Where should I live to be near Boston and not break the bank?

Submitted by gold_medal_in_sleep t3_10oq98p in boston

Hey all! I’m a transplant who moved to Boston about 3 years ago for post graduate training. I was making 50k a year at the time and moved to Cambridge to a 2 bed/2 bath for which I paid 2k per month. Budget wise that become too much so after the 1 year lease ended I moved to Roslindale to share a 2bed/1 bath (where I currently live) for which I pay 1k per month. I recently started my first job out of training making 150k a year. I really miss living close to Boston and I want to move back but after taxes, insurance deductions, 401k contributions, and ESPP contributions, my take home pay is not enough for me to justify spending 3-4 k per month on a 1 bed/1bath in Boston proper.

For context, I work fully remote for a biotech company on the west coast so commuting isn’t an issue at the moment. I think the maximum I’m willing to spend on rent for a 1 bed/1 bath is $2500 per month.

Does anyone have any recommendations for where I should look into moving instead? Somewhere close to Boston that is both affordable and has nice amenities (good grocery stores, gyms, etc.) would be ideal.

0

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Bostonianne t1_j6g8qcu wrote

Buddy. Roslindale is IN BOSTON.

94

gold_medal_in_sleep OP t1_j6gcr9r wrote

I know but it feels like it’s not in Boston. For example, it has been difficult to keep up with my friends in the city because it takes about 45 min to drive in when traffic is heavy.

0

too-cute-by-half t1_j6ibpen wrote

I don’t know why people are getting on you for wanting to live closer to town. This gatekeeping obsession is weird.

20

Mumbles76 t1_j6gdcj4 wrote

Rozzy isn't Boston, neither is WR. Let's be honest.

−39

[deleted] t1_j6gq9dc wrote

[deleted]

34

RMR6789 t1_j6hjcro wrote

Especially because it is extremely easy to take the WR Parkway to Jway right into Boston after 5PM from Rozzi, W Rox and certain areas of HP.

I will say though, Dorchester is much more urban than WR,Rozzi and HP IMO.

13

Mumbles76 t1_j6jjk9r wrote

Downvote me all you want, but culturally, they are much different than other parts of Boston. Be honest with yourselves.

0

Prod_Broad t1_j6jutpb wrote

Just because people move to Queens to afford a single-family home in NYC doesn't make Queens less NYC. Same goes for West Roxbury and Hyde Park.

11

rels83 t1_j6ggu3o wrote

Where do your friends live?

70

whooobaby t1_j6gkq1u wrote

Honestly that’s the question that matters

26

1998_2009_2016 t1_j6getpg wrote

You can live basically anywhere you want on $150k a year as a single person, anything that isn't a brand new building will have rent at $2.5-2.6k a month for a 1 bed. Maybe that rules out the Seaport, but there are places a block from Copley on that budget.

edit: to be constructive, grad students/young single yuppies without kids are all over Cambridge and Somerville (Davis, Inman, Union), if they want to be spendy and trendy they're downtown in the South End, Beacon Hill or Back Bay (in small apartments that are quite expensive but hey its nice), or coming in from your direction via Jamaica Plain.

64

BurritoSlayer117 t1_j6gl93m wrote

I’m at One north of Boston right now , 2nd lease , $2300 big studio . I’ll be moving to the Vero a few blocks away in June. I’m getting a one bedroom with den for $2800 w/ parking there . They have a one bedroom for $2400 everything included. Nice amenities and I love this location . Train and silver line 5 minute walk. Mystic mall right there .

17

KV1SMC t1_j6gk04t wrote

Quincy. Live near a Red Line station and you’re golden.

14

ynliPbqM t1_j6hvg7t wrote

Normally I'd say this us good idea and I'm doing it myself. But the red line is getting down right unusable past South station ... Everything is a slow zone and there's no communication on when/if this will be addressed

14

QueenOfBrews t1_j6g7knx wrote

How do you plan on getting to work? Drive, willing to take the commuter rail? Etc…

8

gold_medal_in_sleep OP t1_j6g7oxv wrote

Oh that’s a good question! I am a fully remote worker for a company based on the west coast so commuting isn’t an issue.

10

QueenOfBrews t1_j6ga9wn wrote

What’s the most important part? Wanting to live alone, or proximity to downtown? Also, what’s your max budget?

7

Maddcapp t1_j6igirc wrote

Are you sure you want to spend so much to live in the city if you work from home? One of the benefits of WFH is that you can literally live anywhere. People pay an arm and a leg because commuting sucks. Why not live out a bit further, get a lot more for your money, and shoot in to the city to see your friends and hang out when you want? Just something to consider. I know living in the city is desirable, but so is saving money.

