Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 09-21-2016, 05:18 AM
 
1,683 posts, read 2,878,631 times
Reputation: 2151

Advertisements

My housing strategy has always been to find the cheapest livable home in a town with good schools. Right now in metro Boston you are looking at $400 to $450 to be in the 30-50 of the Boston magazine best schools.

This does frustrate me but I look Burlington vt and Portland me. To have a town with good schools you are looking at $300k entry level which seams more reasonable but... In my industry I would be taking a severe pay cut, probably to the tune of over $1m over the life of my career plus more potential for job lock, plus I would have to buy a car to commute. Don't get me started about western ma which lacks even more in jobs.

Now if we look at Worcester metro, to me that is the best value on New England. You get more opportunity that Portland or Burlington plus 95, and Boston down the road if you start hating your job or get laid off.

Seriously though, the prices might suck but unless you want to leave New England all together, it may seem cheaper on paper but I don't think other parts of New England fare better for someone looking to build wealth.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 09-21-2016, 10:50 AM
 
23,058 posts, read 18,187,880 times
Reputation: 10626
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston_Burbs View Post
My housing strategy has always been to find the cheapest livable home in a town with good schools. Right now in metro Boston you are looking at $400 to $450 to be in the 30-50 of the Boston magazine best schools.

This does frustrate me but I look Burlington vt and Portland me. To have a town with good schools you are looking at $300k entry level which seams more reasonable but... In my industry I would be taking a severe pay cut, probably to the tune of over $1m over the life of my career plus more potential for job lock, plus I would have to buy a car to commute. Don't get me started about western ma which lacks even more in jobs.

Now if we look at Worcester metro, to me that is the best value on New England. You get more opportunity that Portland or Burlington plus 95, and Boston down the road if you start hating your job or get laid off.

Seriously though, the prices might suck but unless you want to leave New England all together, it may seem cheaper on paper but I don't think other parts of New England fare better for someone looking to build wealth.
I agree that the Worcester area probably offers the best balance of NE between it's access to jobs, manageable traffic and congestion, and plenty of nice suburbs around with good schools and relatively affordable housing.

Bangor, ME is another nice affordable area for NE, but that is only if you have a decent job there.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-25-2016, 09:24 PM
 
7,912 posts, read 7,732,019 times
Reputation: 4146
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston_Burbs View Post
My housing strategy has always been to find the cheapest livable home in a town with good schools. Right now in metro Boston you are looking at $400 to $450 to be in the 30-50 of the Boston magazine best schools.

This does frustrate me but I look Burlington vt and Portland me. To have a town with good schools you are looking at $300k entry level which seams more reasonable but... In my industry I would be taking a severe pay cut, probably to the tune of over $1m over the life of my career plus more potential for job lock, plus I would have to buy a car to commute. Don't get me started about western ma which lacks even more in jobs.

Now if we look at Worcester metro, to me that is the best value on New England. You get more opportunity that Portland or Burlington plus 95, and Boston down the road if you start hating your job or get laid off.

Seriously though, the prices might suck but unless you want to leave New England all together, it may seem cheaper on paper but I don't think other parts of New England fare better for someone looking to build wealth.
Western Mass has seen a significant decline in the unemployment rate. There's construction all over the place. MGM, Union Station, Western New England, CRRC (rail factory), UMass Amhersts new business wing , Pope Francis High School, I-91 work, Unemployment in springfield fell from 9.5% august 2015 to 7.5% a year later. Across the board it keeps going down: Holyoke, West Springfield, Agawam etc
Springfield unemployment rate falls to 7.4 percent; region adds 1K jobs | masslive.com

Now it might not be all new job creation but the fact of the matter remains is that even with retirements alone that's enough to lower the unemployment rate. I see the labor tightening across the board and across the country, especially in the northeast. It might be only a matter of time before the V word is mentioned (visa)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-26-2016, 06:42 AM
 
3,176 posts, read 3,663,476 times
Reputation: 2676
We don't need "the v word." Busineses just need to stop being so picky about who they hire and pay a living wage. There is no shortage of labor. That is a myth.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-26-2016, 10:02 AM
 
617 posts, read 531,479 times
Reputation: 954
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston_Burbs View Post
My housing strategy has always been to find the cheapest livable home in a town with good schools.
Right now in metro Boston you are looking at $400 to $450 to be in the 30-50 of the Boston magazine best schools.
I wouldn't rely on what those ratings say - in MA many schools choose not to publish their MCAS test results when they see they are not that great. Which brings their overall scores higher than what they actually are.
I checked many towns on South shore, some in Norfolk county using MCAS results web site - most schools have their MCAS tests missing on certain subjects.
This probably explains high rating MA gets on nationwide tests, MA schools basically cheat, if they were playing fair game the state wouldn't even be in top 10.

Last edited by civis; 09-26-2016 at 10:24 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-26-2016, 10:09 AM
 
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,940 posts, read 36,703,214 times
Reputation: 40634
Quote:
Originally Posted by civis View Post
This probably explains high rating MA gets on nationwide tests, MA schools basically cheat, if they were playing fair game the state wouldn't even be in top 10.
On what do you base this?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-26-2016, 06:07 PM
 
7,912 posts, read 7,732,019 times
Reputation: 4146
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dm84 View Post
We don't need "the v word." Busineses just need to stop being so picky about who they hire and pay a living wage. There is no shortage of labor. That is a myth.
Well to be frank I do see it. Things picked up considerably, this isn't 2008 anymore. Baby boomers have retired. If someone is out of work I have to ask a few basic things. Are they on any form of drugs? Do they have a criminal history, especially violence of the past few years? Do they have credit issues? Have they any evidence of education beyond high school (not just higher ed, vocational, certifications, licenses etc)

Living wages just deal with budgeting. I'm not saying it is something to do with a smile on your face but budgeting is just a fact of life. We do the things we don't enjoy to enable things we do. I don't exactly like brushing my teeth or using mouthwash in the morning but I'd like to be able to talk and eat in the long term. My rent although sizable I think is pretty reasonable given the parking, security, sprinkler system, wifi, gym and lounge.

