Life in the Back Bay
To locals and visitors alike, Back Bay is considered one of Boston's most attractive neighborhoods--and with good reason. Upscale and safe with pretty commonplace architecture all around, Back Bay is a great place to live, work and play, while close to everything Boston has to offer. Best of all, Back Bay is home to Bay State College.
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If you’re going to college in Boston, one of the best places to be is Back Bay. Imagine large, classic brownstone homes facing broad tree-lined, European-styled streets, including Commonwealth Avenue (called by the locals “Comm Ave”), Boston's first planned 19th century neighborhood and now the location of Bay State College.
The neighborhood also boasts some famous commercial buildings, like the Boston Public Library, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Prudential Center (with its cool Skywalk Observatory at the top), and the John Hancock Tower, the tallest building in New England.
But there’s more to Back Bay than architecture—like fantastic shopping, clubs, trendy cafés and great places to eat. Just one block over from Bay State is Newbury Street, considered the absolute center of hip boutique shopping in Boston. Close by is Copley Place, home to such major stores as Jimmy Choo, Burberry, and Tiffany and Co. And from gourmet to pizza, Back Bay’s restaurants have something for every taste.
If you’re looking to connect with nature, just take a stroll through the nearby 50-acre Boston Common, the oldest public park in America. Next door is the Boston Public Garden, with its famous Swan Boats.
Plus, in Back Bay, you’re never far away from the rest of Boston. Within a block of Bay State, there are four ‘T’ stops (our subway system) plus public buses that run everywhere, including nearby Fenway Park, home to the champion Red Sox baseball team.