Can you afford to live in the Boston area off of a 30,000 job (Fall River: lease, house)
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I agree with you on all this. It is a very different area of the country. I am used to renting out apartment complexes that comes with pools, laundry rooms, workout rooms, etc. and a bunch of other amenities. It seems weird to me to be renting out a room in an old house. I guess I knew what to expect because I have family in the area. I have been visiting up here for the past 10 years (family members in the area).
While it definitely would not be my top choice, I do like the city of Boston and Providence just not as much as other cities I have really liked. I am hoping that the $30,000 is very temporary. I have been looking around for hours each day so we'll see what happens. Believe me I have done enough moving the past 6 years I would rather not move again but I also don't want to get some dumpy rental and be stuck in a year long contract. You said not to get a place that includes heat - why is this? I thought because of the high price of utilities that this would be an advantage?
Does anyone know if a rental near the St. Anne's area is okay? I am working with a real estate company and most of the rentals they sent me were in that area. I drove around yesterday and viewed one of the apartments and I wasn't really impressed the area, not sure if it was safe either....Also, how is High @ Pine? Osborn St? I looked at apartments near 200 High St and 600 Osborn?
Yes I did mention to be careful renting a place that includes heat. Reason being if the landlord is controlling your heat and temperature, you have no idea what you are getting into. The problem is they can seem nice as pie when you are signing the rental agreement. As the seasons change like now and your find they either wait until Nov to turn heat on, even if there is a cold spell in Oct. Or you find all winter long they keep the temp somewhere in the 60's and lower at night. Its a terrible feeling, it happened to me once in a 3rd floor rental in Norwood, Mass. I'll never forget it and its a common problem with certain landlords. You just never know how they are going to behave. The landlord I had put a lock on the heating system, so the thermostat could not be controlled by me in my apt. Plus he gave the duties to the 2nd floor tenant to control the heat. A tenant he had living there for over 20 years. So be careful with renting with heat included, unless there is an agreement that you control your own thermostat. I always felt in the apt I had that in order for them, to get more heat in thier apts. They rationed mine. The heat all worked off the same heating system. I left within a few months of renting there. Thankfully I took a month to month and paid more for rent rather than a years lease. This actually was back in the 80s' I bet many of these landlords in these houses have not changed much since then. Good Luck.
Yes I did mention to be careful renting a place that includes heat. Reason being if the landlord is controlling your heat and temperature, you have no idea what you are getting into. The problem is they can seem nice as pie when you are signing the rental agreement. As the seasons change like now and your find they either wait until Nov to turn heat on, even if there is a cold spell in Oct. Or you find all winter long they keep the temp somewhere in the 60's and lower at night. Its a terrible feeling, it happened to me once in a 3rd floor rental in Norwood, Mass. I'll never forget it and its a common problem with certain landlords. You just never know how they are going to behave. The landlord I had put a lock on the heating system, so the thermostat could not be controlled by me in my apt. Plus he gave the duties to the 2nd floor tenant to control the heat. A tenant he had living there for over 20 years. So be careful with renting with heat included, unless there is an agreement that you control your own thermostat. I always felt in the apt I had that in order for them, to get more heat in thier apts. They rationed mine. The heat all worked off the same heating system. I left within a few months of renting there. Thankfully I took a month to month and paid more for rent rather than a years lease. This actually was back in the 80s' I bet many of these landlords in these houses have not changed much since then. Good Luck.
Good points, especially the bolded. I had this happen to me in Portland, ME. Learned the hard way that our thermostat was restricted to 65 degrees tops and that the landlord didn't turn it on until mid-November. I like it cool (usually around 70), but this apartment was cold (first floor).
Regardless, ask the right questions. See if you have control of your heat and ask when it comes on and if there are restrictions.
$30K a year is definitely doable outside of Boston, especially if you have the possibility of your gf working eventually to add to it. Start with an apartment or house share, then split a small one bedroom. New Bedford and Fall River are safe enough if one uses commonsense. Don't leave anything enticing in full view inside your car like a GPS unit or designer sunglasses. And don't own any kind of car that the kids would want to steal for parts (like a Civic hatchback).
As to heating bills, keep the thermostat down in the wintertime and wear a sweater inside your home. There's no need to keep the inside temps high enough to wear a skimpy t-shirt and shorts in comfort.