8

gold_medal_in_sleep OP t1_j6lw0s0 wrote

I have my reasons…I feel very isolated working from home and living in Roslindale. I thought I would keep up with my friends from my post doc program but I realize that was an ambitious idea because no one really keeps up the same way when they no longer work together and traffic gets so congested here it becomes a 45 min drive one way to go into parts of Boston for after work activities. Without traffic I live like 20 min from Boston, but that would only be at undesirable times like at 1 am lol. But if I lived closer to Boston I could join some social clubs or use Bumble BFF with ease, and it would be cool to meet new people and potentially make some new friends. So going back to my story, I lost my Cambridge apartment after 1 year because my roommate couldn’t justify the cost anymore since we were both post docs. I loved living there but I didn’t actually even get to enjoy the apartment much because I had a major knee injury during the time of the lease and was in/out of recovering from surgeries. From there (I left this part out from the original post because of how traumatic it is) I actually moved to a gorgeous new condo as a third roommate in Mission Hill for a summer (was supposed to be for a year or more) but got essentially evicted from that apartment in only 3 months because my landlord/roommate was upset that I wouldn’t listen to her every neurotic demand (I was asked not to brush my hair in my own bathroom because the guests also used it and she didn’t want long hairs on the ground) and I didn’t want to be best friends with her outside of being roommates (I made a big mistake moving into that place, I should have known that woman was stunted when I walked in on her watching Camp Cretaceous the cartoon when I was interviewing). I learned to be careful of who you find on FB roommates groups after that experience! I know there are laws to protect the tenant but the situation was so uncomfortable and she started threatening to change the locks and harassing me through text message on a daily basis (about how this is her condo and she can’t live unless she felt like she had full control of the situation in it), so I moved out but not without forcing her to agree to pay for my moving fees with the help of my lawyer friend reminding her that tenant laws are a thing and she was in violation of them. Then I begrudgingly moved into the current place at Roslindale with a guy friend because I was essentially homeless. Things have been fine in Rozzy but it never felt like my space, it’s more so his. It’s truly not at all what I envisioned for my Boston life when I moved here from suburban NJ 3 years ago. Boston has simultaneously been the worst and best times of my adult life. I tried to move out of my current space in July when I first started my new job but my younger brother committed suicide 2 days into my job, so I just didn’t have the energy to do it immediately after. I was just so run down by what life had been throwing at me for the past 3 years. Now that I finally had time to process things and have this higher income job after a decade of schooling and training, I can finally afford stuff and I really want to regain control of my life and write a better middle and ending to my Boston narrative. I’m really not “humble bragging” about anything, I just want genuine advice because I’m not from around here and I don’t come from a lot of money so I have to consider saving for a house and retirement like any normal person. Thank you to everyone who provided helpful advice and didn’t troll me ❤️

2

Thisisjones t1_j6ghexe wrote

Brighton or Watertown are your best bets. Brighton is super convenient if you live near oak square, you can hop on the pike or get to storrow drive real quick.

6

Minnow_Minnow_Pea t1_j6icbov wrote

Green line is slow though. Commuter rail from Boston Landing is nice, but only once an hour.

I'd say proximity to any of the other lines would be preferable to Brighton.

1

Thisisjones t1_j6j0y9o wrote

Yes if you’re taking the green line. The 501bus runs from oak sq to downtown crossing via the mass pike in 15 min. Also OP mentioned he has a car and drives into town so that’s why I suggested it. But yes if you’re going rail it’s not good.

1

TityTroi t1_j6iollw wrote

> $150k per year

> work fully remote

Figure this out yourself

6

bobby_j_canada t1_j6gf2m4 wrote

Quincy or Braintree. One bonus to this location is that if your remote biotech job ever goes away you're a one-seat ride on the Red Line from Kendall Square.

5

gold_medal_in_sleep OP t1_j6gfy9f wrote

That’s great advice!! I was actually considering working for one of the biotechs in that location before I accepted the remote job. Thank you.

1

-CalicoKitty- t1_j6gom34 wrote

JP, Brookline, Allston, Cambridge, Somerville.

5

eladts t1_j6gvpt9 wrote

>Brookline

Brookline is known for its excellent public school system. For people with kids, that justifies the insane price to live there. For a single person living in Brookline makes as much sense as burning $100 bills for heating.

