moving from Miami to Boston (Cambridge, Quincy: 2015, apartment, rentals)

[johnmayerlove1]

Hello everyone,


I am planning on moving from Miami to Boston. Yes, I know, why would I want to leave precious sunshine, beaches, and amazing weather all year long for the cold?

Simply put, I am 28 years old, not married nor do I have children. I am applying for law schools and want to experience new culture, new people, and change. I have lived in Miami my entire life. I'm sick of the pretentious, arrogant and rude people here. I want to grow as a person. I want something new. Even if all fails and I come back to Miami after some time, at least I had the experience of living elsewhere. I have visited Boston twice and fell in love. Heck, even before I went, there was always something special that I found in Boston. It will be a massive change considering the nightlife here, food, my friends, my family, the beach, etc. are all things I am leaving behind, but I have made it a goal of mine to move at the end of 2015.

However, I have never seen snow, so I have no idea what it's like other than it's a pain in the butt. And the brutal winters I have heard are exactly that. Brutal.

Obviously, I need to find a job. An apartment. And be accepted to law school. I can't live in expensive downtown Boston, so what suburbs do you recommend? Someone suggested Southie for me as up and coming for young professionals. I made 44K now working as a Paralegal with 5 years experience. It's scary for me because I know the job market is way more competitive in Boston than in Miami.

Your advice and help is greatly appreciated!

P.S. I am a Patriots fan.

[G-fused]

You gave way too much information for people to criticize and be negative about and challenge (e.g. going to law school, the snow, the cold, etc., etc.), and not enough information to make suggestions.

What’s your budget and what do you like in a neighborhood and knowing where you’ll be commuting to (which school) would be helpful but I guess you don’t know that yet.

Sounds like an adventure. Best of luck.

[johnmayerlove1]

Sorry, been hanging around too many debbie downers lately who keep criticizing me for leaving Miami. These are people who have lived in the Northeast and continuously tell me life up there is not as dreamy as I think it is. Miami life is easy compared to waking up to shovel snow...

Budget? I can pay rent anywhere from $900-$1200 per month but def need to obtain employment that pays more than $44K. I want a family friendly neighborhood OR a neighborhood where there are young professionals, where I can walk to places.

I love Cambridge and I may be commuting to New England Law or Suffolk.

[AbrasaxEos]

My main question is just whether you will be able to work full (or even part) time while in law school? I am not, nor have ever been in a program, but my impression is that they are typically quite rigorous, especially in the first two years. I have friends who typically work over the summer and make decent money doing so, but they have told me that even a job moonlighting as a bartender would be well nigh impossible in the first two years while maintaining anything like respectable grades.

That being said, your budget would be ok for a few areas with roommates, probably not alone, even in a studio and definitely not in Cambridge. You will find pretty high rent anywhere that is conveniently located, and even in areas like Somerville, much of which isn't particularly accessible, but still boasts very expensive rent. Much of Boston is walkable, and you'd probably do best to leave your car behind/sell it. Driving here is a pain, and the added costs will probably only be an annoyance for something you only infrequently use.

[UKWildcat1981]

Do it man, you only live once. GO PATS.

[G-fused]

Originally Posted by UKWildcat1981

Do it man, you only live once. GO PATS.

Agree. YOLO baby! Wait a friggin' minute...since when did "Carpe Diem" become YOLO anyway?

We may eat you up and spit you out but you'll be delicious and love our digestive juices!

I don't know what any of that means but it sounded good in my head.

Ain't no maybe when you got Tom Brady! GO PATS!

[kingeorge]

Logistics will be somewhat tricky. First you will have to find job from out of state in a very competitive market, then have proof of employment to be able to rent (best to get roommates at first.) You will need to have saved for first, last, and security deposit (which doing alone can be pretty expensive undertaking, akin to closing costs on a mortgage; hence the roommates). In the meantime while working you will be applying to Law School, and hopefully still be able to make some money during the school years (ideally you should just study, but real life is not always easy breezy storybook).

