is living in Massachusetts to expensive?

[A Nonny Mouse]

Has anyone confirmed the OP means Boston when he says Mass? He might mean central or Western Mass?

[konfetka]

Malden and Peabody have a large Brazilian community and are cheaper than most other towns.

[spikey54]

My wife lives in dorchester Massachusetts,I am a Jamaican, we get married recently, she is a bus driver,and I am a auto mechanic,but Massachusetts is a expensive place,but she said we can still live a reasonable lives,but how are we going to own a house,with these high prices.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by Romila

Well, here in Brazil I am an art teacher. In America I did study one year doing Early Childhood Education, but never got to finished. But I did finish it here in Brazil Pedagogy which is the same thing as Early childhood Education, but I will have to see if my diploma is valid there and what will be lacking in my curriculum so I can have my teaching certificate there.

I am doing my research, so I can make a clear decision if I should go back to America or just stick around here for a while longer.
I am willing to do any kind of job, untill I settle down there. My cousin lives in MA and I have some friends but each say different things about living in MA. Some say it is good, some say it is bad.

So I am a little confused lol.

Regarding what living here is like, you'll see the same thing on these forums. Some people love it here, others want to leave. At a top level, here are some points I can think of for the Boston region - mind you, New England is bigger than the Boston area...

Negatives:
- Cold winters, and by March, most everyone is really sick of winter. It's not like Alaska, mind you, but yeah, winter here is colder, darker and snowier than in most of the country.
- Cost of living, especially in the Boston region, is very high, one of the most expensive areas in the USA. For many ordinary people, affording housing is a big challenge, and they may be forced to live in towns or neighborhoods which aren't very attractive and/or where crime may be an issue

Positives:
- Strong employment picture, particular in biotech, pharmaceuticals, and to some extent, electronics and software
- A lot of geographic diversity, with a beautiful coast down on Cape Cod, lovely forests in the countryside and mountains nearby (2 hours drive) in NH, VT, and ME
- A lot of local history, and for better or for worse, many old buildings and homes
- Strong education, from elementary schools right on up to graduate schools. As you may know, in the US, primary and secondary education is largely funded with city/town taxes, so the quality of this schooling varies a lot by town still
- A good deal of diversity in the backgrounds of people - people settle in the Boston area from all over the world, often drawn to the area by the universities or the tech jobs initially...
- Mild summers, the counterpart to our cold winters

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

- Mild summers, the counterpart to our cold winters

Mild-ish. We had a couple weeks in the 90s. Lows in the mid 70s in late August/early September. This last summer was pretty bad. Not to mention the humidity here is very high. The great thing about New England weather is the fall, in my opinion. Can't be beat.

[G-fused]

This thread is from 2012.

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

Mild-ish. We had a couple weeks in the 90s. Lows in the mid 70s in late August/early September. This last summer was pretty bad. Not to mention the humidity here is very high. The great thing about New England weather is the fall, in my opinion. Can't be beat.

If you run down the eastern seaboard, by the time you get to say, VA, most of the days in Jun thru Aug are in the 90s, and by the time you get to the Deep South and the Gulf states, they have something like 6 months of weather that are mostly in the 90s. 2 weeks in the 90s, which is normal here, is nothing.