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Taunton less so. Lot of former Bostonians and Boston commuter in Taunton for sure. It’s literally 40 minutes from Downtown Boston. And less than that to say Mattapan/Hyde Park (still Boston and where you might have friends/family if your lower middle class) ~25-30 minutes. That’s well within the Boston wheelhouse. Even in full blown rush hour it’s an 1hr 10minjte hour drive. that’s not bad at all. compared to a Lowell or Lawrence. Or Woodbridge to DC which is currently an 1hr 19min drive or DC to Germantown which is 1hr9min away right now.
I’m thinking like a lower middle income person.
Seventy minutes is a pretty hefty commute. If that's what it takes to live in Boston (or anywhere else) then I can imagine people believing that to be quite the opposite of easy/preferable.
Seventy minutes is a pretty hefty commute. If that's what it takes to live in Boston (or anywhere else) then I can imagine people believing that to be quite the opposite of easy/preferable.
That is a hefty commute. But there a ton of other places much closer by than Taunton that I’ve listed.(alynn Malden(touches Boston) Everett(touches Boston) Chelsea(touches Boston) Salem Randolph Stoughton Brockton(large city of 96k-2BR ~1300-1400), Bridgewater, Quincy(touches Boston) southern Boston Itself..
That is a hefty commute. But there a ton of other places much closer by than Taunton that I’ve listed.(alynn Malden(touches Boston) Everett(touches Boston) Chelsea(touches Boston) Salem Randolph Stoughton Brockton(large city of 96k-2BR ~1300-1400), Bridgewater, Quincy(touches Boston) southern Boston Itself..
Extremely diverse (one of the top 50 most diverse high schools in the US, and a good school dsitrict )and dense with multiple rapid transit stops-gentrifying but not a a breakneck pace. Historically working class attracts young professionals who are lower paid and not in STEM generally. It's like a more asian, more polished and larger Everett, MA. Everett is also full of families-tons of kids and strollers all over. Far fewer professional singles.
Median household income in 2017 was 73k. Median home value was 387k (many 2-3 unit properties). Median rent was 1,450 .Population was 61k with a density of 12.1k ppsqm. Poverty rate 15.3%. 46.5% foreign born. Dense walkable downtown with a few high rise apartment buildings.
Revere abuts Everett which abuts Malden which abuts Chelsea. Diverse city like the others. Reverse median household income is 62k but the average home price is 425k so there's a ton of renters.Median rent paid in 2017 was 1392 (in all of these cities current listing prices are significantly higher for a variety of reasons). Its 38% foreign born with a dense population of 50k (9k ppsqm). 13% poverty and crime that is below national average. There are two rapid transit stations.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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I still have not placed a vote in this thread because I'm torn. Like I feel that NY metro as a whole offers more than each of these metros overall regardless of a person's income status, so that has been my original answer. However that's about the only reason I use for the NY metro. Well that, and simply having more housing stock overall than the others.
This thread boils down to the DC metro and NY metro areas IMO. In the DC area, PG County Maryland cannot be understated for the purpose of this thread. Prince George's is a large county of about 920k and has a plethora of newer, clean, neighborhoods with large homes or medium size homes in 20-25 mins of downtown DC with no traffic, while still close to Metro stations for $250-400k, and still growing/building more. There isn't a comparison in these other metros with that amount of housing stock in such close range of any of these four primary cities. As many flaws that PG County has, and there are lots of them, the discussions being had in this thread actually turn into advantages for PG. The DC area for the most part has a lot of people that frown upon Prince George's, but when it boils down to buying an affordable home, and living a pretty decent lifestyle, it offers a solid bang for you buck in comparison to the suburbs in range of these cities. Especially when you look at the volume of housing stock.
In addition, you have inner beltway Montgomery County which is a mix of socioeconomic classes, pretty good public schools, and many options for public transit. Alexandria has small pockets of high density living for lower middle income families in pretty safe, transit oriented urban neighborhoods as well.
