Moving to Boston for existential reasons? unwise idea? (Cambridge, Lynn: rent, health insurance)

[Misha83]

It took a little bit to frame the title of this post properly.

I wanted to put career/change/relationships, but the reality is that I'm the kind of person who seeks the revelations that come from internal & external challenge, anxiety, fear, adaptation, success, joy ... (in that order). And why I love to solo travel.

To give you a clearer picture- my head is not entirely in the clouds. By profession I'm an IT Manager for a non-profit and am a certified Salesforce.com Admin, and certified Dev, aside from being a hardware, database, and analyses jockey. If I chose to leave the non-profit sector, Indeed.com says the avg salary for a Salesforce Admin by itself, in Boston, is 103k, and Analyst 113k. I am however not delusional and I know non-profits would offer much, much less.

At this point some may ask why non-profit, and to make a long story short; out of school I went to work for the most soulless, incomprehensibly internally competitive private commodity brokerage you can imagine, and it wasn't that I went in with assumptions, but that I left with assumptions that every place I'd work after would be the same; by which I mean cruel, demeaning, fearful and clinically upset coworkers who'd cry in bathrooms and slur others on the same day. Mind you, not being a broker, 99% of it was done to others infront of me and not myself, but I can't wash my mind of it to this day.

By chance of fate, after leaving for graduate school, I ended up as the only member of my graduating class in M.S. MIS to be picked up by a nonprofit that works in Juvenile Justice/Children's Mental Health/Forensic Mental Health. I have thrived here for the past 3.5 years- I am a different human being, and if the position offered any more growth/challenge, I'd stay here forever. Great coworkers, great boss, great mission, great vacation, and a job that has become too easy. Many would ask what's wrong with me at this point.

In Buffalo I make 55k, which is a lot for the area, but not for my position, and jobs for my certification are either scarce or at corporations with extremely poor morale (glassdoor reviews), which terrifies me.

I have a 750sqft 1bdr with all utilities inc heat/elec/ac/cable, next to a park where I run near daily, and 20 minuet drive from my work, for $810/mo. This quality of life and pay allowed me to have two major surgeries that I needed and be only $9k in total debt at the moment. (I'm not expecting future ones anytime soon) I do not expect the same out of Boston, and fully expect my rent/utilities cost to double to a near $1600/mo in Boston. I've been doing my research.

I've budgeted that to keep the same financials, I would need to make $67k in Boston at least, and it would only work as long as I did not attempt home ownership.

I have friends and family here as well, and have lived here for 21 years, but the drive to explore before settling down is extremely strong right now. I will be 31 in May.

Why Boston? .. I'm a big runner and hiker, and have 19 of the 46 ADK peaks, and it would allow me to still coordinate trips with friends in ADK. It would also allow me to visit family via drive or short flight. But Boston also seems much greener than my other options where the other half of my family lives in Colorado... which I found to be significantly more dry/cemented than anticipated.

I'm also liberal and very much enjoy intellectual stimulation, reading, TED, and meeting very interesting people. I'm pretty come-as-you-are and outgoing and make friends easily when I travel. And lastly, as a fellow marathoner, my sense of reverence for Boston would require another page. Perhaps warranted, perhaps too much, but it's hard not to identify with...

I've searched internally and geographically.. and what I need is someone whose done something like this to point out holes in my thinking, flaws in my logic, or just lend foresight. Am I choosing the wrong location? Am I making wrong assumptions? Wrong reasons? Being too burnt/narrow-minded about for-profits? What am I missing?

[scratchie]

Tl;dr

[timberline742]

Pay off your debt before moving here.

[gf2020]

Sure, why not?

I would not limit your career search to only not for profits or social service agencies, however. The Boston area has numerous financial services and life sciences companies and these could all be potential employers.

Beware, however, that the pace of work - and life in general - in the Boston area is rapid. Only New York City is more intense in the country, and not everyone enjoys that.

[roadstrailstris]

As long as you can find a job I think Boston would be an ideal fit for you. It is a great city for runners, and Massachusetts is a good fit if you are outdoorsy. You can find road races every weekend year round- from 5Ks to marathons, along with plenty of trail races. There are tons of running, hiking, cycling, triathlon, even race walking clubs. Great hiking in the White Mountains, check out the Middlesex or the Lynn Fells for a fairly extensive network of trails. Culturally, you'll find a highly educated population, plenty of museums, lectures, etc. in the Boston area. Good luck!

[tribechamy]

That was a little too existential, I just skimmed, but your jobs skills would be marketable here. Come have a visit, and if you like it here, I don't see why things wouldn't work out. Rent instead of buying maybe until you're totally sure, but that would be true anywhere.

[Misha83]

Thank you for the advice so far.

Would anyone be able to put in words what the "faster pace" translates to, in work and social terms?

For pace, I've visited NYC for a few days, but I've never worked/dated there.

I'm perhaps more wary than most of negative work environments.

One of my secret reasons for leaving is to find someone a bit more active and aligned with my pursuits (hiking / running / mindfulness) .. I'm in several clubs here and been for a handful of years, but the age demographic for these clubs/activities in Buffalo is early 40s on avg.. and those my age are far and few between. So kinda looking forward to that changing.

Thank you again for the advice coming in.. I just had to stop reading my google searches and ask outright on here and I see it was the right way to go.

[SoFresh99]

You must do it. I did it, I know hoardes of people who have done this (albeit generally in their mid 20s). Come to Boston, find your mate, move back to Buffalo when you are ready (and trust me you will eventually be ready) . It's done every day. Boston is a great pit stop to gather material for your hometown gene pool and wratchet yourself up the technical ladder for better paid success elsewhere. A crucible if you will. I married a local, stayed much too long and hated it but YMMV.

[WoodyWW]

Originally Posted by Misha83

Thank you for the advice so far.

Would anyone be able to put in words what the "faster pace" translates to, in work and social terms?

For pace, I've visited NYC for a few days, but I've never worked/dated there.

Did you also mention CO in your post?--it was so long (that's fine) I couldn't find it again. Curious as to where you went in CO; I'd have CO way high on my list if I felt adventurous enough to make a x-country move.

But it sounds like Boston is where you want to be; & like it'd be a good fit for you. Of course, you have to get a job first, right? So I'd suggest starting in on that. I also find it hard to believe that Boston wouldn't be a huge "move up" from Buffalo, given all you've said. As far as "faster pace"........uuummmm, you'll find out, & you might really like it. I'm guessing traffic here (if you're driving) might be on a whole 'nother level of craziness from Buffalo.

I'd also suggest maybe starting out sharing an apt. with roommates, to save $$, & maybe a little socializing, if you get along. And Cambridge is very cool, you might like to live there more than Boston itself......

[MassVt]

Doesn't your current job provide you with health insurance?

Think very carefully before relocating here. It's horrendously expensive, and in many cases, not worth it..