nomjs OP t1_j3dje47 wrote on January 7, 2023 at 8:18 PM

Reply to comment by BandwagonReaganfan in Moving to Greater Boston Area - Thoughts on Newton? by nomjs

This seems to be a running theme in the comments haha

fruit_cats t1_j3e5h84 wrote on January 7, 2023 at 10:46 PM

Yeah it’s a really nice place, but it is expensive.

The median income in $164,000 and the average home price last year was 1.3m.

However if you can afford it it’s lovely!

Thatguyyoupassby t1_j3ehpos wrote on January 8, 2023 at 12:10 AM

And that median income is honestly a joke. Maybe if it’s per head in a household.

A family of 4 in Newton, owning a house, likely need $350K+/year minimum.

Since OP and his partner are both in Longwood, I imagine they are both in the medical field and will have sufficient income, but yeah, Newton is beautiful, close to Boston, with T access (that even goes directly to longwood), top notch schools, and a decent amount to do within the community, all of which make it wicked expensive.

wafflekween t1_j3f3bxj wrote on January 8, 2023 at 2:49 AM

I think it really depends on what their careers are - I worked in Longwood (Children’s) for four years and left making $68k.

Thatguyyoupassby t1_j3f3iwl wrote on January 8, 2023 at 2:50 AM

Certainly possible, it just seems like 2 people relocating from Arkansas and working in Longwood, simplest solution is that they are both MDs or researchers. Not a certainty, but definitely the likeliest.

nkdeck07 t1_j3ea29x wrote on January 7, 2023 at 11:17 PM

To give an idea what Newton is like I used to live there in a literal mansion. The reason I was in said literal mansion was because my roommates dad had bought the place cause he didn't want a builder impacting his Mom's view and decided to rent it out to keep the place occupied.

TheColonelRLD t1_j3f912r wrote on January 8, 2023 at 3:33 AM

I'm renting in Newton, 2 Bedroom, $1950/month. It's a bit of a unicorn, but there are good apartments out there.

I'm not sure if others have mentioned it, but pretty much all rentals go through brokers in MA, and they charge one month's rent. There are a bunch of threads on Reddit you can check out that talk about it. It's definitely annoying, and seems to be unique to the area, but I just wanted you to have a heads up before you wade into the water and think they're all scamming you. They kind of are, but there's really no way around it. I've lived in six apartments in greater Boston and I paid a broker for all of them.

Also, apartments go really fast, especially for the September season. When I'm hunting I go to look at apartments ready to put in an application on the spot, checking with the broker beforehand about any documents I need. A lot of times apartments will be off the market within a day or two of being listed. So acting with urgency when something checks all the boxes is key.