4 ms·

As someone in Boston but from California, the lack of commutes comparable to the Bay Area or Silicon Valley always makes me grateful, even if there are other do

by smeyer 10y ago

As someone in Boston but from California, the lack of commutes comparable to the Bay Area or Silicon Valley always makes me grateful, even if there are other downsides. For example, I split a 2 bedroom apartment in a nice, active neighborhood a few minutes walk from downtown and about a 20 minute walk from work for about $1,200.

userchris 10y ago
You have a 2 bedroom in downtown Boston for $1200? Or do you mean $1200 each?
- smeyer 10y ago
  $1200 each. But it still seems a lot better than my friends in and near the Bay Area (and please correct me if I'm wrong).
  - abritinthebay 10y ago
    It would be in the low end in SF but I know several people paying that there. Granted it's for a 4-600 sq ft place...
    - smeyer 10y ago
      As far as I can tell, the middle here tends to correspond more to the high end there. The only friends I know paying substantially more are living in luxury highrises, whereas on the low end I have friends paying more like $600 a month to do something like a 4 way split of a 4 bedroom apartment a couple of stops out on the T.
- xeromal 10y ago
  1200 is still reasonable I'd say if it's downtown.
davexunit 10y ago
Boston is too expensive to own a house. I moved west and commute an hour by car to work.
- ghaff 10y ago
  That's one big difference from the Bay area. I also live a bit under an hour west by either car or train. Near the commuter rail, which I often used for the short period when I worked in the city. These days I work (as I also did previously) for a company on the outer 495 loop which makes for a 25-30 minute commute. It's hard to get out of the "expensive zone" as easily in the Bay area--partly because of geography and partly because it's not just SF and a number of inner suburbs that are sky-high (as is the Boston metro area out to Concord or so) but the whole of Silicon Valley. Exurban-rural town. I don't know exactly what the real estate prices are these days as I've had my place for a long time but I'm guessing $300K or so would get you a decent house.
  - davexunit 10y ago
    Nice to run into people with a similar situation. I recently moved to a place just west of 495 in Worcester county, so finding a job somewhere along 495 would reduce my commute a lot, but I like my current job so I deal with the long commute. I didn't find any houses that were to my liking in the $300k range in towns with good school districts, but once you go into the $400-500k range there is good stuff. Either way, you get so much more for your money than if you bought closer to Boston.
    - ghaff 10y ago
      When I bought I was working in Westboro. There was almost nothing tech-related in Boston/Cambridge at the time. The modern Kendall Square (much less Seaport area) is a relatively recent phenomenon. I know it's probably hard for many on this site to comprehend but relatively few of my classmates--even those who worked closer to Boston--had much interest in living in the city. I imagine you're right about real estate prices. My house is sufficiently "quirky" albeit on a nice and large plot of land that what I see on Zillow probably isn't representative (and Zillow has some details wrong anyway). I'm also not sure our schools qualify as "good" although I have no personal experience.
mox1 10y ago
You haven't lived (or driven) in Boston enough yet if you consider Boston having "a lack of commutes." It most definitely has them, you just are one of the very few lucky people who live there and can walk to work. $2400 is not getting you into a 2 bedroom in any nice / "managed" building in Boston. Thats the going rate for a 1bed in the nice high-rises. So your in a small apt complex or converted house (duplex,triplex, etc.) 1. Minimum to park a car in the city every day is $250-$300 / month. Realistically $350+ 2. Even living inside the "128" loop(so minimum500K house) , expect 45-90 minute commute (snow, rain). OR you can use the train 1. Commuter Rail passes are expensive, $250-$350 a month (add some parking money to park at the commuter rail station ($1-$5 a day). 2. Hope the train runs on time and fits into your schedule (they run on the 30 minutes or on the hour) 3. Takes the same amount of time as driving (45-90 minutes easy). Boston has many of the same problems as SF (housing, commutes), its just been that way for longer and people are used to it.
- smeyer 10y ago
  I'm plenty familiar with Boston commutes and that they can be pretty crappy, my point is mostly that things seem an order of magnitude better than in the Bay. Commutes are still bad and rents are still expensive, but my point was that examining the problems around SF makes me grateful that things aren't as bad here. On the note of a "nice/managed building", you're right that I live in a smaller setup. Having previously lived in one of the luxury high-rises, I find my current apartment and management preferable even before considering the differences in rent.

