Which areas of Boston are affordable and also have a park-like setting? (Rochester: home, neighborhoods) - Massachusetts (MA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

dravogadro · 09-06-2014, 08:24 PM

Have you considered Minneapolis?

pennyone · 09-07-2014, 03:22 AM

"Honestly, you can do 55k, it just won't be luxurious. I don't know why everyone is talking like it's some completely unreasonable thing. More money is better, yeah, but I know more than one married couple here without kids that get by just fine. They just have roommates (me, actually). "...

Of course. But generally, my view is that roommates are for people who are still single. Once married, it's odd to have a roommate running around the house between the two of you. I would feel strange and this is why I stated what I stated. If the OP does not mind, then of course they can have a roommate. In fact, they can have many roommates if they want.

bjimmy24 · 09-07-2014, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pennyone

"Honestly, you can do 55k, it just won't be luxurious. I don't know why everyone is talking like it's some completely unreasonable thing. More money is better, yeah, but I know more than one married couple here without kids that get by just fine. They just have roommates (me, actually). "...

Of course. But generally, my view is that roommates are for people who are still single. Once married, it's odd to have a roommate running around the house between the two of you. I would feel strange and this is why I stated what I stated. If the OP does not mind, then of course they can have a roommate. In fact, they can have many roommates if they want.

Meh. It's not actaully strange at all. But that's just been my experience.

Urban Peasant · 09-07-2014, 07:22 PM

The O.P. hasn't actually landed the job yet as his post mentions so there is still a chance that he would end up moving to another place. There are other metro areas within New England that are more affordable than Greater Boston anyways. No, the O.P. perhaps won't get the same experience living in Providence, Portland, or New Haven but there may be some attractive draws to those places as well.

hush.bereel · 09-10-2014, 10:54 AM

You guys are awesome, thank you so much for responding!

I will say that yes, it is true that I haven't gotten a job yet... I have several promising leads and I am already in the thick of the interviewing process for many of them. (How did people interview for long-distance jobs before there was Skype?!!) Anyway, I will have to say that this thread convinced me that Boston is not the place for me and my wife. We just REALLY want to get out of Florida. We are both natives of Tampa (native Floridians are a dying breed!) and we are sick of the constant, unrelenting heat down here. That's our sole impetus for wanting to leave. So now Boston is off the list, but I've still got Seattle, Portland OR, Los Angeles (yes it's hot there but at least it's dry!), Denver, NYC, D.C., and Atlanta. I actually used to live in Atlanta in 2004-05 and I loved it there, so I'm kind of crossing my fingers for the job I've applied to there. But I'm open to suggestions if anyone wishes to throw out any. I've considered some of the midwestern cities but I'm a little afraid that it might get (and stay) a little too cold for my wife, whose cold tolerance is a LOT lower than mine.

Thanks everyone!

dapeaz · 09-10-2014, 11:51 AM

May I ask for me (and others in the forum) why you're dismissing Boston?

hush.bereel · 09-10-2014, 11:57 AM

Because of how expensive it is to live there, based on the comments in this very thread. I also looked it up, and sure enough, Boston is known for having a super-high cost of living. I'm not rich, nor do I pretend to be, or even wish to be, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be in a place where I would feel "poor." I just want to be comfortable. Boston is a beautiful place, but I think it might be meant for people who have a substantial income, or are a 2-income family. My wife can't work because of a back injury that acts up from time to time.

It's no big deal, I guess. But I have to admit, I'm not finding any rentals in my price range on Zillow, Hotpads, Walkscore, or Craigslist. And we definitely don't want to have roommates. We like doing it in the kitchen, sometimes on the living room floor even, lol, so yeah, we aren't really conducive to roommate style living!

yaeger07 · 09-10-2014, 11:58 AM

I think NYC on a single income would be much harder than Boston. DC isn't cheap, either. DC is on par with Boston if I remember correctly. NYC, Boston, DC, and LA are in the top 10 most expensive cities to live in in the US.

usamathman · 09-10-2014, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yaeger07

I think NYC on a single income would be much harder than Boston. DC isn't cheap, either. DC is on par with Boston if I remember correctly. NYC, Boston, DC, and LA are in the top 10 most expensive cities to live in in the US.

Yep,

NYC is definitely more expensive.

I would say that to move here and be able to afford his own place and live comfortably he would want to bring in at least $80K. That is a minimum.

hush.bereel · 09-10-2014, 12:13 PM

Funnily enough, all of those cities have been on my list, and I'm slowly scratching them off. Yeah, I'm comfortable in my income range, and I like knowing that my wife will be able to stay home and raise our children when we finally start having some, so what's more important to me now is finding a place where we can live comfortably (albeit frugally) and continue working in my field, which is sound engineering. I love what I do for a living... it rarely (if ever!) feels like "work."

Atlanta is number 1 on my list now.