Personally, I think you'll be fine. I've lived in Boston as a single woman for years and walked alone at night all the time, so that's just my personal opinion, but you do you. If you're not feeling good about it, get a place in Back Bay.

Boston Area is very safe, particularly Cambridge and you should have no worries walking anytime of day or night. I generally feel safer in Boston than I do in Berlin or Munich. In fact, I think you’ll find it downright pleasant that time of year.

You still need to be vigilant, as you would be in any dense city. For example, There’s some homeless that hang out in the Central Square area and a few of them have been known to verbally harass passerbys. But after living here for a decade, besides the occasional person asking for money, I’ve never had anything resembling an issue.

Also, with you coming from Germany, we know our trains are an absolute embarrassment right now. Particularly the Red Line. We’re working on it.

Since you’re only here for a week - and if you were worried about traveling at night, you can always call an Uber. Distances in Boston a relatively short, a nighttime Uber from downtown to Cambridge would be like $15. I know your student, but I don’t know what your budgeting looks like. Just something to think about.

Hi Servus, ich bin deutscher der seit fast 10 Jahren in Boston lebt und das letzte Jahr in Cambridge. Cambridge ist einer der sichersten Nachbarschaften in Boston und da würde ich mir keine großen Sorgen machen. Wie andere schon erwähnt haben, ist Central Sq. ähnlich wie an einem HBf in Deutschland mit obdachlosen usw. den man dort über dem Weg läuft. Die können auch mal aggressiver betteln, aber ich hatte noch nie wirklich Probleme, meistens parkt dort eh immer ein Polizeiauto.

Nur zur Info, die Züge in Boston haben in letzter Zeit immer mehr Probleme und daher verspäten sie sich gerne, also immer bissal mehr Zeit einplanen.

I’m a single woman and I’ve never felt unsafe in that neighborhood. Boston in general is one of the safer cities in the US and Cambridge is one of the safer areas of Boston. You’ll need to follow basic city safety rules but shouldn’t have any issues (don’t wear both headphones, don’t pull out valuables or money on the sidewalk, don’t engage with any panhandlers, etc.).

If it’s particularly late (or you’ve been drinking) I would maybe recommend getting an Uber (likely under $20) but that’s not based on any specific risk to that neighborhood. Just a general safety tip. Also remember that the T stops running by 1am (so if you plan to stay out late make sure you budget for an Uber).

Corrected the stop name - its Central not Braintree

There are relatively strict restrictions on Airbnbs in Boston and Cambridge so please check the regulations and whether or not the unit is compliant. Otherwise, you are at increased risk of having your booking cancelled last minute.

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I think you are confused. Braintree is quite far from Cambridge, like the opposite end of the red line. Is the Airbnb in Cambridge or Braintree? Both are quite safe but Braintree is considerably less walkable, so you might want to be cautious of the route you’ll need to take to get to the Braintree stop if that’s where you’ll be staying

I think that the location in Cambridge is probably very safe. That area has the same issue with homeless population that many cities have, but not anything that I would be concerned about personally. Also, the streets are pretty busy with students, so I think it's rare you will be walking down dark streets all alone if you know what I mean.

It is also, in general, a nice area with cafes, interesting restaurants, etc. Personally, I would prefer it to something that was more downtown.

If you're looking for the "safest" place to live, I would look into Brookline

You will be fine. There are some rough sleepers and idle folks who hang around Central Square who may ask for money but you can just say no or keep walking. Cambridge is very safe. If the area in downtown Boston where you will be is near the Boston Common, just make sure to be alert around that area as well after dark.

The red line is fine during office hours. Late at night you might not feel as safe perhaps but the stations you describe should be fine. Make sure to have your Uber app set up, just in case. Red line reliability isn’t great but that’s usually only in the weekends.

Cambridge and Boston is relatively safe for biking (for a US city). Look into the blue bike rental bikes.

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Double check the location of that Airbnb, or the name of the nearest stop. The Braintree stop is not in Cambridge. The Braintree stop is on the opposite side of the city from Cambridge.

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People talk about Central being "dangerous" or whatever but it's all bark and no bite. There are certainly unhoused and unemployed people hanging out and making noise/minor disturbances, but violent crime is fairly rare. On the rare case that it does happen, it's generally between people who know each other and doesn't involve random strangers/tourists.

Keep your wits about you, know where you're going, and mind your business and you should be fine.

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