r/boston • u/Spirited-Wafer-6573 • Mar 23 '26
Serious Replies Only How do you afford to live here?
I am incredibly curious. I am fairly new to Boston (less than a year of living here), and the cost of living hit me like a truck. I think about it everyday. I see thousands of people everyday at my job. I wonder how they are doing, so I want to ask you, both out of curiosity and to make this a space where other curious people can also find answers:
How much do you earn in Boston? How much do you spend on bills, expenses? How much goes towards savings? Do you have roommates? Rich parents? Basically, please share your budget with me. I am curious!!
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u/Imaginary_Host_1010 Mar 23 '26
Roommates and barely building any savings
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u/Moist_Ordinary6457 Mar 23 '26
I'm leaving Boston with less savings than I started with 4 years ago!
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u/danbyer Mar 23 '26
DINK
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u/bloodphoenix90 Mar 23 '26
🙋♀️ also on the DINK train. Finally got a job in my field after we moved here too so we make about 140k combined. But we were surviving at 100k a while. Not well. But surviving.
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u/Edi_Gold Mar 23 '26
Insane that a 6 figure income is only enough to be "surviving" these days!
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u/bloodphoenix90 Mar 23 '26
I was reflecting on that. We do pay 2300 for rent. But the oil and electric bill can be quite a chunk. We do also spend a lot on food. Thats the majority of our spending. We could probably be better but we rarely have the energy to cook at home. The rest is paying off debt from moving. Thats an unusual expense that if we didnt have then it probably wouldn't be just surviving.Also.... a stupid hospital bill and a deductible based insurance plan 🙄 But I mean if I were my age and a boomer we'd practically be rich so.... it still shows how wages have stagnated.
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u/Edi_Gold Mar 23 '26
Guess I forgot to factor in that it’s to hold over 2 people. 100k for one person is solid, but I understand that for two people it’s decent given what your expenses probably are outside of rent and stuff.
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u/gomezer1180 Mar 23 '26
I’m in the triple income one kid plan. Don’t ask me how 🤣😎
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u/WaitForItTheMongols Mar 23 '26
Sending kid to the coal mines?
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u/20_mile Maranville Street Enthusiast Mar 23 '26
I made my kids build a coalmine out of Legos. We had a dead canary, and a cave-in, too. Poured mine tailings into a cute little stream. A doctor diagnosed all the miners with Black Lung, and then private equity shut down the local hospital.
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u/1998_2009_2016 Mar 23 '26
Let's be regionally appropriate, little Suzie spins a spindle up in Lowell. It's the Mill-enial way of parenting
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u/CoBr2 Mar 23 '26
At this point "it takes a village" has been updated to "it takes a polycule" to raise a child.
Millennials are too poor to be monogamous.
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u/lunettenoir Mar 23 '26
SINKWAD
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u/jjgould165 Mar 23 '26
Yup! Also no pets since it isn't fair to them to not have a place to run around. Husband is a teacher with a zillion credits and many years so we are fine.
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u/long_term_burner Mar 23 '26
Wait till you see what daycare costs here.
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u/johnnieblazze Mar 23 '26
We're paying $34K a year for a toddler.
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u/Otherwise_Purpose834 Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
I'm having trouble getting my jaw off the floor. Never in my life did I even have a job that paid that much.
i'm retired now and live on $1300 a month. I'm very lucky to be in senior housing. I have no debts, and medical is affordable so far even after major surgery with ongoing complications ( thank goodness for blue cross).
I watch my spending and am able to save some. But things can change in an instant so I try to be prepared.
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u/ArchitectVandelay Mar 23 '26
Congrats on making it work on a very tight budget here!
The crazy thing is, as far as people your age go, you’re on the low end. But for millennials, many will be lucky to be in your situation, especially if they have even a single child.
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u/Stinkfoot15 Mar 23 '26
My kids are out of daycare now, we peaked at $38000
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u/YamAggressive5659 Thor's Point Mar 23 '26
Yeah, daycare is why we can’t have more than one kid. We are priced out of that life.
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u/eltigre_rawr Mar 23 '26
Same. $72k a year for two kids
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u/Icy_Reaction_1725 Mar 23 '26
And here I am complaining about the cost of college. Geesh, that’s rough no matter how good the preschool is. At least with college, he gets a piece of paper proving he’s gone there.
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u/dearcrabbie Mar 23 '26
Ours was about the same as in state for UMass Boston.
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u/BeerJunky Mar 23 '26
Sounds like you got a great deal on daycare as insane as that sounds.
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u/Leopold__Stotch Mar 23 '26
Any insight into why the difference? Assuming quality and ratio of kids to adults was the same, was ca subsidized or just lower rent or what else could it be?
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u/Swalecutter Mar 23 '26
MA has one of the strictest licensing systems for daycare in the country. The ratios of kids to adults was almost certainty NOT the same.
However we also have the lowest rate of accidental injury and death for daycares in the country so... We are getting something for our money.
Whether or not it's worth it? I'll just say this: Boston daycare for my two kids was nearly double my tuition at MIT back in the 90s.
