costs $950 to $1,250 a month, while splitting a two-bedroom works out near $1,432 each and a one-bedroom alone runs about $2,300. Taking a room is clearly the cheapest route, but it usually means joining a household that already has its own rhythm in a house where the owner may live downstairs. Splitting a floor with someone you chose gives you more say over how the place runs, for roughly $200 to $450 more a month.

• How do I write a Roslindale roommate profile that gets replies?

  Lead with the practical facts that decide a match in this neighborhood rather than with adjectives. Name the station or bus you rely on, say whether you have a car and need a parking space, give your move date, and state whether you want the Village walk or the quieter hills. Roomster's ID and address checks are free and entirely the member's own choice, and each profile shows which ones a person has completed, so completing yours makes a stranger more comfortable replying. Then take any promising match to a video walk-through, and never send a deposit to someone you have not met.