7

-CalicoKitty- t1_j6ijhwx wrote

OP can afford Brookline and some people think it's worth the cost. I used to live by Audubon Circle and I liked being near Coolidge Corner and Fenway, but ended up moving to Somerville cause it was much better value than Brookline at the time.

1

eladts t1_j6kdvh4 wrote

While OP can afford to live in Brookline, they can get an urban walkable environment with good public transit for much less in Jamaica Plain, Alston, Cambridge or Somerville.

1

Bablyon t1_j6g7mqb wrote

You can try either Chelsea or Malden. Rents are something like $1,600 there for some rentals

4

Stronkowski t1_j6iety3 wrote

OPs budget should let them get a nice 1 bed near Malden Center, and then they can easily take the Orange Line to their downtown friends in like 20-30 minutes total.

2

Lambert513 t1_j6iu4v6 wrote

Rodlindale rocks - I’d stay

3

avsavsavs t1_j6hnbsv wrote

melrose. rent in melrose. nice town. easy orange line access

2

Winnie_07 t1_j6i3pdq wrote

If it moves the needle, think about dropping the ESPP contribution. You’re already investing a lot in your company from a risk diversification perspective (company does poorly, stock goes down, you may lose job and investment). Up to you, but I’d rather have the funds for preferred housing or put in my own diversified retirement plan or emergency savings. Biotech is a rocky road.

2

SnooMaps7887 t1_j6kw8eb wrote

If you sell your ESPP right away it is basically a 17% ROI with no risk. Obviously, you pay more tax that way, but it is still easy money and you avoid overleveraging yourself.

2

OneOnTheLeft t1_j6i56w4 wrote

Use the map view to see what's close to Boston

https://boston.craigslist.org/search/apa?hasPic=1&max_price=2500#search=1~gallery~0~0

ESPP is a volatile way to invest. If you want to stay rich you should consider diversifying.

2

SnooMaps7887 t1_j6l0rlt wrote

I said this elsewhere, but if you sell your ESPP right away it is basically a 17% ROI with no risk. Obviously, you pay more tax that way, but it is still easy money and you avoid overleveraging yourself.

1

alexblablabla1123 t1_j6i6fla wrote

I can think of 2 ways to go:

  1. live physically closer but out of ways of commuters, south Medford, Watertown, parts of JP or Dorchester;

  2. get rid of 🚗 live right on T: Malden center, assembly, east Boston, some parts of Dorchester, Quincy

Rent is higher for 2) but you save money by getting rid of car. Really depended on where do you want to be close to. For instance if all your friends are in Cambridge, try to stay north of the Charles….

2

dxbaileyy t1_j6j8jl6 wrote

Best bet is going to be Allston/Brighton/Brookline.

I live near Cleveland circle and can easily walk to three stops on B, C, or D branch. On the D branch from Reservoir Station, I can get to downtown in about 30 minutes. The B and C branches are slower but it’s nice to have the option.

2

Alex01854 t1_j6h9xhw wrote

If you really want to save money, Revere.

1

OkOpinion5519 t1_j6i42j2 wrote

Check out Watertown, most of the area has super easy bus access to Harvard Sq/red line.

1

fakecrimesleep t1_j6j0j9u wrote

Malden or Watertown if you still want to see friends that are in the Cambridge/somerville area. Medford used to be kind of viable but the western and southern part with more transit access have gotten overpriced. I’ve also known people who have gotten stupid lucky with arlington rentals off season but that’s harder the the other two rent wise

1

Unlikely-Cockroach-6 t1_j6jmcvb wrote

natick. i just moved into a 2 bed 1 bath loft in natick center. 1950 total. completely renovated, hardwood, everything i wanted lol. i ended up finding it on craigslist after not finding anything on zillow bc i have a cat. you probably could find something for under 2.5k in newton, waltham, or watertown though, but it most definitely will not be in a complex. those start at like 3.2.

1

trimtab28 t1_j6l7pyq wrote

You can live pretty much anywhere on that income. Look, I make high double digits and I can live in most parts of town and put away cash.

Legit, every post that's like "I'm not sure if I can make it here on $120k a year" just seems like a humble brag at this point and is kinda irritating. I mean if you think $2500 a month is "affordable," you really can live anywhere

0

Russiasucks_6969 t1_j6h3vaz wrote

Hahaha 2500 is a studio in the city. Might be able to find something in Somerville for that. Might

−6

BasilExposition75 t1_j6hwv4t wrote

Just go into the unsafe areas. Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan.... Rent is cheaper.

−7