I've been living in Boedo for 3 years and we're considering buying in the area. I'm a woman and have no problems walking around but there are areas I would avoid if I were out alone after midnight, but that holds true for most of city's barrios. My partner, a porteño, and I have walked somewhat-drunkenly many, many times between here and Parque Patricios (where we have family) with no issues. I used to live south of the autopista and while walking under it is creepy the first few times, all the underpasses are well- lit and most of the spaces are sports clubs (calle Castro has a federal police hub/garage). There are almost no homeless and cartonero camps now compared to 3 years ago. I personally avoid the SW corner of the barrio which is considerably more sketchy than even the leather district and deep into San Lorenzo hincha territory.
It's a fairly boring barrio[background=rgb(252, 250, 243)]—[/background]which is what I prefer[background=rgb(252, 250, 243)]—[/background]there is no major shopping, not a lot of nightlife outside of dining, no big parks, which admittedly is a bummer, so we regularly walk/bike west to Prqe Chacabuco, east to Prqe Patricios and north to Centenario for weekend days/evenings.
There are loads of transit options. To Palermo you can take the 128 or 160; the 15 goes to both Palermo and Barrio Chino; 127 will take you to Chacarita then Villa Urquiza; the 126 (among others) into centro and San Telmo. There's also the subte if you prefer, though the E is old and dingy and a sardine can during rush hour.