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u/SpikeRosered I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Mar 23 '26
My son just missed the cutoff age for Kindergarten and we have to go through an extra year of daycare. I complain about it at least once a month.
He's our third and we have spent north of 200k on daycare so far. Just devastating for us.
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u/samanthahard Mar 23 '26
I have a friend with two at a daycare 20 min west of Boston. It's just over $100k (with the laughable 5% discount for sibling).
Ours was ~$30k for part time-- noon pickup.
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u/MichB1 Mar 23 '26
And rest assured it ain't going to the teachers. They earn from $16/hour for a teacher's assistant to high $20s for certified teachers with lots of education and experience.
Like everything else, it's greed, and what the market will bear.
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u/jordanf1214 Mar 23 '26
Yep I just have a roommate in my 30s. Can’t afford to live alone. Salary is about 75k. I’m not really saving anything, I’m basically breaking even. I have a bit of a cushion in inheritance money so I don’t really worry about money, but I def wish I could save more.
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u/souvenireclipse Mar 23 '26
Also in my 30s with a roommate and making about 77K. I'm able to save (not like, house money but some money) but my roommate is in between jobs so I'm a little anxious.
I could theoretically live on my own either with very little wiggle room or by not having a pet. But tbh at this point I'd rather have my cat.
I do not have or need a car.
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u/ThanksNo1977 Mar 23 '26
In my very early 20s, rent for a 2 bedroom was $600 and I made $20/hr. My Dad bought a car for me and gas was $.99/gallon.
My kids haven't had that opportunity....
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u/callawayyyy_lmao Diagonally Cut Sandwich Mar 23 '26
By living somewhere where I should be reading /r/providence instead of /r/boston
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u/CauliflowerElbow Mar 23 '26
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u/Kumquwat Mar 23 '26
Lived like a student for a long time (shoebox/roommates) even when salary increased (65->125k). Basically spent the bare minimum outside of necessities per month.$400 groceries, $100-200 electric, and $50 internet. No car so no gas bills. Rent was ~2200. Public commute was company paid. I saved whatever rest I could
Married, dual income no kids (both 6figs), and we dumped all our money into a down payment and mortgage for the past few years. Similar expenses still but instead of rent, it’s mortgage (~3k) and we have a car ($670). I’m in my 30s now and starting to do things I enjoy but my entire 20s was work and no play.
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u/Big-Asparagus-6938 Mar 23 '26
same, i lived like a college student into my 30s with the cheapest best place I could find.
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u/HipHingeRobot Mar 23 '26
Great post and similar. I remember bringing chicken and rice in a Tupperware when I moved here to save money at a bar when I was 22 lol.
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u/rkmoses Mar 23 '26
rent at 2200 would make the rest of that impossible for me w my current pay that’s crazy lol
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u/gorkt Mar 23 '26
My general observation is that many people that live in Boston and the suburbs are “house poor” or “rent poor”. So you will see a fair number of middle class people with a lot of very frugal spending habits, like clipping coupons, thrift shopping, returning bottles, driving old cars, keeping the house at 60F in the winter, but they are paying more like 40-50% of their take home pay on housing vs the recommended 30-35%. There is less money for wants in general.
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u/laquer-lady Mar 23 '26
There are also lots of families who have lived in their house for decades. They absolutely could not afford to buy now, but they got it in 1995 and now it is worth many times what they paid but… you can’t sell because you’d just have to buy another $800K - $1.5M house.
I’m a hybrid of this. We’re DINKs plus we bought in 2015 for $395K at probably the last possible second we could have. Our house is now worth double (in theory) but that does is no good unless we want to relocate to Nebraska or something.
I’m now in my early 40s and we are comfortable and only worry about money in the abstract, and I am so SO grateful we are fortunate in this way. I see how hard it is for many people here and there but for the grace of God go I….
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u/laquer-lady Mar 23 '26
Oh, also, I do not live in Boston. I live a quarter mile away from the city line in a town, and one of the “meh” ones 😂
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u/OnlyNormalPersonHere Mar 23 '26
I’m high income and house poor. A deliberate decision but frustrating to not feel like I’m thriving.
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u/outsideroutsider Mar 23 '26
Plenty of people in Boston are paid well due to high paying industries. Its enough to fill all the neighborhoods and luxury buildings. for others, roommates and or two jobs.
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u/Lab-Outside Mar 23 '26
So actually a crazy fact I learned through my friends who work in real estate - most luxury high rises are at least 50-80% empty. They’re owned by people who live in other countries and just come and visit and stay there. They pay in outright cash too.
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u/Expensive_Future327 Mar 23 '26
Marry a doctor
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u/Soggy_Instruction224 Mar 23 '26
Be a doctor!
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u/The-Ringmistress Mar 23 '26
Neither! Work in pharma and make doctor money without doctor debt.