by smeyer 10y ago

userchris 10y ago

You have a 2 bedroom in downtown Boston for $1200? Or do you mean $1200 each?

smeyer 10y ago
$1200 each. But it still seems a lot better than my friends in and near the Bay Area (and please correct me if I'm wrong).
- abritinthebay 10y ago
  It would be in the low end in SF but I know several people paying that there. Granted it's for a 4-600 sq ft place...
  - smeyer 10y ago
    As far as I can tell, the middle here tends to correspond more to the high end there. The only friends I know paying substantially more are living in luxury highrises, whereas on the low end I have friends paying more like $600 a month to do something like a 4 way split of a 4 bedroom apartment a couple of stops out on the T.
xeromal 10y ago
1200 is still reasonable I'd say if it's downtown.

davexunit 10y ago

Boston is too expensive to own a house. I moved west and commute an hour by car to work.

ghaff 10y ago
That's one big difference from the Bay area. I also live a bit under an hour west by either car or train. Near the commuter rail, which I often used for the short period when I worked in the city. These days I work (as I also did previously) for a company on the outer 495 loop which makes for a 25-30 minute commute. It's hard to get out of the "expensive zone" as easily in the Bay area--partly because of geography and partly because it's not just SF and a number of inner suburbs that are sky-high (as is the Boston metro area out to Concord or so) but the whole of Silicon Valley. Exurban-rural town. I don't know exactly what the real estate prices are these days as I've had my place for a long time but I'm guessing $300K or so would get you a decent house.
- davexunit 10y ago
  Nice to run into people with a similar situation. I recently moved to a place just west of 495 in Worcester county, so finding a job somewhere along 495 would reduce my commute a lot, but I like my current job so I deal with the long commute. I didn't find any houses that were to my liking in the $300k range in towns with good school districts, but once you go into the $400-500k range there is good stuff. Either way, you get so much more for your money than if you bought closer to Boston.
  - ghaff 10y ago
    When I bought I was working in Westboro. There was almost nothing tech-related in Boston/Cambridge at the time. The modern Kendall Square (much less Seaport area) is a relatively recent phenomenon. I know it's probably hard for many on this site to comprehend but relatively few of my classmates--even those who worked closer to Boston--had much interest in living in the city. I imagine you're right about real estate prices. My house is sufficiently "quirky" albeit on a nice and large plot of land that what I see on Zillow probably isn't representative (and Zillow has some details wrong anyway). I'm also not sure our schools qualify as "good" although I have no personal experience.

mox1 10y ago

You haven't lived (or driven) in Boston enough yet if you consider Boston having "a lack of commutes." It most definitely has them, you just are one of the very few lucky people who live there and can walk to work. $2400 is not getting you into a 2 bedroom in any nice / "managed" building in Boston. Thats the going rate for a 1bed in the nice high-rises. So your in a small apt complex or converted house (duplex,triplex, etc.) 1. Minimum to park a car in the city every day is $250-$300 / month. Realistically $350+ 2. Even living inside the "128" loop(so minimum500K house) , expect 45-90 minute commute (snow, rain). OR you can use the train 1. Commuter Rail passes are expensive, $250-$350 a month (add some parking money to park at the commuter rail station ($1-$5 a day). 2. Hope the train runs on time and fits into your schedule (they run on the 30 minutes or on the hour) 3. Takes the same amount of time as driving (45-90 minutes easy). Boston has many of the same problems as SF (housing, commutes), its just been that way for longer and people are used to it.

smeyer 10y ago
I'm plenty familiar with Boston commutes and that they can be pretty crappy, my point is mostly that things seem an order of magnitude better than in the Bay. Commutes are still bad and rents are still expensive, but my point was that examining the problems around SF makes me grateful that things aren't as bad here. On the note of a "nice/managed building", you're right that I live in a smaller setup. Having previously lived in one of the luxury high-rises, I find my current apartment and management preferable even before considering the differences in rent.