Boston vs. New York - Cost of Living (Somerville, Malden: apartment, rental)

[veritas29]

I am a soon-to be college grad, and am trying to decide between living in NYC or Boston. Particuarily, I was wondering about cost of living. What can I expect to pay for a 1-2 bedroom apartment in each city? Are utlities, groceries, insurance, etc. that much different? I would really like to save some money starting out, but I have heard this is near impossible in New York on around 50-55K. Suggestions?

[cottonwood2420]

New York is more expensive than Boston but might be safer.

[smarty]

Insurance? Car insurance? You want a car in the city?

I think the cost of parking in Boston is about $250-350 a month. It will probably be 2X in NYC.

1-2 bed starts around $1000 in Boston. The price depends on size, condition and neighborhood. Price in Mid-town Manhattan is very different than in Harlem.

Good luck

[Viralmd]

As I said in the other thread that you posted, I don't think there's much difference in expenses between NY and Boston...

[EvaRB]

It depends where you are in each city.

In NYC: My best friend lives in Queens, and there is free on-street parking. I go visit all the time even though I'm from Massachusetts, don't even need a NY tag to park there. She pays $900 a month including heat for a one bedroom that's pretty nice for NYC (but not that nice in general!)... She does not have a car, but I'm sure insurance would be pricey. She makes about $60k and has plenty left over in the end. Her apartment is much less expensive than that of anyone she knows, and she lucked into it, it seems. You do have state and local tax to pay on your income. Also, Manhattan means no car or TONS of money for parking and even higher insurance.

In Boston: I lived in the North End, had a car, parking was free but a nightmare. I spent $1200 a month for a very nice, classy one-bedroom apartment that was clean and modern. This is average there. You could also live in Somerville outside of or in Davis Square for about $600 for a room in a shared apartment or about $1000+ for a small single apartment (free on-street parking that's easier to find). There is also Porter Square, and all sorts of different spots like Davis that are right on a train line. Avoid the Green B line at all costs if you intend to use the train close to where you live. Anywhere off of the red line is cake. If I had the money, I would have paid the $150-$200 for a parking spot at one of the garages, or nixed the car. The state tax is high.

Health insurance is another matter. If you'll be working for someone with benefits, thank your lucky stars. It's about $300+ for crappy insurance in both places. In Massachusetts, they now legally require that everyone has insurance, which I think is absurd.

Good luck, I like both places even though they do not inspire me to relax!

[Luke9686]

Boston is going to be a little cheaper rent wise. Like others have posted, a car is more of a pain in the a$$ and a liability in Boston. It is not needed. Parking is expensive, driving is a nightmare, and other drivers can be a bit over the top.

I lived in Malden, a suburb of Boston and paid around $1600 for a two bedroom apartment, in 2003. It was about 1200 sq ft though. I took the T (subway) to and from work. Public transportation in Boston is very good. Plus in Massachusetts your car insurance is going to be INSANE. A lot of the big companies don't insure Mass drivers.

When I first moved to Boston, I called Progressive to change my insurance from my previous state. This is literally what happened: "Press 1 to cancel or change your policy (I pressed 1), press 1 if you live in Massachusetts (i pressed 1), I'm sorry we do not insure Massachusetts drivers at this time." CLICK. I had to go to a local insurance firm and got charged $250 a month for insurance. On top of a $300 car payment. Trust me, take that extra $500 a month and use it for something usefull.

[giantapplepie]

Originally Posted by smarty

Insurance? Car insurance? You want a car in the city?

I think the cost of parking in Boston is about $250-350 a month. It will probably be 2X in NYC.

1-2 bed starts around $1000 in Boston. The price depends on size, condition and neighborhood. Price in Mid-town Manhattan is very different than in Harlem.

Good luck

i agree. you don't need a car in the city. at least not in new york. there's always the subway.

[puzzlingconcept]

To echo others, it depends on where you settle. Definitely research the different areas of both cities, and decide whether you need to be near the trains or not. Obviously, anything near convenient transportation is going to be a little more costly, but it's still doable.

After graduate school, I got a pretty great job in Boston. I can't drive, so I lived in Allston and took the 66 bus. I had a very nice, quiet 2-bedroom off Brighton Ave. for about $1400 per month. While Brighton Ave. can be loud, a lot of young professionals lived on my side-street.

I realize I could have saved a lot more by getting a one-bed place, but I was so ignorant of the city at the time.

If you're looking to save and don't mind driving to the train, think about living outside of the immediate city.

[wivenhoe]

NYC is more expensive - hands down. We recently moved back to MA this April from Riverdale (end of the #1 train) in the Bronx - which is similar to many parts of Boston.

Parking is a nightmare in both cities. Yes, there's no parking tag in NYC. However, there's no parking, period, after 5-6 pm in most neighborhoods. I went to NYC a couple of weeks to see our apartment and I couldn't find a parking spot within a few miles of our building on a Wednesday morning! I mean it's bad, bad, bad. Actually, the parking situation is one of the reasons why I am so glad we moved back to MA, so we don't have to fight for a parking spot on a daily basis.

NYC is super hot with parking violations and has considerably higher parking tickets. If you park in a bus zone, within 15 ft of a fire hydrant, or on a cutout of curb, it's $165. In Boston, you've got to stake out your parking with lawn chairs, tables, or anything else you can get your hands on. In NYC, this isn't allowed.

We had our car tires slashed in East Boston, but never in NYC. I knew plenty of people who parked their cars on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Riverdale and had their cars broken in. In some cases, they had their cars broken into multiple times. It never happened to me in my neighborhood though.

Rents are about the same, depending on where you live, but we found the electric bill to be nearly double in NYC for the same apartment in MA. We're still paying double on our apartment in NYC, even though it's empty and only 200-300 sq ft bigger than our MA apartment.

MBTA is cheaper than the MTA, who are a bunch of pirates. The MTA seems much more corrupt than the MBTA. Every other week the MTA is announcing some kind of hike in fees, service cuts, or some corrupt officials. To be fair, comparing MA's public transportation system to NYC is like comparing apples to oranges.

NYC's public transportation system is so much more extensive, higher ridership, and operates 24-hrs. The MTA subway system includes express and local trains which is bliss. I mean there is nothing like being on an A or #1 express train and zipping by three local stops. But of course, NYC's public transportation system improved on Boston's system, planned it out, and made an excellent system.

I think car insurance is a bomb in both Boston and NYC. In NYC, many, many people register their cars out-of-state to avoid paying NY insurance fees, or at least did in my neighborhood. This doesn't seem to happen in MA to the same degree as it does in NYC.

If you were to ask me if I was a twenty-something or young undergraduate without any ties or commitment, what would I prefer Boston or NYC? I would say NYC, hands down.

Despite the high cost of living in NYC, there's nothing like it on earth. I don't regret living in NYC. I loved it - ok, except the parking situation which was a bugbear of mine.

If I was a twenty-something or undergraduate without any ties or commitment, I would move to NYC in a heartbeat. Enjoy life. Everything is on your doorstep. Live in NYC while you're young and move out when you start a family or back to Boston like we did.

[wivenhoe]

You can make it on 50K in NYC if you find a rental for $1200/mo and get some utilities. You won't be swimming in money but you shouldn't be on the breadline either.