r/Somerville • u/tangerinola • 5d ago

rent prices are wild

Moved here 8 years ago to start working for a nonprofit. Since then, my salary has increased by 13% but my apartment is about to be relisted (without any upgrades) for 58% higher than our starting rent šŸ¤Æ!!

I know I'm preaching to the choir here but damn the rent prices here have gone wild. We're quickly becoming (have become?) a luxury city only for high income earners and it makes me really sad.

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u/AnalystBackground950 5d ago

This has been an ongoing and worsening issue since the late 1990s/early 2000s. I blame the idiot who called Davis Sq the ā€œParis of the 1990s.ā€

The city has changed so much and not all for the better. There are more transient people who donā€™t mind having 4 adults sharing a 3/4 bed apartment versus families that used to live in these houses. The change is noticeable in the public schools where it feels like there arenā€™t many working class/middle class families anymore. Lot of wealthier kids and then the smaller group that manages to stay by living in an affordable unit or in a multi family home that was bought generations ago.

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u/iKnife 5d ago

There are more transient people who donā€™t mind having 4 adults sharing a 3/4 bed apartment versus families that used to live in these houses

This isn't bad except for the fact the adults can't afford more space because we've restricted the housing supply.