I think it is all doable, if you can pace yourself and keep an eye on the ball. You do need to do it in incremental steps. First find job and move, then the rest. Unless, you hope to only come for school here and plan to live on student debt in MA. It might be beneficial to establish MA residency since some schools have different pricing for in and out of state students. Something to consider.

Now the fun part. You will have serious COL shock. Everything will cost so much more, and you will get much less for your money. Your $44K in FL are barely $28-30K in buying power in MA. Your income should be at 56K or more to be able to have comparable salary to FL.

Winters are brutal, and make sure you are ready to invest in some serious winter gear. It is dark at 4pm, people are grumpy, and many just hibernate from November until April.

Most rentals in your price range are old and dingy, and will not have utilities included, so you are responsible for your heat (always big expense in this climate), electricity etc. Be careful to budget accordingly. Health and car insurances are more expensive as well. Good news is that you might be able to ditch the car if you find something walkable to train or bus, and that is huge bonus over where you come from.

I would look at Malden and Everett close to Orange Line into Downtown crossing.

You can also expand your search along Red Line in Quincy, Braintree, Arlington around Alewife, Davis Sq. in Somerville (probably the most expensive of the bunch, but great place if you can find roommates). Anything going into Downtown Crossing for Suffolk and NESL is great fit. Most jobs are in Boston anyway. I am sure there are many more neighborhoods you might consider, but this is quick summary of places that would serve you well with commute into Boston for schools.

Good luck.

[UKWildcat1981]

Originally Posted by kingeorge

Logistics will be somewhat tricky. First you will have to find job from outside, then have proof of employment to be able to rent (best to get roommates at first.) You will need to have saved for first, last, and security deposit (which doing alone can be pretty expensive undertaking, akin to closing costs on a mortgage; hence the roommates). In the meantime while working you will be applying to Law School, and hopefully still be able to make some money during the school years (ideally you should just study, but real life is not always easy breezy storybook).

I think it is all doable, if you can pace yourself and keep an eye on the ball. You do need to do it in incremental steps. First find job and move, then the rest. Unless, you hope to only come for school here and plan to live on student debt in MA. It might be beneficial to establish MA residency since some schools have different pricing for in and out of state students. Something to consider.

Now the fun part. You will have serious COL shock. Everything will cost so much more, and you will get much less for your money. Your $44K in FL are barely $28-30K in buying power in MA. Your income should be at 56K or more to be able to have comparable salary to FL.

Winters are brutal, and make sure you are ready to invest in some serious winter gear. It is dark at 4pm, people are grumpy, and many just hibernate from November until April.

Most rentals in your price range are old and dingy, and will not have utilities included, so you are responsible for your heat (always big expense in this climate), electricity etc. Be careful to budget accordingly. Health and car insurances are more expensive as well. Good news is that you might be able to ditch the car if you find something walkable to train or bus, and that is huge bonus over where you come from.

I would look at Malden and Everett close to Orange Line into Downtown crossing.

You can also expand your search along Red Line in Quincy, Braintree, Arlington around Alewife, Davis Sq. in Somerville (probably the most expensive of the bunch, but great place if you can find roommates). Anything going into Downtown Crossing for Suffolk and NESL is great fit. Most jobs are in Boston anyway. I am sure there are many more neighborhoods you might consider, but this is quick summary of places that would serve you well with commute into Boston for schools.

Good luck.

What about Mission Hill area or South Boston. I lived in both of these parts of Boston and they are pretty safe and reasonable to rent apartment by Boston's expensive cost of living standards. Boston is safe compared to other cities I have lived in the past, only downsize to Boston is cost of living and weather but some people love winter weather.

[Mr. Joshua]

The snow is not that big of a deal, that being said, don't pick anywhere too congested if you own a car. Parking is horrendous during winter.

[CaseyB]

You'd really need to know which law school you would be attending. Suffolk is okay, NE Law is questionable. Have you taken the LSAT's yet?