I was lucky that the apt I rented for the last many years included heat AND electric. So if the inside temp dips. Too much, I just use a space heater. I was able to wear shorts all winter.
Also, the MA tenant rights include keeping the Temp at a certain temp between specfic hours. If you can't get your LL to up the temp, you can file a complaint with the local Health dept. The LL gets fined per day till problem is fixed. Of course, this won't work if you're on Month-to-month because the LL will simply tell you to leave.
Yes I did mention to be careful renting a place that includes heat. Reason being if the landlord is controlling your heat and temperature, you have no idea what you are getting into. The problem is they can seem nice as pie when you are signing the rental agreement. As the seasons change like now and your find they either wait until Nov to turn heat on, even if there is a cold spell in Oct. Or you find all winter long they keep the temp somewhere in the 60's and lower at night. Its a terrible feeling, it happened to me once in a 3rd floor rental in Norwood, Mass. I'll never forget it and its a common problem with certain landlords. You just never know how they are going to behave. The landlord I had put a lock on the heating system, so the thermostat could not be controlled by me in my apt. Plus he gave the duties to the 2nd floor tenant to control the heat. A tenant he had living there for over 20 years. So be careful with renting with heat included, unless there is an agreement that you control your own thermostat. I always felt in the apt I had that in order for them, to get more heat in thier apts. They rationed mine. The heat all worked off the same heating system. I left within a few months of renting there. Thankfully I took a month to month and paid more for rent rather than a years lease. This actually was back in the 80s' I bet many of these landlords in these houses have not changed much since then. Good Luck.
Good to know. That would really stink to have someone control your heat. The other thing I want to avoid is oil heat! I had this in Maine and it was terrible. It cost me like $300 a month even keeping the heat on 55! It was the most expensive heat I've ever had. Most of the apartments I am looking at have radiator heat. Does anyone know if this is expensive? Also, I found one other apt at 100 Ballard Street - is this one of the safe areas? I have been having a hard time getting anyone on Craigs List to get back to me. I would like to take the High @ Pine apt but I have sent 2 emails and haven't gotten a response - I guess I'll try calling on Monday.
Oil heat is thr type of fuel. Radiator heat is the method/hardware that distributes the heat. Can't compare apples and oranges. Whether the radiator or any other type will work well or not depends a number of things, mostly whether insulation is good and how leaky the windows are. If it's an old house with little upgrade, there's probably little to no insulation and single pane windows and these make the place expensive to heat. Also, upper floors are by nature warmer but you pay for that in AC when summer arrives.
When I was apt hunting a few months ago, ran into the same thing. I'd get 1 reply out of 3-4 inquries. Don't understand why people post on CL if they don't need to rent out the place (or maybe it's already rented. And they don't bother to take down the ad). Also, there are a lot of fake ads but it's easy to tell when the reply comes back with a long story about the owners are overseas, blah blah ....
I'm amazed you want to move here on 30K and that's for 2 people to live on. After the essentials are paid or set aside (income taxes, car insurance, health insurance, phone, gas, food, utilities), how much you figure you will have leftover for emergency saving or recreatuonal spending money?
Oil heat is thr type of fuel. Radiator heat is the method/hardware that distributes the heat. Can't compare apples and oranges. Whether the radiator or any other type will work well or not depends a number of things, mostly whether insulation is good and how leaky the windows are. If it's an old house with little upgrade, there's probably little to no insulation and single pane windows and these make the place expensive to heat. Also, upper floors are by nature warmer but you pay for that in AC when summer arrives.
When I was apt hunting a few months ago, ran into the same thing. I'd get 1 reply out of 3-4 inquries. Don't understand why people post on CL if they don't need to rent out the place (or maybe it's already rented. And they don't bother to take down the ad). Also, there are a lot of fake ads but it's easy to tell when the reply comes back with a long story about the owners are overseas, blah blah ....
I'm amazed you want to move here on 30K and that's for 2 people to live on. After the essentials are paid or set aside (income taxes, car insurance, health insurance, phone, gas, food, utilities), how much you figure you will have leftover for emergency saving or recreatuonal spending money?