I still have not placed a vote in this thread because I'm torn. Like I feel that NY metro as a whole offers more than each of these metros overall regardless of a person's income status, so that has been my original answer. However that's about the only reason I use for the NY metro. Well that, and simply having more housing stock overall than the others.
This thread boils down to the DC metro and NY metro areas IMO. In the DC area, PG County Maryland cannot be understated for the purpose of this thread. Prince George's is a large county of about 920k and has a plethora of newer, clean, neighborhoods with large homes or medium size homes in 20-25 mins of downtown DC with no traffic, while still close to Metro stations for $250-400k, and still growing/building more. There isn't a comparison in these other metros with that amount of housing stock in such close range of any of these four primary cities. As many flaws that PG County has, and there are lots of them, the discussions being had in this thread actually turn into advantages for PG. The DC area for the most part has a lot of people that frown upon Prince George's, but when it boils down to buying an affordable home, and living a pretty decent lifestyle, it offers a solid bang for you buck in comparison to the suburbs in range of these cities. Especially when you look at the volume of housing stock.
In addition, you have inner beltway Montgomery County which is a mix of socioeconomic classes, pretty good public schools, and many options for public transit. Alexandria has small pockets of high density living for lower middle income families in pretty safe, transit oriented urban neighborhoods as well.
I voted NYC but maybe DCs better simply because the economy is stronger and housing is better for a FAMILY.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
I voted NYC but maybe DCs better simply because the economy is stronger and housing is better for a FAMILY.
I also think the topography/geography of these cities/metros comes into play heavily. In the NYC metro, it is a haul just to go from outer edges of a Jamaica queens or Far Rockaway, to Midtown Manhattan or lower Manhattan, or uptown etc. Same for someone in Newark, or Patterson. DC is not as large as NY, it's metro fits almost in a perfect circle. Hyattsville to Downtown Washington is a breeze in comparison. There's a lot better ease of access to the regions destinations than NY/NJ's huge tunnels and bridges. PG's location is prime throughout the entire region actually, 15 mins from DC, across the bridge from NOVA, 30-35 mins from Baltimore, 25 mins to Annapolis, and 30 mins to the Chesapeake Bay. NY metro may have more amenities overall, but how easy is it to get to them for lower middle class individuals or families? Again DC being smaller than NY plays a role here.
I also think the topography/geography of these cities/metros comes into play heavily. In the NYC metro, it is a haul just to go from outer edges of a Jamaica queens or Far Rockaway, to Midtown Manhattan or lower Manhattan, or uptown etc. Same for someone in Newark, or Patterson. DC is not as large as NY, it's metro fits almost in a perfect circle. Hyattsville to Downtown Washington is a breeze in comparison. PG's location is prime throughout the entire region actually, 15 mins from DC, across the bridge from NOVA, 30-35 mins from Baltimore, 25 mins to Annapolis, and 30 mins to the Chesapeake Bay. Again DC being smaller than NY plays an affect here.
^ This is very true. Jamaica Queens to Manhattan is very far. Since the MTA is probably the worst performing system in the Northeast, it can take over an hour and a half due to how poor the quality of the train is. The Bronx is similar, and the trains there are really dangerous.. people can easily fall into tracks as a few people have lost their lives recently to that. NYC needs to this...
Location: The Greatest city on Earth: City of Atlanta Proper
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Originally Posted by masssachoicetts
^ This is very true. Jamaica Queens to Manhattan is very far. Since the MTA is probably the worst performing system in the Northeast, it can take over an hour and a half due to how poor the quality of the train is. The Bronx is similar, and the trains there are really dangerous.. people can easily fall into tracks as a few people have lost their lives recently to that. NYC needs to this...
That's just another day in New York though lol. Taking the subway or the bus anywhere takes forever. I'm not sure where this idea comes from that public transit is "fast", especially in NYC. Maybe it's some corn husker that's been to NYC once and took the train from their hotel to Times Square and thought it was the fastest most efficient thing ever and that everyone in NYC must live like that all the time.
The important thing to remember though that even though it's slow or delayed or breaking down, you can use it any time of the day for a flat fee. That's huge for people without much disposable income.
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