Submitted by SkotchMiist t3_11qimcr in newhampshire
I'm going to be a recent grad and landed a job opportunity as a lab technician in Portsmouth. I was planning to live with a roommate and was wondering if taking this job would allow me to live somewhat comfortably.
40k , even with a roommate would be very difficult if your goal was to actually live in Portsmouth. Portsmouth is one of the highest cost areas in the entire state. You might be ok if you looked in some of the neighboring more rural burbs, but unless your roommate is pulling down some good money, it would be a challenge.
2 of you making similar salaries would be doable, but not in downtown. Maybe look at the cedars, patriots park, Atlantic heights.
and Student Loan payments
You'll have more fun living in dover. But cheaper and a better night life for locals
I'd be looking at Dover and Newmarket. The kind of housing students use.
Don't take it personally. There's plenty of fuckin nuts on reddit that just do it for shits
Reddit randomly votes up or down sometimes. Something about fooling bots.
I lived there for a while years back. I stalked my old apartment and it's $2300 a month now.
I make 60k and live in Dover, and it’s getting tight. I own a one-bedroom condo where I live alone for 900/month. Entertainment, bills, car and the like cost me about another 700-1000. A roommate or a second job would help you a lot. Good luck!
I made about $30k net (54 gross) and can’t afford to live anywhere but my family’s home 🫠
Are you med micro? 40K is low for Portsmouth. If its HCA stay away. Dover MGB is a better bet.
Not really going to be comfortable. But no one is at the beginning. But it’s a good start.
If it's what you want to do, take it. After I got my grad degree, I ate rice and oatmeal for every meal. Until I met a rich girl. That was what saved me....
Dover and Newmarket are expensive too for $40k. I’d say Somersworth and Rochester would be better places to start.
I lived in Portsmouth as a first year grad 10-12 years ago making slightly more than that. Is it possible? Yes. But you’re week to week. And actually that was back when you could get an apartment down by water country for like 1300 a month. Doubt you can find the same apartment for under 2000 now.
Actually I just checked - I lived in beechstone from 2010 to 2013 and paid $1350 a month for rent. That was tight on $43k with no student debt / insurance. Now it seems like the low end is $2300. Seems impossible
That depends, are you going to be living in your car or commuting 🤔
I was going to say, today your electric bill will be closer to what you paid than your rent.
man
My electric bill is fine but for a 3 bedroom house, and capped heat at 66 degrees, my natural gas bill is $300-$400 between November and March.
So yea actually the former rent is closer to it.
Look into Portsmouth housing authority and get on a wait list. Workforce housing
Will you have a car? And where do you plan to live? And do you expect your income to increase? Those will be the most important things.
Portsmouth is perhaps New Hampshire’s most desirable city, and cost of housing there is expensive. And there is little public transportation in New Hampshire.
Probably the only way to make $40,000 work, even with a roommate, will be to live outside of town. Look up Route 16 on the map. The farther north you go, the cheaper it gets, but also the worse it gets. Dover is pretty nice, Somersworth is ok enough, Rochester has some rough parts of town. Not too rough but still somewhat methed up.
If your trajectory is going to be to stay at the same salary, life there will be doable but not particularly easy. On the other hand, if you think your income will increase over time, you should be off to a good start.
$40k isn't enough to live in NH comfortably. Not alone anyway.
No
Move to Rochester/Somersworth. Cheaper rent and an easy commute. It will allow you to work per-diem at other facilities on the side for more $$$ that are close by (Wentworth, York, Frisbie,ect...)
Great post but don’t sleep on 95, either. It’s pretty quick to get from many places in ME to Portsmouth
No.
Sample budget:
24k rent and utilities
4k car payment
1k car insurance and maintenance
3k gas
4k groceries
3k outing, hobbies, decor, emergency fund
3k 401k
possibly medicaid tax
possibly student loans
omitting insurance until your 26 assuming your parents work
Total: 42k
--> 50k pre tax
And Those numbers are VERY tight.
Roommates could save 12k off that. I'd consider going somewhere with better pay and/or where you can avoid a car.