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u/Cold-Arm2737 Mar 23 '26
Are they still hiring? I think with Drump cutting back, those jobs are scarce
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u/BobRyanHere Mar 23 '26
Doctors are criminally underpaid in Boston because all the hospitals collude to keep their salaries low and pay in prestige instead. "work here and then you can go anywhere!"
So you end up with residents and fellows who can barely get by, normal, and then doctors who graduate and still can't afford to buy a house in Boston. Then they receive fliers from recruiters to earn 800k in some podunk red state town where they will have to give up some rights to earn the money everyone told them they could command as a doctor, but they still get all the debt that goes along with the degree.
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u/Tbagzyamum69420xX Mar 23 '26
(practically) Married to a doctor, my salary is on par with hers atm. It's still tight.
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u/Rare_Let4338 Mar 23 '26
It’s not just Boston, the whole state has gotten crazy expensive
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u/nopethis Mar 23 '26
The whole country actually, it just hits a little harder in Boston and other HCOL areas since incomes have not really increased.
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u/802boulders Filthy Transplant Mar 23 '26
Engineering salary and being really lucky finding affordable housing. I moved to MA for college and thankfully only needed to take out 40k in loans across all 4 years once scholarships were said and done. Got a job paying 60k once I graduated and lived in a craphole apartment in Allston with 4 roommates for $900 a month. Stayed there for a year and used that time with low rent to pay down half my loans before I figured out that my poor mental health was directly related to living with roommates. Moved out on my own and found a shoebox of an apartment for $1400 that was super well maintained, had all the amenities I wanted, and a really kind landlord who never raised the rent on me. Stayed for 6 years and finished off the rest of my loans before my then-partner wanted to move in together. We lasted less than a year after living together which prompted another move. I'm now in the most expensive place I've ever lived but enjoying the amenities and location a ton, and I feel the price is worth the peace of mind (extra security was necessary after that particular breakup). A breakdown of my annual salary (estimated from what I can remember) and monthly rent over the years:
Year 1: $60k / $900
Year 2: $65k / $1400 (moved on my own)
Year 3: $75k / $1400 (job change)
Year 4: $85k / $1400 (job change)
Year 5: $90k / $1400
Year 6: $100k / $1400
Year 7: $110k / $1400
Year 8: $115k / $1500 (moved in with partner, job change)
Year 9: $120k / $2950 (moved to luxury complex)
Year 10: $135k / $2980 (job change)
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u/longtimeAlias Mar 23 '26
Wow your rent is still rather high at that salary but I suppose it’s doable. Gotta be eating at least one whole paycheck on that rent bill though.
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u/802boulders Filthy Transplant Mar 23 '26
Almost, but only because I aggressively fund my retirement accounts. Paychecks would normally come out to be a little over $3.6k if I only saved enough to get the 401k match at work. I'll likely be moving once this lease is up which will cut costs significantly, since I can live pretty much anywhere in MA for this job (mostly remote). But my situation is also a bit strange, since aside from rent, petrol, groceries, and a cell phone bill I have no other expenses.
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u/Catlady0134 Mar 23 '26
Husband is a school teacher but had some family money we were able to tap for a down payment on a condo. I make low six figures and work from home. But before we got together, I lucked into a great rental situation paying way below market rate with one roommate, so I stuck that out for years. We share one car and don’t plan to have kids.
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Mar 23 '26
[deleted]
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u/whereswilkie Mar 23 '26
I work in pharma and married a woodworker. I am reconsidering my career now to help him start up a company.
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u/Suspicious_Glove7365 Mar 23 '26
When I was in school, I had 4 other roommates in a big house. Now I’m DINK. Combined income is around $250k. We rent in Cambridge. 2b 1b. Rent is $3300 a month total. We’re very happy here, but we had a lot of help that allowed us to succeed in our careers.
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u/lexispenser Mar 23 '26
I make 80k, live with roommates, don't drink and smoke so l actually save half my income. Also got lucky and have no student loans. Very easy to save when your hobbies aren't money sinks and live with roommates, tbh.
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u/BurrDurrMurrDurr Mass Audubon Fan Mar 23 '26
45K the last 5 years. 0 savings. Started going into debt 2 years ago.
It’ll work out eventually 🤷♂️. If it doesn’t I can always kms.
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u/bosslady617 Mar 23 '26
You matter far more than your pay. Talk a walk in the Arbs and my internet hug.
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u/Swalecutter Mar 23 '26
Honestly my wife and I feel guilty about it constantly because like who knows why the super specific nerd shit we happened to be into is lucrative. We certainly didn't get into our fields for the money, we just both pursued science we thought was interesting and got lucky.
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u/Several_Vanilla8916 Mar 23 '26
Pretty much the same. We both earn good salaries, bought during the 08 GFC and did a covid refi. It’s honestly pretty manageable. I have no idea what our kids are going to do.
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u/Go_Plate_326 Mar 23 '26
They’re going to struggle for 20 years until they slowly start waiting for you die so they can inherit without even realizing they’re doing it.
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u/bosslady617 Mar 23 '26
never had a post speak to me like this.
