Loft or 1 BR housing in Boston

[mdovell]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but there's no way to get it for that budget. A friend of mine was renting on the south shore for $800 back around 2002. If you went back in time 20 to maybe 15 years.....not now. Not unless you want roommates. Even in western mass that is getting harder. I'd argue a one bedroom in springfield by now is $1300, two bedroom $1500. Loft? Good luck finding that.

You might want to clarify a bit more of what you want. Do you want an actual apartment complex with full time staff and amenities or to actually rent a room in someone's house? I ask because you said "housing" and not "apartment".

[MtPleasantDream]

Boston it not a huge city itself. I suggest you live in a suburban town.
For example, you can find a 1BR under 2k in Malden, and it has access to the subway (called "T" in Boston area).

[NearFantastica]

These comments are depressing, how on earth is Boston more expensive than Los Angeles? $2,000+ for a 1 bedroom? jesus christ

[MtPleasantDream]

Originally Posted by NearFantastica

These comments are depressing, how on earth is Boston more expensive than Los Angeles? $2,000+ for a 1 bedroom? jesus christ

It's only after NYC and SF.

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by NearFantastica

These comments are depressing, how on earth is Boston more expensive than Los Angeles? $2,000+ for a 1 bedroom? jesus christ

Students come from around the world to the Northeast in the Boston metro area to go to hire at. There isn't always enough in the way of dorms and not all students want to live in dorms so the rental market for students is pretty big. They are plenty of property management companies and other units across the state. You also have to figure that Boston has expanded with Logan Airport more flights to Asia that didn't exist in the past and flights to Europe can be found easily. Outside of Boston your next biggest city is New York City. Then you add in the medical care. Some of the top medical institutions in the country are located here so if you're looking for very specific and specialized Medical Care and this is one of the top places in the world to go to. So that attract by itself more medical students which of course need a place to live as well. Then add in the seasonal effects which created scarcity of time. We just went from 90° to about 65 in less than a day. When weather can change multiple times in a week if not a day there's a higher pace of life in order to maximize what you can do and people are willing to spend more money for that.

Yes there are other cities in the state and the region but the fact of the matter is that even with the current growth levels that they have it's still not even one-third the size of Boston.

Is there anything that could potentially lower property prices are rent in Boston? Possibly but I don't think by that much. If you got rid of the residency requirement that might help a little bit. You'd also have to begin to relocate more things remotely but that's already happened.