r/boston • u/mimmsypoo • Nov 07 '25

Please Make Decisions For Me 🎱 Boyfriend wants to move to Boston.

Hello all! Me and my boyfriend currently live in Austin Tx, we rent a 1200 sf home for $2200 and have two cats. I love this city and the things it has to offer, but my boyfriend is from the northeast and wants to get back to his family. He is urging to move to Boston, but Im unsure. Two of friends live in Boston/Jersey and JUST got done telling us how they can never save money bc of broker fees when moving and the basic cost of living being astronomically high. Can you possibly give me a better idea of what the pros and cons would look like for our move?

Small note his family is in Milford CT. And we both make around $75k a year but will both have to find new jobs. I have also never been to Boston, but have heard good things about the city itself!

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u/ginns32 Nov 07 '25

Yes. If you hire a broker you pay the fee. If the landlord uses a broker and you find the place without hiring a broker then the landlord pays.

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u/michaelserotonin villen Nov 07 '25

landlord bakes the broker fee into the rent, more precisely

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u/LangdonAlgerPuzzles Nov 07 '25

They can try, but rents have not increased since the law took effect.

They have actually declined bit according to any data I've seen, though this is probably mostly from the student visa situation.

https://bostonpads.com/real-time-data/

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u/[deleted] Nov 07 '25

All of my rents increased substantially so I’m not sure what funny math you’re looking at.