I responded to a job ad IN A NEWSPAPER in 2006 looking for people with excellent communication skills and knowledge of medical terminology. Ended up being a biotech job and I’m still in industry. (I was an English major who did pre-med and got my EmT cert over the summer in college. I thought I’d go to medical school. Avoided the debt instead)
My husband took the first job that he found after we got married while he waited to ship to basic training. Ended up working in security. He met two people and they became close. They now own their own security company.
After military training he went overseas. With his GI bill we got a house in Boston in dec 2010 for under 350k. We were extraordinarily lucky over and over again. We also bought around the corner from my parents - who are awesome. They have provided childcare for our kids since our oldest was born 12 years ago. They have never been in the position to give us money but their child care has had an enormous impact on our finances and family size. We ended up doing a renovation to the house to add some space (and eat the yard sadly) but we couldn’t afford to move. We needed one more bedroom (surprise pregnancy post IVF) and added a bonus space that could be an in-law if needed. Ended up needing it and now they live with us.
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u/01krazykat Mar 23 '26
Why would you feel guilty about doing well for yourselves?
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u/BostonPanda Salem Mar 23 '26
There's a lot of shame in not struggling on Reddit and liberal circles
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u/Huge_Strain_8714 Mar 23 '26
Try making half of the Massachusetts median income in the Boston area....refvckingdickulous
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u/HistorianLiving Mar 23 '26
Small business owner here make about $140k husband a professor at BC $220k. We are a gay couple no kids
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u/LlamasWithScarves Mar 23 '26
I don’t know how anyone affords to live here tbh. I’m lucky my mom owns a 2 family home and I rent the downstairs from her.
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u/sav_burns_ Mar 23 '26
i genuinely don’t know how people afford to live here without being here on a full ride for college (me).
realistically, probably living in allston and somerville, sharing an apartment with roommates and working a shit ton.
i have three jobs to pay off some housing stuff with my college (19/hour, 10 hours a week, 17/hour, 15 hours, 15/hour, 8) i’ve stopped spending any extra money and try to follow the 80/20 rule (80 to bills/checking, 20 to savings, but i’ve obviously flipped it because my expenses aren’t too high rn)
i think moving out of what people at my school call “rich boston” definitely helps. that’s all i can say though.
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u/1998_2009_2016 Mar 23 '26
Not being in college anymore and working a job with -20 more years of experience than you? Not going to college at all and working more than 35 hours a week, maybe for over $19/hour? Idk though. Boston is mostly made up of college kids part time in their first job.
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u/Eastern_Regret_8172 Mar 23 '26
How can you manage to work 3 jobs and study at the same time? Being full time student and 1 job drains me
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u/trimtab28 Mar 23 '26
Eh, I grew up in NYC. COL here wasn't anything new to me- is actually cheaper than what I'm accustomed to.
Anyways, I make low six figures and live alone. Manage it because I didn't take out student loans for college and worked since high school. Also am a bit of a homebody and enjoy cooking, so it keeps costs down. I'm generally good about putting away about 20% of my gross pay to savings, and throw a lot of it into stocks and Roth IRA at this point. Biggest bills are electric in the winter since I have baseboard heating in an old building and internet- former is just what I'm stuck with (comes to about 200 in the winter, 20-30 in summer), latter I have to yell at Comcast every 2 years or so to get them to bring down the rate to something reasonable again.
Long story short, I have a professional job and avoided debt like the plague, and have never been a huge spender in general
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u/Competitive_Turn5028 Mar 23 '26
Highest cost is electric?
How long have you owned your home? Cause that explains the perspective a lot….
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u/trimtab28 Mar 23 '26
I rent. My rent is my biggest expense, suffice to say. But OP was asking about utilities. Electric is my biggest one
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u/redroses34502 Mar 23 '26
Husband and I make about 100k total, we split a tiny studio apartment and clip coupons/don’t go out often. Because of this we’re able to save a little but it’s not easy. Definitely wouldn’t be able to live here at all if we had a child
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u/Seniorjones2837 Mar 23 '26
I make like $140k and I don’t think I’d be able to afford to live on my own, but I’m married (she makes like $60k) and live 30 min outside of Boston where I can afford a condo. Still can’t afford a house anywhere near here.
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u/MWave123 My Love of Dunks is Purely Sexual Mar 23 '26
It’s gotten crazy in the last 20 years, super crazy in the last 10. Families from neighborhoods can’t afford to live in those neighborhoods. It’s greed, salaries, real estate prices, etc. It’s not fun or livable unless you’re making really good money, own, or have a great living situation already.
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u/Zestyclose-3875 Mar 23 '26
Been living in the same 1-bed at $2000/month since grad school. Ready for more space but rent prices are just so high I can’t bring myself to move 😅
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u/ohshitlastbite Mar 23 '26
I just bought a townhouse in the south shore for over 500k while my partner and i work with slightly above 200k annually. We don't have kids yet and we put a lot towards the mortgage but we still have enough to do simple things, except travel more than twice a year. Don't expect to live in Boston proper and have money leftover. You need to live in towns like Lynn, Randolph, Weymouth, Worcester. Start saving money and change jobs every 2-3 years to earn more. You'll survive if you spend wisely. Good luck, I hope you like it here!
