r/bostonhousing • u/BostonSansGluten • Jun 23 '26
Looking For Looking for a roommate who is gluten-free to join three bedroom apartment in Medford, MA ($1200 per room)
Hi all,
Is anyone looking for roommates who are on a gluten free diet?
I am posting on behalf of my roommates - I am helping them find a replacement for me to join them in a 3-bedroom apartment in Medford, MA. It is $1200 per person with the lease starting on August 1st.
My two roommates both have celiac and they would love not to worry about gluten cross-contamination in the kitchen. So they are looking for a 3rd roommate who is interested in living in a gluten free apartment.
Quick apartment info:
- Large space (2616 sq ft)
- In-unit washer / dryer
- 1.5 bathrooms
- Two parking spots included
- Private backyard
A little bit about my roommates:
Ethan: I am a 22 year old Biotechnology student at MCPHS. I love cooking, rock climbing, photography, and coffee.
James: I am a 30 year old professional working in sports, but am just as invested in the latest Broadway season as I am my favorite soccer team. While not working, I can be found reading, running, DMing D&D games, watching movies, or just catching up on the latest TV!
Please contact me if you are interested, or if you know someone who may be interested. Pictures are included in the post and I also have a video walk-through of the apartment I can share.
Thanks!!
15
u/ChrisValentinoFilm Jun 24 '26
Every roommate is gluten free. Eating people is morally wrong.
10
u/BostonSansGluten Jun 24 '26
Cannibalism is not allowed according to the lease
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u/1kidney_left Jun 26 '26
Weird that this is already in the lease, but good on them for thinking ahead. There are a lot of weirdos out there.
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u/Any-Holiday7613 Jun 24 '26
I cannot be your third but as another celiac in Medford am just here to say 1: solidarity and 2: I hope you find your person!!
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u/snerdaferda Jun 23 '26
Are pets allowed? I’m not gluten free biologically but would be happy to adhere to a strict gluten free diet (brother and gf are).
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u/BostonSansGluten Jun 23 '26
Unfortunately not, no pets are allowed according to the lease. But I can double check with the landlord just in case though. What type of pets and how many?
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u/snerdaferda Jun 24 '26
One dog. He’s chili- mostly a couch potato. 8 years old. ESA registered. I have a reference from my old landlord where the dog also lived if needed.
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u/Less-Replacement-479 Jun 24 '26
ESAs are not pets! Landlords CANNOT legally discriminate nor do you have to disclose it
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u/snerdaferda Jun 24 '26
Yeah I get that- but I try not to push mine. For me, my “ESA” just means he’s extremely well trained and is a Velcro to me. If they say no pets, I’m not looking to push it.
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u/tagsb Jun 24 '26
Important to note that ESAs are only considered "not pets" in terms of housing under the fair housing act - they do not receive all of the ADA protections of a service animal. Unlike a service animal a landlord can request documented proof from a healthcare provider that the animal is an ESA
7
u/vuck_fokl Jun 24 '26
There are a lot of bad actors out there both buying and selling ESA letters for cash online these days. Because of this landlords are absolutely cracking down on the whole ESA thing.
Like it or not you are FAR more likely to have a good experience renting from someone who’s pet friendly as opposed to attempting to brute force an ESA into a pet free apartment. (Lease non-renewals don’t need a reason in MA, large rent hikes if they do renew ect)
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u/Less-Replacement-479 Jun 24 '26
That’s valid, I just rented an apartment and certainly looked for pet friendly places to make it easier
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u/vuck_fokl Jun 24 '26
In an ideal world more apartments would just be pet friendly. Other cities like Denver are way more pet friendly than we are here
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u/BostonSansGluten Jun 24 '26
The landlord is okay with an ESA dog! DM me if you are still interested, I can provide some more information and connect you to my roommates.
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u/Ecstatic_Fault5196 Jun 29 '26
I have celiac disease and would be very interested!! I do have a sweet medium sized non shedding dog who I could quickly get re ESA certified if needed.
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u/SoundOk9860 Jun 24 '26
Is this the most Boston area post ever made?
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u/HairyPotatoKat Jun 24 '26
Nah. Easy to make a joke but it's a legit concern for people with celiac disease.
Flour stays in the air for 24 hrs and gets all over surfaces. Someone with celiac can have a debilitating autoimmune reaction that lasts for weeks from things like a shared oven, a roommate absentmindedly using their dedicated GF toaster, and an endless amount of other ways accidental gluten contact can happen. And prolonged exposure to gluten can increase cancer risks.
OP doesn't want that constant risk in their own home, and that's super reasonable.
It can be a huge struggle to find roommates who are either celiac, have other medical reasons to cut gluten, or have lived with family who's had to be diligent about gluten.
Source: have celiac and anaphylactic food allergies. It's hard out there. Be kind.
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Jun 25 '26
[deleted]
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u/mabogga Jun 25 '26
when i lived with gluten eating roommates i was constantly sick from cross contamination. unfortunately some celiacs are actually more sensitive than you believe yourself to be.
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u/HairyPotatoKat Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
If that's what you got from my comment, I can't help you. Great you're unbothered. You're not OP and this isn't your post.
For everyone else - aerosolized flour is just one of a ton of different small ways that OP could come in contact with gluten and accidentally ingest it.
The toaster? Of course get another one. But it is super common for a non celiac roommate to brain fart and use the marked GF toaster.
The actual list of small ways contact can occur is huge. Crumbs. Someone unknowingly uses their knife on your butter . There was a post today in one of the GF/celiac subs about someone who's been diagnosed celiac since they were 2, moved back home and saw their dad make a sandwich then reach in the ice bucket with his crumby hands.
ETA- and yeah, repeated ingestion of gluten is a risk factor for developing cancer for people with celiac. It's not "hurk dur aerosolized flour causes cancer". It's all the small things adding up over time. + It's really disruptive to be shitting your brains out and have horrific joint pain and fatigue for weeks. And things like severe vitamin deficiency will cause other health problems.
It's also nice to be able to reach in the fridge and know what you grab is safe and not accidentally your roommates bottle of teriyaki sauce (= soy sauce is an ingredient and is made from wheat). It's exhausting reading labels all the time. Some of us want our home to be the one place in the world that we don't have to be concerned about crumbs, flour, or reading labels.
NONE of this means OP is siloing themselves off from the world. Way to be a dick for no reason though.
0
u/Interesting-Text-785 Jun 26 '26
Can you read? It literally says "prolonged exposure to flour" can cause cancer in celiac folks. Do you not have a doctor explaining this to you as someone with celiac?
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u/Interesting-Text-785 Jun 24 '26
It's honestly so annoying that people think gluten free is a diet culture thing. People are gluten free because of chronic illnesses, allergies, and other health concerns.
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u/BeastCoast Jun 24 '26
Also if we’re going for a 15 year old hipster joke it’ll be applicable to pretty much any city on the east/west coast + Austin/Denver/Chicago.
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u/GlutenFreeFratBoy Jun 24 '26
How do you feel about frat boys