Can I Live Comfortably?

[milsoe90]

You'll be fine. You can find a decent one bedroom for 1500/1600 easily. Check out Watertown, brighton center, Belmont...

[bostonguy1960]

Maybe finding a rental is not necessarily easy, even with good qualifications. Just view a couple of the recent threads about the struggle and competition for rentals here, which I had heard about last year.

[BostonRevealed]

Low 60s isn't a lot of money in Boston but I think its doable and possible to enjoy life in Boston.

You'll probably make a bit more than $3000/month and that's the price of a decent 1br in Boston. You should live outside the city where you can find a 1br for 1200-1400. If you work in the Back Bay you will have easy access to the Green and Orange lines but also close enough for the Redline don't forget the bus goes all over the place.

Green line: Mostly young professional/students towns and pricey- might want to try Brighton but rental prices are getting high
Orange Line: Malden should be within your price range, aint the safest but should be fine, JP is getting pricey but you can find stuff within your price range is is safe.
Bus: There are bus that goes from Watertown and Waltham to Copley, should fine decently priced rentals in both towns.
Commuter Rail: Goes into Copley, Can live in West Roxbury and Roslindale, can find rentals within your price range
Redline: Try Quincy or Braintree, both are safe but a bit of a longer commute

If you want something family friendly I like West Roxbury, Roslindale, and Braintree. Watertown Center and Waltham's Moody streets have more restaurants and stuff to do. I never really liked Malden. Quincy should be an easy commute into Boston but is somewhat boring (but affordable).

[Urban Peasant]

Low 60's is certainly doable in Boston. I've known a great many people here who got by with less and still had enough money to enjoy themselves the way they wanted to. Just stick to renting a room or two in a modest neighborhood for the time being and save up money.

[mhsclassof00]

I'd say low 60s would be next to impossible anywhere in/around Boston. You'll find people on this board who always post crap about how they made it on 40k or some junk in Boston. I don't want to call them liars, but I'd def call BS. In real life grown adults don't want to share a house with 15 others. Haha.

Condos in the Woburn area were going for around 2200 if I remember right, last I check, about 6 months ago.

Your best bet is to live outside Boston, near a line or commuter rail. Quincy seems to be affoardable as well, just avoid Germantown.

Best of luck!

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by mhsclassof00

I'd say low 60s would be next to impossible anywhere in/around Boston. You'll find people on this board who always post crap about how they made it on 40k or some junk in Boston. I don't want to call them liars, but I'd def call BS. In real life grown adults don't want to share a house with 15 others. Haha.

Condos in the Woburn area were going for around 2200 if I remember right, last I check, about 6 months ago.

Your best bet is to live outside Boston, near a line or commuter rail. Quincy seems to be affoardable as well, just avoid Germantown.

Best of luck!

I make around 20k per year. I live in Brighton. I have 2 roommates who are married to each other. I save a little money too (Admittedly not a lot).

Please tell me about how my life isn't real or that it's BS.

Wanna save money? Learn to cook. Have a little self-control. Make a budget for yourself. You know, be an adult. Don't spend beyond your means. Not that hard, people. But certainly, the more you make, the better. Not arguing that. If you doubled my yearly pay, I'd have absolutely no problems ever.

[rethcir]

Woburn would be a crap commute to downtown unless you lived within walking distance of Anderson RTC.

[AbrasaxEos]

Originally Posted by mhsclassof00

I'd say low 60s would be next to impossible anywhere in/around Boston. You'll find people on this board who always post crap about how they made it on 40k or some junk in Boston. I don't want to call them liars, but I'd def call BS. In real life grown adults don't want to share a house with 15 others. Haha.

Condos in the Woburn area were going for around 2200 if I remember right, last I check, about 6 months ago.

Your best bet is to live outside Boston, near a line or commuter rail. Quincy seems to be affoardable as well, just avoid Germantown.

Best of luck!

I'd also chime in to call BS on this BS. My wife and I do fine on a bit less than 60k per year, and we don't even come close to spending every dollar that we make each month. We live in Watertown at the moment (previously in Roslindale), so not directly in the city, but still in a fairly large 2BR by ourselves, not with 15 others. If condos are that expensive in Woburn, I don't know why you'd even consider living there, because we have never spent close to that on either place, even after utilities, internet, etc.
We don't have a car (by choice, we did for the first year and still did ok), and both places we live allow us to live pretty locally without long T rides for things like groceries, etc.; we both know how to cook and plan out most of our meals during the week, and we just keep a budget in general. We don't eat out or go out on the town all the time, but we do on a semi-regular basis, we do vacations on the cape, we are comfortable and live well within our means. So, yes, it does depend on your lifestyle. If you like or need to eat out multiple times per week, need to have a car, to go out to bars every other night, and live in a lavishly appointed condo, then yes 60k is not going to work in Boston. But if you feel as though you can exercise a bit of restraint you can do it without living in the constant deprivation that others seem to imply here.

[Cliff Clavin]

Originally Posted by AbrasaxEos

I'd also chime in to call BS on this BS.

Ditto. I make mid 60's and live quite comfortably in Boston. I own a condo, car and even spend 2 weeks in Hawaii every January. Granted it's just me, but I'm sure a couple could easily get by on low 60's.