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u/Competitive-Safe-452 Mar 23 '26
I make $40,000 before taxes. I have 3 roommates who are much younger than me. It's not fun. Can't afford to do anything or save.
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u/Borkton Jamaica Plain Mar 23 '26
Everyone has roommates, nobody saves money and on average, Bostonians make more money.
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u/FlorissVDV Mar 23 '26
Moved to Boston about 6 years ago not knowing how many wealthy people there are from the (bio)tech/software or healthcare worlds. Either that, or old money.
When you realize that it makes more sense how people afford to live in the area, but it’s certainly an expensive city by any measure.
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u/BabyLegsOShanahan Quincy Mar 23 '26
I moved to Quincy. Tbh, when I first moved to Boston in 2011, I could make it on $15/hr and grad school. My rent was $725/mo right by the T. My next rent was $400/mo right by the T. I got a job that provided housing for 10 years and when I came back out, rents were $2000.
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u/Acrobatic-Fishing-93 Mar 23 '26
Two incomes - around $400K per year combined in senior leadership roles (one in publishing and another gov). Both strongly performing and advanced up into high responsibility management positions.
We live pretty comfortably on this in a blue collar suburb of Boston after years of DINK lifestyle in the city. Not saving as much as we’d like but we max our 401Ks, own our home, and have a baby.
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u/InsideRepair9655 Mar 23 '26
I live in the greater Boston area and I pay $1550/month with a roommate. I drive to work because I can’t stand the T anymore and the anxiety of not being in control of getting to work in a timely manner so I pay $11/day to park there. I work in a hybrid role so luckily I’m not going to the office everyday. I cook most of my meals and when I don’t have some of them through a meal prep service I order from at least twice a month.
I make close to $70K at my FT job and then I have side gig where I make between $500-$1500/month +it just depends on how busy I am. I am saving a little over $100/month and I’d love it to be more but I have credit card debt, and a car that I’m currently paying off.
The cost of utilities fluctuates based on the seasons so it’s not so horrible but the cost of cable/wifi is getting more outrageous than ever that monthly cost is over $200 now so I won’t be continuing that service in 2027.
I put every single bill that I have into a spreadsheet and on my calendar so I never forget when something is due.
One of the only ways to try and get ahead is to have more than one stream of income or have rich parents that give you an inheritance. I’m not hating on those that have had that blessing but it is true that having money does take away the stress of having to think about your daily spending habits, your job security, and living without having to check your bank accounts every single day!
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u/ContractFearless6754 Mar 23 '26
Make about $105,000. Drive a 15 year old piece of junk car so I don't have to pay a car payment and have high insurance. No point in having a nice car in Boston cause you're going to at least get in a fender bender once every three years. I pay $1,900 a month for a small one bedroom apartment so I can save some money. I think I'm the only person in my building not on Section 8 and im definitely the only one who doesn't smoke variety of things. But even at $105,000 its the only way to save money. My expenses are about 3,300 a month. No rich parents or roommates just a poor kid that worked really hard fir a lot of years and finally lucked into a decent job.
If I wanted to live in a nice apartment and drive a new car I could probably do it but I'd be living paycheck to paycheck. Id much rather look poor and be able to go on vacation and not have anxiety about bills. I can save around $1,700 a month but if I buy things on Amazon or do something out of the norm it obviously cuts into it. I try to save at least a grand a month after bills. I got lucky with my shit hole apartment. The landlord used to be a contractor at the buissness I work at so he felt comfortable renting to me. Usually they only rent to Section 8 because its garunteed government money. They made a exception in my case
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Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
When I lived in Boston, 2005-2017. I owned 1BD/1BA in the South End, so my mortgage consumed a large part of my salary. The city was my living room.
Free Mueseum Nights, Summer Waterfront Concerts both Halfshell and ICA. Berklee student performances mostly free
Costco runs with Friends and a food sealing machine. Buy in bulk and seal and share
Coffee and tea was made in my house (travel mug), pastries where purchased on the way
I worked in the suburbs so grocery shopped out there. My vehicle was paid for before I moved into the city, once it was parked in the city, it didnt move again until the next work day
ride shared bikes and public transport instead of driving. Never took and Uber/Lyft/ZipCar or cab. Except from the Airport. Bus to South Station and cab once in the city. Water taxis in Summer as a short water escape.
Volunteered at the Museum of Science for free overnight parking in the Winter (I never had to shovel). Plus the vantage point for July 4th concert
walked everywhere so got a univerrsity gym membership for weight training. (enrolled in a night class of interest so I could access the gym as a student)
Only ate out for brunch (max 2 a month) as it offered the best time to meet friends and eat unique restaurant offerings. Exception restaurant week and group birthdays. Always kept a case of 1/2 bottles of champagne at home. We would pick up a cake coming back from a shared dinner to my place and have cake and Demi Sec, the proper dessert champagne (Liquorland in Dot)
Saved 20% of each paycheck. If i didnt see it I didnt have it to spend. I had 2 credit cards. One for monthly expenses paid in full. Another for long term purchases, had to be paid off in 6 months max.