I can add something to this also concerning the 30K, and maybe it will help you OP in some way. I am from Mass but I am living in Arizona this year. I am trying it out as a retirement locale, and I rented a home in surburban Phoenix. I'm doing this because Mass is just to damn expensive to retire in. With that said I am not really finding Arizona the bargain it is made out to be. So its a wash on what makes a place expensive vs another place. When everything is added up from one place to another. The housing in Arizona is dirt cheap compared to Mass and that is where it ends. The AC is running nonstop between May and Oct here. The AC bill is $300 to $400 a month for a good 5 to 6 months of the year in a small 2 bed house. That is if you keep it no cooler than 80. If there is a pool the bill is over $600. I don't have a pool. There is heat to be used at night and in the early am starting now. I don't use mine. The desert gets cold and then warms up for a few hours in the day. The water is up around $80 a month in Phoenix and thats without a pool. Car Insurance I never thought I would see this is higher in Arizona than Mass. You must drive and drive for miles on end here Phoenix is some 60 miles across. Its nothing to fill up twice a week here for gas. Your always in your car even more than Mass. You can't walk anywhere and there is no transit. The sales tax is on everything, and its up around 10% and higher in some communities. Its on clothes, on services you name it and its taxed. And its going up again I guess.
So my point is Mass is expensive but if you need to you will find a away. These low cost states like Arizona. Its really the housing that is cheaper, but when you add everything up that goes with living in them. The things I mentioned from Insurance, Utilities, Gas, Vehicle upkeep. You have to have a newer car out here or you could find yourself dead in the desert here. Distances are that great. and the heat is a killer when you don't have protection from it. I'd be terrified to break down out here much more so than Mass. Again no transit. And all these sales taxes. Added up the damn places are just as bad or worse cost wise than Mass. Other than the housing that is. Plus Mass is much more interesting and has alot more class.
So if your determined to find a way to make it in Mass, and find suitable living arrangements. You most certainly will.
Regarding responses from CL ads... you should realize that they can get hundreds of emails for any given ad they place, so if an apartment is particularly appealing, they just don't have the staff nor the time to answer every single email or phone call they get about it. It s*cks, but that's just the way it is.
Oil heat is thr type of fuel. Radiator heat is the method/hardware that distributes the heat. Can't compare apples and oranges. Whether the radiator or any other type will work well or not depends a number of things, mostly whether insulation is good and how leaky the windows are. If it's an old house with little upgrade, there's probably little to no insulation and single pane windows and these make the place expensive to heat. Also, upper floors are by nature warmer but you pay for that in AC when summer arrives.
When I was apt hunting a few months ago, ran into the same thing. I'd get 1 reply out of 3-4 inquries. Don't understand why people post on CL if they don't need to rent out the place (or maybe it's already rented. And they don't bother to take down the ad). Also, there are a lot of fake ads but it's easy to tell when the reply comes back with a long story about the owners are overseas, blah blah ....
I'm amazed you want to move here on 30K and that's for 2 people to live on. After the essentials are paid or set aside (income taxes, car insurance, health insurance, phone, gas, food, utilities), how much you figure you will have leftover for emergency saving or recreatuonal spending money?
Believe I would have rather not moved here for a $30,000 job. I didn't really have an option with my circumstances. It was either move here or live off of unemployment. I also had family in the area up here whom I could stay with until I found an apartment (I would have been out of money staying in hotels in the other area where I have no family). I am desperately trying to find a better job but I am having no luck. I have asked the family/friends if they know anyone to get me or my girlfriend a job but they always say no.
lol about the Craigs List ads. I have never had this happen to this level anywhere else. The same with newspaper listings. I have left about 5 voice mails and didn't get a single callback. I viewed 2 apartments and emailed the landlord back and said I wanted it and didn't get a response either. This is ridiculous!
Regarding responses from CL ads... you should realize that they can get hundreds of emails for any given ad they place, so if an apartment is particularly appealing, they just don't have the staff nor the time to answer every single email or phone call they get about it. It s*cks, but that's just the way it is.
This is definitely true. Renting on Craigslist is a difficult and you have to act fast when you get responses. I actually got called once by a landlord to tell me the unit was sold while I was on my way to see the place.
However, Fall River has a real surplus of rental units. Population peaked at around 120,000 and is down to just under 90,000. Many landlords are struggling to find tenants and if you're well qualified (have a job, good credit and references) you can often times negotiate your rent. A friend of mine in FR negotiated her 3 bedroom in a decent neighborhood from $750 to 500/month.
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