There’s a lot of variables depending on your lifestyle and what your looking for/ comfortable with. You’ll definitely need to find a roommate or two, and places in your price range will be small or outdated. As long as you’re comfortable with this, it is possible to find a place downtown, in theory. Unfortunately, when you include other living expenses and lifestyle expenses things get tight pretty quick. If your making 40k, and let’s say taking home 28k annually, you’re looking at $2,333.33 a month. Figuring in rent at a 30% max, you’re looking at $700, not including utilities. Utilities are expensive in the state of New Hampshire, and given the market for affordable housing in your price range, you’ll probably be paying a substantial amount for heat in the winter due to old windows, lack of insulation, etc. Depending on what you consider essential, you’ll also need to consider cable and internet. Now you’ll have to factor in your regular expenses; food, car, clothing, cell phone, etc. Finally, the greatest expense variable depends on your lifestyle. Portsmouth is a great little city with plenty of bars. If you enjoy the nightlife, like being social, and partake in the booze, the remainder of your income can disappear quickly after a few trips downtown. While you won’t be living a lavish lifestyle by any means, it is possible for you to live in Portsmouth. You won’t generate much savings and you might need an extension on those student loans, but you’ll have a great time for a couple of years at least. Best of luck
your take home for the month before ANY savings, insurance, car payments, retirement, student loans will be ~3950. average rent in the seacoast area (dover, portsmouth, rochester, newmarket) is ~2.2k for a two bedroom, as a low estimate. that means ~1100 for rent, probably 1250 total including utilities. i think that’s livable but you should def consider living in one of the lower col areas, like rochester or somersworth. help save some money and pay off loans (if you have them). good luck, and congrats on the job!
No.feel free to DM me.
Left HCA started at WDH last week. More $, people are actually happy. Live in Newmarket alone, awesome landlords too. Not a college student actually an ol lady lol
Is this Derm Dx?? Or Seacoast Path?
[deleted]
Do not live in Portsmouth itself with that salary.
My son’s girlfriend (recent environmental science graduate likely working a similar job as you) lives in Portsmouth with a roommate on $45K a year, but she’s always broke. Lol.
The apartment market is also very tight on the seacoast. Sometimes you’re battling with many others for a place. You must make 3 times the rent for most places to accept you.
My son lives in Dover. It’s a great area for young people and only a 25 minute drive to Portsmouth.
Good point, I should have thought of that. If OP is reading this, if considering living in Maine and working in New Hampshire, consider the following:
If you live in Maine, regardless of where you work, you'll pay 5.8+ % in state income tax. However, property tax in Maine is often lower than in New Hampshire.
At $40,000, the Maine income tax shouldn't be a big deal. If your income increases, living in New Hampshire becomes more attractive.
Also, if you will someday purchase a house, you'll want to compare the Maine income tax versus the (generally) higher New Hampshire property tax. What's best for you at that time would depend on both your income, and how much house you'll be buying.
>..Workforce housing..
.. is going on 25 years of people waiting for that to happen..
There some optimism now with new legislation last year and pending legislation this year. The state is seeking to add funding to InvestNH and a few other incentives for developers and communities to welcome workforce housing. Also, the Randolphs' project in Dover is a model for how workforce housing can be generated without state/federal dollars. It's a tough nut to crack, but - like the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark - we have TOP people working on it.
Well I’m in workforce housing so there’s that
What’s the nature of the work? For a newly minted BS working in the lab in this area, you should be starting at $55-60k in industry. Keep in mind you can start at $75k minimum for the same work that’s a short train ride (Down Easter) away in Cambridge.
Is this R&D, quality, clinical, or something else?
Source: me, 20 years in the industry, hires new grads for entry level R&D gigs.
Economy_Influence_92 t1_jc3fhud wrote
All depends on what is comfortable to you... what's your rent?
40k quickly becomes 25k after taxes, healthcare, 401k's, bills, rent, car payments.....
If your rent is high it can make it tough... Taking home 15-20k after all that leaves you with about 350-400 a week. Just taking a stab at the numbers.... and I may be off depending on your situation.