Ridiculous cost of living (Boston, Brockton: real estate, apartments, rent)

[inquisitive2]

The cost of living in greater Boston is so crazy.
Cities and towns that were once affordable are now out of sight.

I don't see how the cost of living can remain the same: or continue to inflate, with stagnant wages and high costs of living expenses.


And where are all these "new" people coming from each year that our populations of our cities and towns won't level out?

What needs to happen to make living in greater Boston (Malden, Revere, Chelsea, Everett) affordable again?


What do our politicians need to do to make it happen?

[timberline742]

A recession or depression might knock costs down. I'm not sure wages have been stagnant for tech/biotech workers though.


Politicians can't do much with our structure as it is, not realistically, and certainly not quickly.


It's funny though, half the threads on this forum complain about all these people coming in, another faction goes on about how everyone is fleeing the state...

[yellowstatus]

Cost of living can definitely go up from here. There's plenty of precedent whether Manhattan, Hong Kong, or Zurich.

I can't speak for others but i'm originally from the Midwest. Moved here 5 years ago, and love Boston.

Housing is the biggest single cost. There's a whole host of policies that could be enacted. Boston could build supply of housing, or invest in public transport so more housing is available. At the more extreme, the government can impose rent control or restrict the ability of businesses to move into the city and create jobs. A major recession or depression would also improve affordability. On the whole, I strongly prefer the first option.

[yesmaybe]

The only real solution is roomates / more incomes per household.

[BosYuppie]

Wages are not stagnant. http://www.bostonplans.org/getattach...c-5eb8744733e8

[simplexsimon]

I met a young Chinese woman at a cocktail party who said she decided to go to school in Boston and stay to work because she owned real estate here and might as well live in it. I am willing to bet her financing didn't come from saving her Chinese earnings.

For better or worse, cash is flowing globally especially in major cities. One can't focus only on the local economy.

[Bridge781]

For certain jobs wages are stagnant. If you stay at the same job and just get a 3% yearly raise and have been at the same job for 10 years then that seems fairly stagnant. That’s not to say that people can’t apply for other jobs to try and get a better salary increase. There are lots of people relocating here for big paying jobs. I know plenty of people who stay here and just make it work. A lot of them get money from family as well.

Peoples financial status isn’t always obvious. Someone who has a job that doesn’t pay great might have a huge inheritance or won money in a lawsuit. I don’t see the cost of living getting lower around here. I’ve had times I wish it would but that really wouldn’t help things. I sometimes feel sorry for myself that I can’t afford a 2 million dollar home in Wellesley or an town house in beacon hill. It angers me to see the cost of housing sometimes. Run down 1600 sq foot homes with no yards in Milton. Oh well.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by inquisitive2

I don't see how the cost of living can remain the same: or continue to inflate, with stagnant wages and high costs of living expenses.

I thought cities like Boston with high COL have higher wages vs lower cost areas of the US?

[G-fused]

COL here is high for sure but is on par with some other cities. I don't think we should be hoping for a recession.

It's real estate that is high priced. And it is high priced because it is desirable.

What has to happen for the COL (real estate really) to become "affordable" is for the economy to be worse and for people to therefore not be able to afford the prices.

[mdovell]

"Nobody goes there anymore it's too crowded" Yogi Berra

Possible slowdowns

1) Traffic gets too bad that businesses leave. What's the real average commute at this point? An hour? 90 minutes ?

2) Rail further out causes development to spill further out. I'd argue it's happening in Brockton already and going to spill over to fall river and new Bedford. Eventually once connected to springfield

3) Development adds housing to everything. it's a supermarket with apartments on top, it's a movie theater with housing, it's a retail development with housing etc. Seeing a four or five story building in suburbs will not be a shock

4) Residency requirements relaxed for muni employees

5) Most towns wanting more frequent bus services, mostly for elderly..at first

6) More online classes to fight the declining enrollment

7) Redevelopment of government buildings for housing and general retail.