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When I say lower middle class I'm talking about household gross income in these ranges:
NYC: $70-80k
SF: $75-85k
Washington DC: $60-70k
Boston: $65-75k.
Maybe that's upper lower class. Maybe it's lower middle class. In any case, it's a bit poor, but certainly not destitute. Assume this is for a family of four, a steady job, decent health care, good spending habits, one parent stays home or the kifs are all in school to mitigate many possible day care costs.
Which of these metros offers the most to those who make less? Things to consider would be ease and affordability of transportation and affordable housing in relatively attractive and safe neighborhoods that aren't in the sticks, for example.
Last edited by ForeignCrunch; 01-07-2020 at 06:50 AM..
As a single you can get by on that amount in any city, however SF and Manhattan (not all of New York City) would be tougher.
Add in a spouse and a child then things get slim real quick. From a city and metro standpoint, I think New York (believe it or not) would have the most options. People usually associate New York with Manhattan only, which is absurdly expensive, but head to the outer boroughs, parts of Long Island, New Jersey, etc. and you't be surprised that families can live off of 80k, not the high life, but certainly not on the streets.
Boston area is more expensive than the NYC area so the income brackets should be switched for those two. This is lower middle for a family of 4. For a single this is doing quite well-if you look at median household income this is about average in these cities except SF.
But to Answer your question
1. NYC -Bronx, Irvington, Union, Jersey City, Roselle, Rahway, Linden much of Queens and Brooklyn and NNJ in general, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford, Rent Control, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Yonkers, lots of Long Island, Co-ops. Sheer number of options
2. DC - Prince Georges and Charles County in MD and Prince Williams County in VA, SEDC. Parts of MoCo
3. Boston -Lynn, Lawrence, Lowell, Salem, Everett, Haverhill, Methuen, Randolph, Brockton, Taunton, Avon(tiny) Holbrook(tiny) (New Bedford Fall River Woonsocket Providence are all technically not in the Boston metro but i'll count them as option) a few of Boston southern neighborhoods and the city's income restricted apartments/homeownership opportunities
4. San Francisco-East Bay, rent controlled apartments
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 01-07-2020 at 06:42 AM..
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I would say NYC, specifically the boroughs of Queens and the Bronx are doable on that budget more so than DC proper (you could make it work in the burbs better than anywhere in NYC though), Boston, or SF.
Boston area is more expensive than the NYC area so the income brackets should be switched for those two. This is lower middle for a family of 4. For a single this is doing quite well-if you look at median household income this is about average in these cities except SF.
But to Answer your question
1. NYC -Bronx, Irvington, Union, Jersey City, Roselle, Rahway, Linden much of Queens and Brooklyn and NNJ in general, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Stamford, Rent Control, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Yonkers, lots of Long Island, Co-ops. Sheer number of options
2. DC - Prince Georges and Charles County in MD and Prince Williams County in VA, SEDC. Parts of MoCo
3. Boston -Lynn, Lawrence, Lowell, Salem, Everett, Haverhill, Methuen, Randolph, Brockton, Taunton, Avon(tiny) Holbrook(tiny) (New Bedford Fall River Woonsocket Providence are all technically not in the Boston metro but i'll count them as option) a few of Boston southern neighborhoods and the city's income restricted apartments/homeownership opportunities
4. San Francisco-East Bay, rent controlled apartments
That's quite a list. Isn't Lowell quite far from Boston, though?
Also, I edited to clarify that I'm talking about a family, but you can probably shave 15k off the totals I listed and consider a single person in these cities with those incomes.
That's quite a list. Isn't Lowell quite far from Boston, though?
Also, I edited to clarify that I'm talking about a family, but you can probably shave 15k off the totals I listed and consider a single person in these cities with those incomes.
Lowell is 30 miles from Boston and currently at 9:12 am (near rush hour)its a 47 minute drive. It also has commuter rails service to Boston. Itsa about 20 miles from the core urban area or a 30/35 minute drive.
Muuuuhch closer than most of Northern NJ or any of SWCT to NYC. People commute to Boston From much further distances like New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Fitchburg or Worcester. I could have definitely included Worcester whis is currently a 63 minute drive or train ride to Boston .
Commutes from Waldorf and Germantown MD or Woodbridge VA into DC are similar
Prince Williams County, VA and Lowell, MA are a similar distance to downtown DC or Boston. Lowell also has commuter rail to Boston that takes about 45-50 minutes to get to North Station.
I voted NYC for the vast amount of public transportation options, which eliminates the need for a family car and frees up a lot of disposable income.
You can live in a fairly nice (but unexciting), family-friendly part of Brooklyn or Queens with good schools in a 2-bedroom apartment that is a 45 minute-1 hour train ride from Manhattan on a 75-80k family income.
When I say lower middle class I'm talking about household gross income in these ranges:
NYC: $70-80k
SF: $75-85k
Washington DC: $60-70k
Boston: $65-75k.
Maybe that's upper lower class. Maybe it's lower middle class. In any case, it's a bit poor, but certainly not destitute. Assume this is for a family of four, a steady job, decent health care, good spending habits, one parent stays home or the kifs are all in school to mitigate many possible day care costs.
Which of these metros offers the most to those who make less? Things to consider would be ease and affordability of transportation and affordable housing in relatively attractive and safe neighborhoods that aren't in the sticks, for example.
Id stay in the Bay Area and increase my skills so I can make more money.
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