why Massachusetts (Boston) is one of the worst places to live (Worcester: school, university)

[goyguy]

Dilligaf?

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by Shizim

based on just COL, you would also hate NYC, SD, SF, LA, and DC.

It's not just SD/SF/LA in California that is expensive, it's 75% of the whole state! The entire coast is expensive. Most of the middle is expensive. Even undesirable parts of California - Bakersfield, Fresno, etc - are quite expensive. You can buy a few houses in Lawrence or Lowell or Worcester for the price of one house in Bakersfield (at least ones that aren't meth labs). And in Mass, sure you've got expensive oil heat, but it's not hot. Bakersfield has 2300 cooling degree days a year - i.e. annually, you'd have to use the AC to remove 2300 degrees of heat from your house to be comfortable. In Worcester, that total is 370...

For comparison sake: Bakersfield has another 2200 heating degree days. Worcester has almost 7000!
At least produce is cheap in central CA.

Then there is Hawaii...

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by lol-its-good4U

I'll take your word for it.

In my limited search the Accounting jobs aren't plentiful (from what I see or lack of listed in my expertise) nor pay well enough in my view. Trying to find a potential relocation medium these days.

The unemployment rate isn't bad, though. Looks slightly better than Mass.

Unemployment Rates for States

[AtkinsonDan]

I agree that not just Massachusetts but all of southern New England sucks now.

It is only a matter of time before southern New England is fully subsumed into New York City culture and turned into the hell that is the mid-Atlantic. That is why I "escaped" to New Hampshire. New Hampshire and Maine will survive a little longer than the rest of New England. Don't get me wrong though, New Hampshire and Maine will eventually lose the highly valued New England culture too but they should outlast me.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by AtkinsonDan

I agree that not just Massachusetts but all of southern New England sucks now.

It is only a matter of time before southern New England is fully subsumed into New York City culture and turned into the hell that is the mid-Atlantic. That is why I "escaped" to New Hampshire. New Hampshire and Maine will survive a little longer than the rest of New England. Don't get me wrong though, New Hampshire and Maine will eventually lose the highly valued New England culture too but they should outlast me.

Sorry, but I would have to agree. Much of S NH and ME is almost "lost" now.

[bohemka]

This is such an uplifting thread.

[unknown00]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

I submit that if you think that Massachusetts is one of the worst places to live you haven't really looked at a lot of other places.

Massachusetts is expensive. That's definitely a mark against it. Salaries are higher than most places, which helps. There are places in the country that are more expensive relative to their salaries, but not many. Housing is particularly expensive and generally old and often just a little bit run down. The roads can be hard to follow and in disrepair. The people can be rude and aggressive and even the nicer ones can be cold at first (where at first can be decades).

It does have some finer points, however. The public transit is better than most cities in the country. The traffic, while crazy, isn't nearly as soul-crushing as somewhere like Atlanta, DC, LA, or Houston. There are four real seasons, including glorious springs, mostly bearable summers, crisp autumns, and winters that only last three months (most years). There's a host of cultural institutions in excess of what a state this size should reasonably have. Large parts of Massachusetts are walkable and almost every town has some bit of history waiting to be discovered. The state is incredibly safe, with relatively low crime (murder rate is ~1.8 / 100000 vs. somewhere like Texas where it's 4.4 or Louisiana where it's 10.8).

i would have to disagree that salaries are higher

the finer points are very true. the T is great, one of the best in the country. the seasons are definitely real as well. i never had an issue with crime while i was there. still doesn't change any issues with cost...

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by unknown00

i would have to disagree that salaries are higher

Well then you would be wrong.

Highest-income metropolitan statistical areas in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1 San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose, California CMSA 7,239,362 $63,024
2 New York–Northern New Jersey–Long Island, New York–New Jersey–Connecticut–Pennsylvania CMSA 21,199,865 $57,799
3 Washington–Baltimore, District of Columbia–Maryland–Virginia–West Virginia CMSA 7,608,070 $57,291
4 Anchorage, Alaska MSA 260,283 $56,787
5 Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota–Wisconsin CMSA 3,615,902 $54,304
6 Boston–Worcester–Lawrence, Massachusetts–New Hampshire–Maine–Connecticut CMSA 5,819,101 $52,792
7 Hartford, Connecticut MSA 1,183,110 $52,188
8 Atlanta, Georgia MSA 4,112,198 $51,948
9 Honolulu, Hawaii MSA 876,156 $51,914
10 Rochester, Minnesota MSA 124,277 $51,316

Or if you prefer average income

Highest-Paid Cities by Average Income

1. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City CA Metropolitan Div $63,792
2. New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Divi $62,759
3. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont $62,625
4. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara $62,182
5. Oakland-Fremont-Hayward CA Metropolitan Divi $61,792
6. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-N $61,637
7. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Divi $61,162
8. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan $60,887
9. Trenton-Ewing $60,421

Now maybe your salary isn't higher here, but that's just a good indication that you are much better off leaving.

[bohemka]

There are so many factors behind those "average" figures that they don't really mean much, though. The only relevant figures for salary would be an apples-to-apples comparison — the salaries for advertising account execs through the different markets, for example.

The numbers may be higher or lower, but they also have to be plugged into a cost/reward scenario for them to mean anything. I do really think Boston metro is one of the worst regions on paper when you crunch the numbers. Even if you make 25% more than if you held the same position elsewhere, should you really be happy about that when your housing expenses are 100% more?

Based on the average of $62,182 mentioned above, and applying the standard tax rate for a single person with no dependents, and then applying the 25%-of-income-toward-housing-expense rule, that puts you at a budget of under $1,000/month for housing, which in Boston gets you a roommate.

But even this is meaningless, as only the individual can decide what's worth it for them. New England as a region offers so much that many people are willing to pay a premium, and comparing salaries and housing costs is just the tip of the iceberg of the evaluation.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by unknown00

entire state. i live pretty much in the city by Boston, but most of my friends lived out of the city, out to the point they were closer to another state than downtown. cost of living is still ridiculously high

Highly desirable places are expensive. SF was pricier, why? Also super desirable.