Is this a decent salary for a single 30 y.o. moving to Boston? (Newton: top neighborhood, condo)

[cityanimal]

What did you decide? I am getting the same salary ($90,000) moving to Boston. Same age. Single in 30s.

I am planning to cut cost by either find cheap place to stay or sharing room. I am disappointed that many apartments are booked up around my start date.

It seems like apartment is the main cost . They cost almost $800 more from where I am here-- $7200 more per year in pay cut!! I am quite shocked.

Besides apartments/housing, what else is expensive here in Boston?

[Concentrist]

Make that three of us, although, I will be making $10K more. I visited Boston three weeks ago to look for a place in anticipation of my upcoming move and I am still suffering from the sticker shock. I knew Boston was expensive, but, it seems to have reached new heights in the past year. So I thought it might makes sense to buy a place. Lo and behold I read that Boston condo prices are at an historic all-time high and inventory is at a historic all-time low. Almost every place that I favorite on Redfin seems to move from Active to Contingent within a week. So it appears we are getting squeezed no matter whether we decided to buy or rent. Mayor Menino has a serious problem on his hands as very soon many people looking to stay in or move to Boston are going to conclude that it is just not worth the price.

[cityanimal]

Thanks for the input.. but back to question.. What else is expensive in Boston?

I am trying to minimize COL shock when I arrive there. If it is really expensive, then I will just rent a room or share a room to cut the cost further.

[jackshaw]

Parking is expensive. I suspect health insurance is more expensive here as well as car insurance. Restaurants maybe a little more than the center of the country. In NY, you can find much more expensive but also much less expensive restaurants.

Private schools are expensive here (maybe the same as other places, but I think higher than places outside the Northeast).

Construction is probably more expensive here than in most places.

[maggiekate]

Originally Posted by jackshaw

Parking is expensive. I suspect health insurance is more expensive here as well as car insurance. Restaurants maybe a little more than the center of the country. In NY, you can find much more expensive but also much less expensive restaurants.

Private schools are expensive here (maybe the same as other places, but I think higher than places outside the Northeast).

Construction is probably more expensive here than in most places.

taxes in Massachusetts add to the expense also. The further out from the city the cheaper
the apartment also as Norwood etc. many places also have trains which take you into the city.

[NewEnglander481]

Originally Posted by balor123

It's decent for Boston. Average pay is $88k according to Dice for a software engineer. I'm 1 year older, living/working in Waltham, and make about $15k more than that as a software engineer but in a high paying field and with good credentials.

A better question is whether Boston is worth living in for that salary. If you don't plan on having kids, then you'll do fine here. If you plan on having kids, then you should aim to marry someone who makes several times what you make. A decent SFH in a neighborhood with good schools in the 128 belt will cost you $700k - $800k (newer duplex or townhome or older SFH) and a good one up to several hundred thousand more. To afford that kind of property using the 3x rule of thumb, you'll need a household income of about $200k. Then again, some people don't mind 1500sf homes with "charm" with hidden sf in the damp basement for a bit cheaper.

The range for SFH that you've described is only applicable to towns directly inside the 128 belt and most likely mean two to three towns; Newton, Brookline and Arlington.

Massachusetts has far more to offer than those three (terrific in their own right!) but lacking towns.

As a young single male/female... a salary of 88K or above is more than enough to live comfortably on in Boston.

And if you do plan on making a life here, not a bad place to stay. It's the smartest state in the nation, and second smartest in the world.

[shrinkberry]

Originally Posted by NewEnglander481

The range for SFH that you've described is only applicable to towns directly inside the 128 belt and most likely mean two to three towns; Newton, Brookline and Arlington.

Massachusetts has far more to offer than those three (terrific in their own right!) but lacking towns.

As a young single male/female... a salary of 88K or above is more than enough to live comfortably on in Boston.

And if you do plan on making a life here, not a bad place to stay. It's the smartest state in the nation, and second smartest in the world.

You're responding to a 2 year old thread. I think the original posters are probably long gone by now.

[roseannepaul]

what kind of software postion? it is pretty good .
I am embedded s/w (firmware with EE background, have to work on both s/w and hardware)for many years, just a little higher than yours .
some people above said who has more than 15k more than your offered job
where is this company? I would like to apply for the position.

thanks
roseannepaul

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by roseannepaul

some people above said who has more than 15k more than your offered job
where is this company? I would like to apply for the position.

thanks
roseannepaul

Google, SAS, Mitre to name a few.

[jkereako]

For folks coming to this thread wondering whether $90,000 is enough for Boston, ignore this comment:

Originally Posted by balor123

If you plan on having kids, then you should aim to marry someone who makes several times what you make. A decent SFH in a neighborhood with good schools in the 128 belt will cost you $700k - $800k (newer duplex or townhome or older SFH)...

This statement only applies to wealthy towns like Wellesley, where Ray Allen had a mansion with an 8-car garage.

There are plenty of great towns inside of 128 in which you can find a single-family home for less than half of $700,000.

You'll be able to live comfortably on $90,000 in Boston and still have money left over to save.