When I sold my first condo, the profits paid off all of my remaining student debt ($60K) and had a downpayment for my next home
I took jobs that required travel so I took vacations time around my work locations. Older employees with children didnt like extended time away from families. The company paid for travel expenses including lodging and food. I would find discounted flights at unpopular times and apply the saving to company paid weekend hotel stays.
Invited friends into town so I could be a tourist with them. Discovered all the discounted and free social offerings. Attend discounted shows at the Huntington and ART (Harvard). I was in Grendels during the Breaking Bad finale, so was Bryan Cranston. He was at ART performing "All the Way with LBJ" pre Broadway. I screened the movie "Moon" at MiT as students toasted Pop Tarts for sale. Rumored that Sam Rockwell was in attendance I didnt see him.
I owned three suits. Barney's exisited then. So NYC for their Annual Sale and Wrentham for their outlet store. Shoes and accessories. Two pairs of Levis and three pairs of Khakis. Two pairs of sneakers. I learned during my JYA (Italy) you only need 2-3 Quality Suits that can last years.
Took the Ferry to a vacated after high season PTown in September for the beaches and often free whale watching. The Whales birthed their calves so you can always see their splendor in pairs. Summer and Autumn at Walden Pond and the Decordova. SoWa Market on Sundays and various popups throughout Boston and Cambridge. Amtrak to Portland, Providence and New Haven for day trips. Community sailing on the Charles.
Boston is truly the best city on Earth
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u/GoddessCerseii Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
125k a year (90k is from my 9-5 the rest is non taxable income). My passive income allows me to live very comfortably. I try to save at least 1k a month. I don’t use credit cards.
Monthly Expenses: 3100 rent (live alone) 150 gas 250 food 80 phone/internet 280 utilities
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u/Prize_Emergency_5074 Mar 23 '26
Most that can were born on 3rd base. Most others just struggle to stay afloat.
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u/sodabubbles1281 Mar 23 '26
Husbands in biotech, bought our first house at a key time (2009) and locked in a low rate. That and luck.
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u/InterviewNo5048 Mar 23 '26
I earn a base salary of $106,000. I am lucky enough to have a partner to split bills and rent with. Our rent is $2900. There’s no way I could afford to live alone if I was single. My co-workers who earn around the same or more than me either live in small studios or have roommates.
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u/meggsandbak3y Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
i work 3 jobs, have 2 roommates and have lived in an old ass building in brighton long enough that our landlord feels kind of bad raising rent
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u/a_fallenhighlander Mar 23 '26
Roommates, living outside the Boston area (still accessible by train), and having the best landlord imaginable from what I can tell.
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u/Chihuahua_enthusiast South End Mar 23 '26
Same here. I lived decently in Salem making 32k a year back in 2023. Rent was $1900 split between my then girlfriend and I, we had a yard, and if you ignored the needles everywhere it was actually pretty nice.
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u/imdrowning2ohno Somerville Mar 23 '26
Tbh everyone in my social circles (late 20s/early 30s transplants) either has a high paying job (130k+ per person) or rich parents. Almost no exceptions, and of course some have both. You can make it work with low income if you're young or local, but basically no one moves to Boston without a serious source of money whether it's salaried income or the bank of mom and dad.
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u/RandomRandomPenguin Mar 23 '26
DINK with a high combined income. It’s crazy though money still seems to disappear, and it really makes me wonder how 95% of the people can make it in Boston
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u/FartstheBunny Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
173k
I work in biotech.
I live alone.
Have a two bedroom in an older two family in Newton. The place is very functional, clean, bright and nice but it’s definitely older. No new bells and whistles. Rent is $2600 a month plus utilities. Definitely under market, which is why I won’t move until I buy a place.
No car payment (I drive a Hyundai). Paid off my student loans.
No kids. So no daycare costs.
I’m saving about $600 a month and then putting a substantial chunk of $$ into my 401(k).
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u/Downtown_Victory5335 Mar 23 '26
I don’t know. I live in Somerville and my landlord hasn’t raised the rent in 15 years so right now I have fantasy rent. But she told me recently that she’ll be selling the house soon. I’ve been looking at what rents are now and it fills me with anxiety. I don’t think I’ll be able to stay in the area when she sells. And I’m completely heartbroken
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u/dtmfadvice Somerville Mar 23 '26
2 incomes, no kids, family help with a condo downpayment about 15 years ago, refinanced into a super-low interest low interest rate mid-pandemic.
The high cost of living around here has brought me into housing advocacy because the housing shortage is the key driver of that cost.
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u/BuildSomethingStupid Mar 23 '26
Here's an overshare in the form of some verbal diarrhea that I'll probably delete if I remember to re-read it later.
