What's it like to live in the Boston area. (Worcester: real estate, apartment)

[caliguy92832]

And the Boston metropolitan area is huge, with a population of 4.9 million, extending all the way into New Hampshire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tistical_areas

It's a serious question because I'm used to living in a less popular/common area in the Midwest.

If you've lived in the city of Boston it might be a easy question to answer but really hoping to see a comparison for someone that has lived in less densely populated suburban areas with not a lot going on.

Is it slower pace? Less busy?

It doesn't take a lot to make me happy. Especially with how the internet is so common these days I feel like I could spend a lot of my time still doing what I do now. Watching TV/videos, following baseball, etc..

Looking for possible places to move to in the next few years.

[GeePee]

If you want to pay an As**load of money to do "internet things" and watch TV it's perfect. Why wouldn't you just stay where you are if those are your interests ?

[Space_League]

I think if you have the money it's a really good place to live.

The climate could be better from my perspective, but honestly the city of Boston itself is not extremely cold. There is a major UHI in the city of Boston aswell as coastal microclimates. DTX, Eastie, and the South Coast of MA are all USDA zone 7a (same as Nashville) although of course they are colder on a day to day basis, the extreme cold snaps are significantly moderated compared to northern New England.

Most of the residential areas of the city are 6b as well as suburbs along the south shore. Much of the Metro is 6A with the outer fringes (Nashua, Worcester) being 5B. That says the coldest temps of the year in Nashua(5b) will be around 15 degrees colder than they will at Logan(7a). Northern New Hampshire and Northern/Central Maine will can expect temps 40 degrees colder than Logan in the winter (climate zone 3)

I have a good amount of experience living in the northern edges of the Boston MSA as well as in the city itself. There are big differences in the lifestyle of course, but many similarities in the overall culture. Living in NEMA or SENH is a much slower paced life than the city of Boston. It's car centric aswell. The people are nicer up there, but it's more insular. Communities are tightly knit and many people lived in the same area for their whole life. This isn't true anymore for most of the city of Boston. In general, people may not go out of their way to welcome outsiders especially people moving in as adults without children(not sure about your situation), but if you are friendly and outgoing, they will be accepting of (and even excited about) newcomers and treat you as one of their own.

If you have any more specific questions I can try to answer

[lokaydokay]

Before you get too far down the road of considering a move, keep in mind that Boston is outrageously expensive. If you're coming from the Midwest, housing costs here will shock you. If you're looking to buy in the city, $500,000 is the threshold for anything decent in a reasonably good neighborhood.

If you're looking to rent in the city, plan on spending at least (bare minimum) $2500 for a 1 BR in an ok neighborhood. The suburbs are a little cheaper than the city, but not much. And if you live in the burbs, you'll need a car. If you live in the city, you should be able to get by without one.

As a single person, you need to be making a six figure salary or plan on getting a roommate(s).

That said, I love Boston. I moved here from a small town and would never go back. The quality of life is high, lots of really smart people, lots to do and see, practical liberal politics but not extreme left (looking at you, San Francisco). As big cities go, the pace is reasonable and the scale is manageable. Traffic is awful, but there is a strong public transit system. The winters are cold, but summer and fall are glorious. And, sad to say, temps seem to be increasing due to climate change.

If you can afford it, Boston is a terrific place to live. If you can afford it...

[Guineas]

Originally Posted by lokaydokay

If you're looking to buy in the city, $500,000 is the threshold for anything decent in a reasonably good neighborhood.

lol $500k gets you a 2 bedroom condo in a rickety hundred year old triple decker in JP next to a homeless shelter. If you're not into urban living or the open ocean, and your job is WFH, there's no reason to live in Boston. The weather is just as bad as the upper Midwest: cold snowy winters and humid buggy summers. And everything feels old, because it is old.

[WestieWhitie]

Originally Posted by lokaydokay

practical liberal politics but not extreme left (looking at you, San Francisco.)

Are you sure? You seem to be forgetting who won the mayoral election…

As for salary you could scrape by in the mid-90s but soon enough our rents will be more or less on par with SF thanks to our newly minted mayor’s infinite wisdom and $120K will be the very bare minimum if you want to live without roommates and have any semblance of middle class lifestyle.

Originally Posted by Guineas

lol $500k gets you a 2 bedroom condo in a rickety hundred year old triple decker in JP next to a homeless shelter. If you're not into urban living or the open ocean, and your job is WFH, there's no reason to live in Boston. The weather is just as bad as the upper Midwest: cold snowy winters and humid buggy summers. And everything feels old, because it is old.

Urban living, as in apartment in urban core brownstone or high-rise, will cost a lot more than $500,000 - double it if you don’t want your bed in your living room and triple it if you want an extra bedroom or home office. $500,000 will get you the old-school urban living experience, as in a shoebox in a projects-style crumbling brick dump.

[Urban Peasant]

Well, if you consider Lowell and its surrounding towns to be a part of Greater Boston, then life is definitely slower paced up there than in Boston proper and both rent and real estate is more affordable but still don't expect Cleveland, Ohio prices. That $2500 1br might just cost $1000 up in Lowell but Lowell is much quieter, Downtown Lowell is pretty dead after dark, people in the surrounding towns don't often travel into Lowell like they do in Boston, and bus service is a lot scantier. Pretty much the only activities I as a nondrinker can think of are going for walks and shopping at Market Basket. I think it is a much better deal being an introverted recluse up there than in Boston.

I think this thread better belongs in the Massachusetts forum than the Boston forum because the O.P. can get a wider variety of responses there.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by Guineas

lol $500k gets you a 2 bedroom condo in a rickety hundred year old triple decker in JP next to a homeless shelter. If you're not into urban living or the open ocean, and your job is WFH, there's no reason to live in Boston. The weather is just as bad as the upper Midwest: cold snowy winters and humid buggy summers. And everything feels old, because it is old.

$500k?!? Were is this?? Baltimore??

If you can find me a 500k 2 bed condo in the one and only city of Boston.. please let me know

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

$500k?!? Were is this?? Baltimore??

If you can find me a 500k 2 bed condo in the one and only city of Boston.. please let me know

Easy. Much less than $500K too. Prices actually seem to be cooling.


25 Alpine St UNIT 36, Hyde Park, MA 02136 | MLS #72914102 | Zillow

[Space_League]

Half a brownstone:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4...11603680_zpid/

This is what people imagine when they picture living in the city of Boston. At under 2000 square feet this is not a huge unit for a family. Most houses in theUS are larger than this. Not only that they are charging $477/Month HOA fees? FOR WHAT?! What on God's green earth could possibly justify another $5724 on top of your outrageous mortgage and RE tax fees. Who POCKETS that money?? Please explain that to me.