Quincy? Weymouth? Wakefield? Help, please! (Boston, Cambridge: apartments, rentals, how much)

[hancox17]

We live in Queens, 20 minutes to mid-town. We are strongly thinking of moving to the Boston area where I am from originally and are totally up in the air as to where to move.

We don't want to live in Boston. Where we live now is very commute-able to the city and also very quiet.
Our needs are:
-must have either the T or railroad (or both) to get to Boston. I don't drive so it needs to be accessible. How expensive is the railroad compared to the T? Where we are now, it's about double to take the train.
-We'll be renting an apt but don't want to live in a house. Ideally looking for about $1000/month right now. Our utilities are included where we live. What is it like there and how much should we budget for them?
-Quiet--we want to live in a place with neighborhoods, small shops, etc.
-No children but pets

We were looking at Quincy-will proably stop there next month on the way to Maine-being near the water is huge plus-and also there seems to be a lot of apartments there but now have gotten distracted by Wakefield (I know it's in the other direction) which looks beautiful, and Weymouth.

Any advice you can comparing these 3 places would be great--I need to get focused! Thanks in advance.

[holden125]

Quincy offers more options for the train, as there are several stations. You can take the Red Line from Quincy by buying a T subway pass, which is currently $59/month.

Wakefield has only the 1 train station, so you'd be limited to apartments with easy non-car access to that station. The pass from Wakefield is considerably more expensive (like $150/month) but it includes the subway and bus in Boston. The ride from Wakefield to North Station is about 25 minutes, but the trains run less frequently (especially any time other than rush hours).

There are parts of Quincy that are very attractive and others that are kind of nondescript--kind of like Queens. Quincy is definitely the more diverse of the two, with a fairly high Asian population in some parts.

Wakefield is a nice town but maybe a bit too quiet. Things close down quite early. And Quincy, except right on the main roads, would probably be at least as quiet as most of Queens. Where are you in Queens? (It would help to get a sense of how quiet is quiet enough for you).

Utilities are sometimes included but it's not that common. How much to expect depends on the size of the place, how well insulated, how warm you want to keep it, what type of heat it uses, etc. A lot of places are heated by oil and the cost fluctuates wildly as the global market for oil goes up and down. It can be pretty expensive for a couple of months in the winter, but is often cheaper the rest of the year as people find it OK to do without AC. You will unfortunately have some limitations with pets and plenty of apartments don't allow them.

I don't know much about Weymouth. I think it's pretty quiet like Wakefield, shuts down pretty early. There seem to be more houses and fewer apartments there. There is commuter rail at either end of the town. Maybe also a bus to the Red Line at a place like Quincy Adams, but I'm not sure.

[hancox17]

Thank you so much--that's a huge help. We are kind of leaning towards Qunicy just because there seem to be a lot of options. And geez, the T is cheap!! Even $150 including subway is great compared to what we pay here if we take the LIRR. Am I wrong in thinking the cost of living will generally be lower but the salaries will be too? My husband and I are managers-him building and me office and our current salaries combined are around $100k. I'm thinking it will much less there?

So what are the heating options? Gas or oil? Do you have control of your heating in apts? Here we are the mercy of the landlord which generally means we sweat to death all winter. We've never had to pay for utilities so this is all new and something we have to figure into the equation.

Do you currently live in Belmont? That's where I grew up and would love to go back there but I remember the commute being a pain--bus from Belmont Center to Harvard Square to the Red Line.

We live in Kew Gardens.

[lz1982]

So what are the heating options? Gas or oil? Do you have control of your heating in apts? Here we are the mercy of the landlord which generally means we sweat to death all winter. We've never had to pay for utilities so this is all new and something we have to figure into the equation.

If you're paying for heat, the options are gas, oil and electric. But some places here do have heat included---it's just not as common as in NY. I live in Quincy and have utilities paid by my landlord, and I saw many other apartments with the same setup.

[holden125]

Originally Posted by hancox17

Am I wrong in thinking the cost of living will generally be lower but the salaries will be too? My husband and I are managers-him building and me office and our current salaries combined are around $100k. I'm thinking it will much less there?

I guess it depends on the specific field, but I don't know if it would be that much lower. But it helps that income taxes are much lower in Mass. In Queens you pay NYS and NYC taxes, which add up to a bit over 10%. Mass. is 5.3% flat rate. So you can make less in gross income and actually come out even or ahead.

For example, and this is very rough since it's based on 1 earner and not 2, but a quick scan on paycheck city shows monthly take home pay of $5858 for a married person making 100K in NYC, but $6244 in Mass. entering the same figures. You could earn a gross income of $92.5K in Mass., which is 7.5% less, and take home the same $5858 as a person making $100K gross in NYC. And things like rent, the T, etc. are generally cheaper.

Originally Posted by hancox17

Do you currently live in Belmont? That's where I grew up and would love to go back there but I remember the commute being a pain--bus from Belmont Center to Harvard Square to the Red Line.

My job, for now, is in Manhattan, but I'm only in the office Mon-Thurs. Most Thursday evenings (like tonight) I head up to Belmont and stay until Sunday night or very early Monday. So I don't have to do the commute from Belmont. Yet. It wouldn't be as bad anyway because we're near the Cambridge line, about halfway from Belmont Center to Harvard, so the bus ride is only about 15 mins. From Belmont Ctr you have the option to take commuter rail to North Station or to Porter, but I can get to Harvard on the bus as quickly as to Belmont Ctr.

Compared to Boston and Cambridge, Belmont rentals are less expensive but they're still generally more than $1000. They're also mostly in 2- and 3-family houses, which you don't want, and because of that there are more 2 or 3 bedroom units, hence the higher cost. You have a better shot at a good deal and a one-train ride downtown in Quincy.

Originally Posted by hancox17

We live in Kew Gardens.

I like Kew Gardens. Except for right on the main drags like 3A and maybe Newport Av, if you're OK in Kew Gardens you'll be OK in Quincy. The side streets near Wollaston or N. Quincy stations kind of remind me of places like Bayside or Woodhaven in terms of density and quietness.

[hancox17]

Thank you so much for your help--exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate it.