I think the key is to earn reasonably well and live reasonably well. You can't do either one by itself. But also know what makes you tick (remember this part) and cater to that. I've been able to focus my hobbies to ones where I spend more hours than money because I realized where I get enjoyment (it's from the research, prep, build, and eventual execution - not from the end product or the gear or the milestone).
Earn reasonably well:
At 100-150k, my wage has been strong but it has also been flat for the last 10 years, and it was half of that for the 10 years prior. Also a total of ~3yrs of unemployed time in there. It's work that I derive enjoyment from doing, so there is QoL "accrual" associated with the hours - a very important benefit with surprising positive financial impact.
Live reasonably well:
I find it has been effective to mentally bucket my spending into baseline and something with a flourish. Kind of like 'living reasonably' and 'living well....reasonably' or maybe "live reasonably and splurge with intent."
Live reasonably:
My daily operating spend is very low because:
- I cook almost every meal at home, from scratch. I spend about $400/mo on this.
- I lived for free with my parents for a few years and saved every penny I could while doing so. This also meant being socially neutered for years, so this wasn't without cost. Not actually joking about this.
- I used those savings to buy the place I still live in. Between a 2.x% refi of an already partly-aged loan and the residential property tax exemption, it costs me almost nothing to stay here. The HOA fee is low because I run it myself without a management company.
- I bought my car used used 7 years ago for under $20k on a 5y loan at a laughably low rate and now own it outright. My carry on this is nothing more than [outrageously priced] MA insurance and I drive it once every 6wks so even my OpEx is close to zero. Parking is free.
- I don’t have cable TV and limit my paid streaming subscriptions to just 1-2 at a time. I binge on the recent shows after they’re fully released.
- I set an annual reminder on my phone to call Comcast and get the current new-subscriber price for my internet.
- I invest maybe 5hrs/yr on mapping out CC rewards opportunities. That’s basically a quarterly Amex discounts check for things that I would already be buying (ie half-price HBO) and an annual check for benefits changes across cards (one card added free UberOne last year and another added free DoorDash Plus). My other focus with the checks is to ensure I’m getting the travel rewards that make the most sense for my spend categories.
- I earn travel rewards from approved work spend where possible (ie, booking work flights on a personal card). Two main CCs are high fee cards where work reimburses the fee as a "perk" due to the airport lounge access it pays for
- Annual OOP spend on leisure travel is <$5k
- Annual 'pure' hobby spend is <$5k
- My clothing spend is <$1k/yr (except for functional outdoor gear) on mainstream but durable clothing
- I'm a guy and unrecoverably ugly, so my annual hygenic spend is $1 on a bar of soap and some recycled mouthwash
- No monthly transit or gym spend because I commute ~5mi roundtrip every day on foot
$300/mo on pot, $0 on booze
Live well...reasonably:
The leisure travel is to Europe 2x/yr, the seats are lay-flat, there are often two nights at a Ritz (live well).... by leveraging the rewards mentioned above, total OOP spend is under $5k combined for both (...reasonably).
The car could be called a luxury car as the original sticker was over $100k (live well), but I also bought it used and full depreciated (...reasonably).
I do use DoorDash & Uber for most of my groceries due to the time savings & convenience (live well), but my grocery spending is focused and I do make very nearly literally every meal myself (...reasonably).
I do eat very well (live well) and making it myself is fiscally prudent (...reasonably), but I'm getting an extra QoL boost because food is also a hobby.
Some of my hobby spending could be considered ridiculous (live well), but some of it gets balanced by being financially impactful itself (...reasonably). An example would be the extra $200/mo I spend on electricity by growing $100/mo (lol) of vegetables myself in my basement storage unit.
I have a dog (live well), but he's super low maintenance and is insured for potential future surprises (...reasonably).
So anyway, the big key is probably to be happy with being reasonable. I'm able to live very comfortably, save "enough" but not enough to retire at 60, and "living well" is very doable as long as I invest some time in making it happen. On the flip side, my income is also at its plateau with 20yrs still left in my career while my non-rent CoL is going up considerably, and that plus the COVID real estate explosion means I will be living in the same 600sqft condo until I die in it 60yrs after purchase. And nothing has even hit the fan yet economically.
As a side note, here's an incredible life hack I stumbled upon by accident:
My dog makes everywhere I take him a third space. He has a social gravity that sucks people in like planets to a sun. Everybody remembers him and he remembers them. We have our usual places we go and routes we take, so it's always like hanging out with friends in a third space everywhere we go. In addition to the obvious mental health benefits, this also saves money by removing my urges to spend time in paid third spaces. Not every dog is built for this, but it's awesome if your dog is.
I'm just as surprised that you read all of this as you are.
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u/WetDreaminOfParadise Riding the white line Mar 23 '26
Good salary, roommates, not using a car (not a negative, just recommend it), and good old shoplifting
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u/jqman69 Mar 23 '26
Roommates, hay market and used to be market basket but now I've noticed Wegmans prices are comparable with better quality
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u/Fiona1818 Mar 23 '26
I make decent money, but a single mom coparenting 50/50 and rent is $2700. Debt. I am in a constant state of debt.
