Lowell, Boston area (Cambridge, Newton, Somerville: apartments, car insurance, condos)

[Kit624]

Hi! Have a possible job in Chelmsford, and it will pay around 45K. Couple of questions:

Is it possible to live in this area on this salary? I am from the south and like it, but it's fairly cheap.

Also, how about living in Lowell? I am young (24) and would hope to make friends within my own age bracket. I have visited when I went for my interview and thought it looked a little like a dead town, also far from the city. Are there any suburbs a little bit closer to Boston (perhaps halfway in-between?) that would provide a reasonable cost of living, that are perhaps more metropolitian and 'youngish' and not a terrible commute in the morning? I am not really into bars and crazy wild night life, but I do want to be in an area with lots of youngish people who like to hang out and appreciate culture. Is Lowell good for this? What about Chemlsford? Boston itself? Or would that commute be ridiculous?

thanks!

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by Kit624

Hi! Have a possible job in Chelmsford, and it will pay around 45K. Couple of questions:

Is it possible to live in this area on this salary? I am from the south and like it, but it's fairly cheap.

Also, how about living in Lowell? I am young (24) and would hope to make friends within my own age bracket. I have visited when I went for my interview and thought it looked a little like a dead town, also far from the city. Are there any suburbs a little bit closer to Boston (perhaps halfway in-between?) that would provide a reasonable cost of living, that are perhaps more metropolitian and 'youngish' and not a terrible commute in the morning? I am not really into bars and crazy wild night life, but I do want to be in an area with lots of youngish people who like to hang out and appreciate culture. Is Lowell good for this? What about Chemlsford? Boston itself? Or would that commute be ridiculous?

thanks!

I have a few friends (young professionals) who commute up to the Chelmsford area. They live in Newton, Waltham, and Medford. Commute times in the morning would be about 45 min from Medford, 30-50 min from Newton (depends on where, it's really big) and 30 min from Waltham. Waltham would sounds like it would have the most of what you're looking for, plus rents are very reasonable there. To save about $5k/year on housing, find a roomate on one of those roomate-matching websites or craigslist and share a 2 or 3 bedroom apt.

[Parsec]

Also w/the cost of living in Boston on 45k, you wouldn't be able to afford much more than the college areas of Allston/Brighton or the unsafe areas of Dorchester/Mattapan. Plus you're looking at a 45m-1hr commute and around $2k worth of gas per year for the long drive. You gotta consider the cost of everything when living on $45k here, but it's doable. We're raising a family of 3 on just over $60k.

[brightdoglover]

[quote=Kit624;1123162]Hi! Have a possible job in Chelmsford, and it will pay around 45K. Couple of questions:

Is it possible to live in this area on this salary? I am from the south and like it, but it's fairly cheap.

Also, how about living in Lowell? I am young (24) and would hope to make friends within my own age bracket. I have visited when I went for my interview and thought it looked a little like a dead town, also far from the city.

Are there any suburbs a little bit closer to Boston (perhaps halfway in-between?) that would provide a reasonable cost of living, that are perhaps more metropolitian and 'youngish' and not a terrible commute in the morning?


I must say, no, not likely. There might be some software people scattered around Lowell and the surrounding suburbs, but suburbs are what they are- older people, family people, parents with kids.
but I do want to be in an area with lots of youngish people who like to hang out and appreciate culture. Is Lowell good for this? What about Chemlsford? Boston itself? Or would that commute be ridiculous?

Chelmsford is a nice leafy suburb. Period. See above.
The commute from Boston-area to Chelmsford isn't too bad- after all, most people are commuting IN to the city, you'd be coming out. Of course, housing (shrared or otherwise) is higher the closer you get to Boston/Cambridge (Cambridge being a youngish culture, but not rampant college kids like areas near B.U. and B.C.).
I have an idea- Arlington. It's an urban suburb on public transport to Boston, borders Cambridge, and is minutes to Rt. 2 West to get to Chelmsford. You can get lots of places easily from Arlington, and East Arlington has become a lot hipper place than Harvard Square (with its chain stores). Lots of apartments, and I think lots of different roomate situations, again, mostly in East Arlington. Very low crime and car insurance is remarkably low for the location- note that it will be terribly high in urban areas, like Boston and Cambridge.
I think it could be very lonely if you lived in a suburban boxy apartment simply because it's a couple of hundred bucks cheaper than Arlington or Waltham. These suburban areas are deader n' doornails. I know, because i lived in Arlington/Cambridge for 18 years and finally wanted more distance from people and a yard for dogs, so moved out near Chelmsford. A great place for solitude, a lousy area to meet people to go places and do stuff.
Good luck! I'm sure you can find something very suitable. Boston/Cambridge area is a great place to be under 30.

[Trumpers]

Lowell is the neatest place! I visited last summer and loved it. They are converting the old textile buildings into cool modern condos.. You may love it. If I were moving to the East Coast I would consider living there.

[Parsec]

brightdoglover: What's East Arlington like? When I think hip, I usually think of a place w/bars, music, etc... Arlington has some bylaws intended to make the town boring, like no serving alcohol (dry town), no live entertainment, and no fast food establishments (I guess pizza doesn't count).

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by Parsec

brightdoglover: What's East Arlington like? When I think hip, I usually think of a place w/bars, music, etc... Arlington has some bylaws intended to make the town boring, like no serving alcohol (dry town), no live entertainment, and no fast food establishments (I guess pizza doesn't count).

Lots of ethnic restaurants. A wonderful old-fashioned movie theater, the Capitol. True, no bars/music. I always wanted jazz/blues, and those clubs are scattered widely, and are largely currently in out-of-the-way holes in the wall. (The Regatta Bar, in the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, is a wonderful exception if you like jazz). I think rock clubs are either downtown on Landsdowne Street (for the *very* young) and there are other rock/folkish clubs scattered around, like Cambridge and Somerville. I don't know about music/bars in Lowell, but I don't think it's much of a scene.

If you want bars with college-age people and young 20s, Comm Ave, Beacon Street, and any major streets in Brookline/Boston/Brighton/Allston are your place. Any place on the Green Line where zillions of college people live. Dunno if you think of college-type areas as hip. I tend to think of ethnic interesting restaurants (preferably cheaper), interesting movies, and artsy stuff. Never was a drinker, even when I was of the age.