How far out does 1 family has to live for $1000 rent? (Boston: for rent, how much)

[bigfatturkey]

$1.5K for 4 bedroom....he'd have to move pretty far from boston that's for sure.

i'm more familiar with southern MA...your friend might be able to find some rentals in that price range in kingston, plymouth, brockton, lakeville/middleboro, bridgewater...where there are train services to boston. by car...it'd be at least an hour drive to boston in good traffic conditions.

[Bruins_Fan]

I would think long and hard before moving cross-country to Boston on that salary. I think it would be very tough to maintain much quality of life. Just my two cents.

[Bruins_Fan]

Originally Posted by Cato the Elder

Tell them to move to Michigan. Great public unis and they're practically giving away houses near Detroit.

True, but there are very few jobs to be had in metro Detroit.

[Cantabridgienne]

So he wants to move cross-country so his kids can live at home while attending college but they don't know what these colleges will be? Nor is there any guarantee they will be at the same school? And these two schools must also be near his and his wife's place of employment, all the while being priced significantly lower than the state's average?

I see a lot of holes in your friend's plan.

[foxboro82]

A friend of mine rents his condo/townhouse in Bellingham - it's mid 80s, average condition, about 1600 sq ft, 2 bed, 2 bath and rents for $1550/month.

$1000 per month is really low by MA standards. I'd get on Craigslist and check some towns out west.

[brightdoglover]

For a 3-4 bedroom house, I must say I don't think it exists. Also, if the hope is that the kids will live at home and commute to a private uni, the rental can't just be anywhere in the state- it'd have to be somewhere commutable to that school (scattered all over eastern Mass., plus Amherst/Pioneer Valley).
If friend doesn't need the kids to get Mass. residency for the public uni system, why move now?
I appreciate how much friend is trying to give kids a good future, but this plan doesn't sound like it'll do the trick.

[western mass and love it]

I am not sure if you could find a rental for that price with that amount of space anywhere between Springfield and Boston.

I rent out a 3 bedromm 1.5 bath 1780 sq ft home in Springfield and i get 1900 a month for it, if the house were in any of the Spfld burbs I could get over 2k a month for it. Heck the apartment i own in Brookline with 2 bed 2 baths brings in 2700 a month. I just couldn't fathom where in the state you could find cheap rentals like that. Maybe in Chelsea ,Revere , Lynn , Fitchburg or a handfull of others, but they most certainly would be multi family house and not detatched.

I am thinking maybe the Pittsfield area but that leaves commuting to Boston out of the question.

[charolastra00]

In reality, I can't imagine that your friend would make much more money in New England than what he's currently making now. For reference, I am 24 years old, make a few thousand dollars more than your friend, and live with two roommates who both make between $38000 - $42000 (and we pool our resources for utilities, food, garden supplies, household supplies, etc etc) and we struggle. To be fair, they both have college loans and I have medical expenses - but those expenses are significantly cheaper than children. Our rent is $1700 for a 3 bedroom in Medford, but we got a good deal because we moved in February and because the apartment is technically a 2 bedroom. We turned the office into a bedroom (big enough for just a full sized bed and a small dresser) and gave one roommate private access to an enclosed deck to compensate for the lack of space in her room.

Even if your friend's family could increase their income to $65000 together, it's going to be tough because everything is more expensive. I still strongly suggest moving to another state with a stronger public school system and lower cost of living. It is very difficult to commute much more than 15 or 20 miles in eastern Mass, so moving with the hopes of getting a scholarship to a private school is not a wise decision because schools outside of Boston proper are much more spread out.

[donewithpretty]

If your friend is moving cross-country for schools, I'd suggest Virginia over Massachusetts. Great public K-12 schools AND public universities. Better climate, too.

[Beachbum3]

I can't believe what some people do for their kids (I'm not sure this is a good thing or just insane)

That being said has this family ever considered trying to find jobs at a college that offers free/discounted tuition for children of employees? (I'm surprised more people don't' follow this strategy...) - non faculty, joe-job jobs (cleaning, admin, whatever) are plentiful at many colleges IFF one is willing to relocate (esp to strange places no one wants to live...) - I suggest this since this family's kids schooling seems the primary focus (and not living location or their own careers) - probably more likely to be able to do this than get cheap rent anywhere in Boston area