There's plenty of work in construction all across Mass right now. Public private and even non profit sectors are building.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-26-2016, 06:17 PM
 
3,176 posts, read 3,663,476 times
Reputation: 2676
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdovell View Post
Well to be frank I do see it. Things picked up considerably, this isn't 2008 anymore. Baby boomers have retired. If someone is out of work I have to ask a few basic things. Are they on any form of drugs? Do they have a criminal history, especially violence of the past few years? Do they have credit issues? Have they any evidence of education beyond high school (not just higher ed, vocational, certifications, licenses etc)

Living wages just deal with budgeting. I'm not saying it is something to do with a smile on your face but budgeting is just a fact of life. We do the things we don't enjoy to enable things we do. I don't exactly like brushing my teeth or using mouthwash in the morning but I'd like to be able to talk and eat in the long term. My rent although sizable I think is pretty reasonable given the parking, security, sprinkler system, wifi, gym and lounge.

There's plenty of work in construction all across Mass right now. Public private and even non profit sectors are building.
Baby boomers aren't really retiring as much as you think. In fact many can't afford to even if they want to.

Construction is done by unions (you need connections to get those jobs) or illegal aliens. Americans can't compete with illegals. So that leaves retail for people who only have an HS diploma. Even among college graduates, competition for entry level jobs is pretty fierce. Only a privileged few get a quality job straight out of college. Just because work is available doesn't mean it pays enough to survive.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-26-2016, 07:25 PM
 
7,912 posts, read 7,732,019 times
Reputation: 4146
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dm84 View Post
Baby boomers aren't really retiring as much as you think. In fact many can't afford to even if they want to.

Construction is done by unions (you need connections to get those jobs) or illegal aliens. Americans can't compete with illegals. So that leaves retail for people who only have an HS diploma. Even among college graduates, competition for entry level jobs is pretty fierce. Only a privileged few get a quality job straight out of college. Just because work is available doesn't mean it pays enough to survive.
Every day 9,000 to 11,000 baby boomers in the USA retires.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...adership-roles

Can an employer force someone into retirement? Maybe not but as long as the reasons for termination are outside of a protected class then it is a possibility. Skills creep in and updating and once someone qualifies for medicare and certainly social security it might not be worth it to keep working. I've known people that have retired in their 50's and some in their early 80's. Regardless though the physical wear and tear varies. I don't think you'll find many people in their 50's looking to become a foreman or laborer.

Construction is done by union and non union.I work in procurement and we do not hire illegals. We'll check id's and legal status from day one. Illegals are not a protected class so if we refuse to hire them they can't sue us. There's plenty of work in construction. Do some firms hire illegals? Sure I can't say they won't (double negative I know) but the fact of the matter remains is that often times it isn't worth it. In the public sector we have to have openness and work is checked and verified. DCAMM is required for larger jobs (150K and up) so that means more justification for examination.

Only a privilege few? Again that depends really.

Consider the following:

35% of Americans either cannot read or cannot read beyond a elementary level.
The U.S. Illiteracy Rate Hasn't Changed In 10 Years | Huffington Post

3.5-7.5% of job applicants will not pass a drug test.
American Workers Increasingly Fail Drug Tests

33% of American adults have a criminal background.
As Arrest Records Rise, Americans Find Consequences Can Last a Lifetime - WSJ

A bachelors is at 36% of the population and masters is about 9%
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=27

Basically what some ask for tends to be three things that frankly do not make sense in the justification of their argument.

1) They want to see a job that employs massive amounts of people
2) They want to see an employer that employs people with low skills
3) They want an employer with good pay and benefits

Well look if an employer employs massive amounts of people then the job security is pretty low. If a job employs people with a low skill level then it isn't going to have good pay and bennies due to the cost of training and benefits to retain those people.

The fact of the matter is there are direct correlations between more education, age and earnings.

Of course this is counters by "How do you get the job without the experience and how do you get the experience without having the job". Well to be frank there's not much value in a company keeping something 100% private. Openness is key. So if you can illustrate that you know how how to use computer system, do know how to write, make a presentation, analyze date and get along with others then that's basically it. Not everyone can work in all areas. Some are afraid of urban areas or rural areas. A good friend of mine doubled his salary by moving to a few different employers. It's easier to do this when you are younger and that gives a significant advantage. The second you have a house and kids it makes it harder. How else can you know things? You look it up. You have an interview and look the people up online, especially in their local news and their linkedin. You look at industry news and what is coming up. Regulations drop, not names drop.

Are there ways to tell about openings in the future? Absolutely. Contracts get awarded, people pass away, people get other jobs, people might have time off (i.e. maternity/Paternity) etc. In many respects if you don't staff you lose the money. Even in the private sector as it's either spent on something or returned as a dividend.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 09-26-2016, 08:47 PM
 
3,268 posts, read 3,298,137 times
Reputation: 2682
It does seem ridiculous to land a job these days in the boston area. Companies only want to hire the absolute best it seems. Where do all the average people work these days? Or are there no average people in boston anymore? I feel like im an average person at my job amongst a sea of overachievers. I dont think im lazy but i cant believe what the workforce had become sometimes people seem to get hired and paid to do one job but then are basically expected to do sooo much beyond what they were initially hired to do...but they do it. Maybe it's the industry im in?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Massachusetts

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top