Is 75k enough for family of three in Amherst, Northampton area (Springfield: apartments, rentals)

[aleksv77]

What do you think about salary of 75k for family of two adults and a 2 year old girl, north of the Springfield ( around Northampton, Amherst)?
My wife would be also looking for a job but we would have to put our daughter in a daycare and I don't know how much they cost so for first few months we would be living from my paycheck. Also I would appreciate if somebody can tell me about renting in the area. I checked rent.com and it goes around $1000 for 2 bedroom, is that realistic?

P.S. Do you think going for 70k would be enough?

Thanks,
Alex

[western mass and love it]

i think it would be tight but if you budget correctly it can be done.

[ogre]

If you plan to rent in an apartment building, for rentals in Amherst I'd advise doing some careful research about who the tenants are in any building you're considering. Many (maybe all--not sure) apartment buildings in Amherst have lots of college students, and can get noisy. Renting a house in Amherst will be more expensive than an apartment, but probably okay as far as noise, as long as you stay away from certain streets which have a lot of students. Hobart Lane was a big college party street when I lived in Amherst, but that was about ten years ago, so this may have changed. Other towns in the area should generally be okay for a family renting an apartment, at least as far as noise goes. The big concentrations of students in apartment buildings seem to be mostly in and very near Amherst.

[aleksv77]

I don't mind renting outside of Amherst. I heard it is college town, so I am considering Northampton?What about cost of living, any ideas?

[miu]

I think that your question is tough to answer. A lot depends on your lifestyle. For instance, would you be a two-car family? And what kind of cars do you drive? 2wd or 4wd? And how new do they need to be?

And do you eat out or get takeout? Do you bring a bag lunch to work or would you buy your lunch from a restaurant? And your morning coffee? Do you make it at home or pick it up from Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks? Do you buy groceries in bulk from Costco or do your prefer buying from Whole Foods. All these little details add up over a month and can really affect your budget.

I think that $70-75K a year should be fine for your family to live on, but it really depends on your lifestyle and what general amenities you are used to living with.

[ogre]

When I was in that area, I lived in a dorm at UMass, so I don't know a lot about the prices of apartments or private houses. If hearsay I've encountered is correct, housing in general is a little less expensive in Northampton than Amherst, but more expensive than housing in some of the smaller towns in the area.

Northampton is probably a better town than Amherst for a family. Downtown N'hampton does get some college student presence because it has a concentration of bars and clubs catering to students, so students from all over the area converge on N'hampton for nightlife, but N.H. seems to have fewer residential areas with high concentrations of students than Amherst has.

[Guineas]

If $75k is not enough to live on in MA, then MA has some serious problems when its median household income is just $62k.

[CaseyB]

Yes, but the rental prices are inflated in areas where there are a lot of students like Amherst and Northampton.

[miu]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

Yes, but the rental prices are inflated in areas where there are a lot of students like Amherst and Northampton.

How much can rent be for a couple with one child? How much is a two bedroom in the Northampton area? A quick search on craigslist shows 2br apartments from $875 (Easthampton) to $1450 (large 2br in Northampton including heat) in that area. So a $70-75K salary should more than cover their living expenses, even with paying for daycare.

[wmass]

Plenty; Our family(4) lives frugally in Northampton on much less. For rentals, check:
http://www.umoch.org/searchRentals.php?sec=search

wmass craigslist