Moving to Boston From Philly Suburb (Cambridge, Quincy: apartments, safest area, school)

[bonesaw45]

Hi All,

I'm making plans to move to Boston, there are a few job opportunities out there for me right now and I want to see what exactly is available in Boston apartment/neighborhood wise. I'm going to be there a minimum of 3 years so I would like a place where I can stay for a while and be comfortable. Also I will be working about 60 to 80 hours a week, so I want a place that my wife can be safe while I'm gone but also feel comfortable to go out at night.

We will have 50 - 60K to work with pretax, I think 1200 to 1500 is reasonable to pay monthly. The apartment would hopefully have an in building (in unit would be better) washer and dryer, a dishwasher, proximity to the redline, and proximity to some food shopping destination. Its important whether or not you think this is feasible on this salary, the wife will work a little to supplement but she is going back to school for a couple years. If someone could suggests neighborhoods or apartments that would be awesome, if someone could suggest if we could manage on this income that would be awesomer :P.

Thanks

[Verseau]

On the Red Line, your money will go farthest in Quincy and Braintree, especially in terms of space (and things like in-unit laundry). If you don't mind a suburban location and a longer commute (busy at rush hour, having to wait for a Braintree train from downtown instead of an Ashmont train), this is also probably the safest area along the Red Line.

Farther north along the Red Line (say, Ashmont to JFK-UMass), you can live closer to downtown at a relatively affordable price compared to the rest of Boston, but safety might be more of a concern. These aren't really the kind of neighborhoods where people often go out at night to walk to restaurants etc. As you get closer to downtown, things suddenly become much more expensive (beyond your budget).

North of downtown (in Cambridge), there are a lot of great, lively neighborhoods to live in, but you'd definitely get less for your money than you would on the southern side of the Red Line. The other problem with the Red Line in Cambridge is that there's a definite lack of affordable supermarkets (the best you could do is the Shaw's near Porter Square).

[snatale1]

50-60k IN Boston on public transit is unrealistic. As it's been said you want the burbs. Braintree, Quincy have the Red Line, but it will still be tight on 60k. Per a cost of living calculator I just did Boston is 221% higher as far as cost of living. If you make 60k now in Philly it would have to increase to 85k to equal the same pay here.

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