How did Boston's Population Plateau According to the Census? (Springfield: renters, condo)

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by id77

These also aren't the parts of the city where every other condo is over $1 million. 1,400 square feet in West Rox is pretty attainable for $700k, or $500/sqft.

Is the gripe that $700k is still too high?

I mean considering that's 8-9x what a normal city households make..yes.

Lets just look at rent because I have a convenient graphic.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by id77

These also aren't the parts of the city where every other condo is over $1 million. 1,400 square feet in West Rox is pretty attainable for $700k, or $500/sqft.

Is the gripe that $700k is still too high?

If you want to get technical, yes $700K is too high for what it is. It's far beyond reach of the average family, including the average family who is currently there now. Anybody who can't see that is in either la la land or they are just trolling.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by id77

Is the gripe that $700k is still too high?

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-st...89005446-1.png

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-st...89005446-1.png

lmfaoooo

That's really what buddy sounds like ...

[Urban Peasant]

When humans finally have the ability to teleport, I will do my part in helping Boston's population shrink further by moving to Shaker Heights, Ohio or Upper Darby, Pennsylvania and commuting to work here by teleportation. Until then, I'm sticking by this forever changing and oh so expensive city that I grew up in and making the most of it.

[mdovell]

Rents come up now and then. I'm on a facebook group about selling things in western mass. Usually it's items or cars but sometimes apartments come up. Instantly people say rents are high. One listing said you must earn 4x the rent on this (It's only $1,000 a month). Now I don't know if that is technically legal because if you figures the first, last and deposit and you can't deny disability as a form of income either. But someone chimed up "Who has that!?" 4K a month is only 48K. There's PLENTY of people that have that. But they might not always be in the area.

My house was pretty cheap although there are some repairs to be done. Now the houses around me are NOT that much in good shape. I'm starting to get some crap from contractors that are a bit apprehensive or assume I don't have $$ for repairs. Sometimes houses look much different on the inside vs outside. Look at this one
https://www.trulia.com/p/ma/springfi...05--2000280854
I met the owner years ago. I'm happy it sold last year. Now from the street you wouldn't think much given the area. But look at the photos. It's like the old Popeye cartoon with the tent. There are MANY houses like this but we don't really see it much because there's much bigger construction projects out there.

No one really claimed that Boston was a rich city. The argument is the jobs there are but they lived in other areas.

[id77]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Yea I would agree. Thats a lot of people, I don't think transplants and Bostonians will ever see eye to eye, and I don't like that- but each side thinks the other is smug or "sheltered"

But seriously... I was just in a 4-hour meeting and at least 85% of the people who spoke were minorities. There were 2 white residents who weren't on city council-2 in 4 hours. A progressive from Roslindale and one from West Roxbury- they certainly didn't strike me as wealthy or even professionals.

For all the talk on here about the rich tech bros, and retirees, and whatnot It's like you don't even notice them south of Mass Ave. And they don't seem to have intentions of settling in the city or getting involved in politics/community beyond they're a small bubble. Or maybe just their condo association or apartment building.

And this is evidence in the demographics which unlike DC or SF hasn't started to become whiter or less black Latino or even significantly less poor. I dunno what I see when I visit Boston or look at civic engagement isn't what I see being talked about on here really. I understand I have my biases but everyone needs to acknowledge their shortcomings on Boston knowledge before trying to speak from place of authority.

You're not wrong about the city council meetings, because by and large the people I know around here don't have many problems they can't solve themselves. I also think that the last thing the working class fighting for their existence want to hear is privileged white people in the South End complain about trash pickup or nonresidents parking on their resident only permit street.

Back on the topic of housing costs, the problem is gentrification, but I've yet to see a city anywhere figure out how to solve that problem. West Roxbury is $700k because more people are willing to pay it than people selling. It may be solidly middle-class, but as those people sell, they're not going to take less to pass it on to another middle-class family; they're going to take the money, run, and be willingly displaced. Until the supply of people willing and able to pay $700k exhausts itself, it will continue. You can build more housing, but that housing will go to the upper class first because they pay the most.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by id77

Is the gripe that $700k is still too high?

I mean, 1/5 of the population in Boston lives in poverty. About 80% of the population in the city makes less than 100k. So yes, 700K is a lot.
I have a friend with 2 kids and a combined income of probably 120k or more and he qualified for some sort of financial help to buy a house in Boston.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

I'd have to agree with you. Every time id77 posts-although with good intentions- it's really cringeworthy and screams of elitism and ivory tower syndrome.


I want to relate but alas its too far removed from reality. Definitely speaks as though he or she is not from Boston and has only a cursory understanding of the city's residents.

Yep. It's interesting to me that he goes out to dinner 5 or 6 nights a week. Apparently too good to cook too. If I ate out 5 to 6 nights a week i wouldn't want to know my sodium and cholesterol levels.

[msRB311]

If you look at the single family homes in west Roxbury and Roslindale now, most of them are over 700k. Some even just went on for over a million. Yes you can get a condo for less but some people just want their own house. 700k is not chump change. I know many people here won't understand that though.