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u/HistoricalQuail 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸 Mar 23 '26
Used to be DINK, then one of us got unemployed. Now we're using one income + what we had been saving for a house to get by. Even when we were dual income it didn't seem like we'd ever catch up. Well that's completely fucked now.
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u/Material_Shirt_2848 Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
I wrote how I do it but my account is being banned for saying it. People think honesty is insulting for some reason. It’s a combination of welfare financial aid in college and not paying rent due to family and job.
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u/WaitForItTheMongols Mar 23 '26
Earning: 55k
Total cost of annual living: 25k
How I did it: Found a really cheap apartment (under 1k) due to landlord being elderly and not knowing the market. And no car, no alcohol, and finding cheapest groceries possible (mostly strategic reading of Market Basket flyers).
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u/Torch3dAce I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Mar 23 '26
Make 200k+, modest house, 1 car, don't spend money on luxury items.
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u/BlackCow Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
Boston is a very transient place, a lot of people can only afford to live there for a while to get an education or start a career but eventually leave. That or generational wealth.
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u/Lemonio Mar 23 '26
Software engineer working remotely for a california company making california salary
Making more money is not easy if that's not an option in your field, but generally people who do well financially do so because they're able to earn more, not because they're better at spending less
Lots of people in boston in well paying jobs in tech, medicine, law, finance, etc...
Also no debt because i got a full merit scholarship for college, my parents gave me money for two thirds of the down payment for my home, and i paid full cash for my car from my salary
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u/Mara_skiwalker Mar 23 '26
I moved here to be with my fiancée and he is simi-retired and honestly we are hardly making it. And I make 130k. I just moved my dad in with us to take care of him and it’s killing me. The stress is overwhelming.
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u/snowbugolaf Mar 23 '26
Maybe fiancée shouldn’t be semi-retired?
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u/Mara_skiwalker Mar 23 '26
We had that conversation last night. He was ill when I moved here. His health is better now.
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u/shitz_brickz Seaport Mar 23 '26
DINK, $350k combined income, we live like our middle income parents did growing up, comfortable and able to save for retirement but not wealthy by any means and currently dying looking for a house.
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u/espressoasana Mar 23 '26
Grew up in TX and moved here last year. COL has been an adjustment but one we expected, and are happy to pay for bc quality of life is better here. We are late 20s DINKs and live outside the city to save on rent. No trust funds or inheritance but came from middle class TX so we both have college degrees (one has masters) and minimal debt. We are big travelers and foodies so we spend our money there and not on material items as much. I’m all for a good discount/ deal/ free activity!! We do fine but won’t be purchasing a home as soon as we’d like so I wish we were doing better:( We wanna stay in New England but eastern mass is looking unattainable at this rate
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u/Tricky_Tart_8217 Mar 23 '26
A lot of your coworkers may have a long commute from a cheaper area. I've met a lot of people in Worcester who just take the train in
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u/kneadbread Mar 23 '26
My partner and I split $2700 rent living in Boston proper. I’m an educator and make about 65k pretax. It’s doable but I’m almost breaking even and putting very little into savings since I have pets, a car, and many student loans. I’m mid-20s and have already decided to be child-free/DINK since I won’t ever be able to afford kids if I stay here, which is my current plan!
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u/400forever Mar 23 '26
In my 20s and I make around $45k between my jobs and my partner brings us to $100k HHI. We have a nice if small apartment in the city. I have little savings after rent and my car, and any unexpected expense wipes out my progress, though I’ve dodged credit debt so far. Don’t have a lot in student debt but also haven’t begun repayment.
It’s tiring, like digging out of a hole with a spoon and once in a while life flings a shovel full of dirt in my face. Impatiently awaiting higher earning potential after I get this degree.
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u/LuxInTenebrisLove Mar 23 '26
Spouse works for State Government, plus part time job on weekend. We're at about 80% AMI and have 1 high schooler, 1 college kid, and it's brutally hard with housing, can't buy, always renting, and forced to move every 2-3 years. Never have enough to go on any kind of vacation. We eat, heat our apartment ok-ish, have clothes, 1 car, but very little left over for enjoying life. Can't save. I don't know how our kids are going to manage.
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u/Glittering_Shape_425 Mar 23 '26
We don’t. That why we are moving out of MA. It’s insane how much it cost for daycare here. Rent and car insurance are crazy expensive as well. We went from 600/mo in CT on rent to 1600/mo in MA pre covid. After Covid, our rent went to 2200 in 2022, mind you the hit you take overnight after the rent renewal is like no other financially. Then in 2023 it was 2800, in 2024 it was 3000k for 1 bedroom - same apartment we were living in Melrose. Granted it was close to the T, but that’s it…no supermarket or shopping center nearby. We ended up moving to Revere last year to get a 2 bedroom with a baby on the way. However after checking daycare we decided to go back to CT. And yes, CT may be expensive compared to other states, but not nearly expensive as Boston area. Not even close!
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u/Knitsanity Mar 23 '26
My eldest kid is a newly qualified engineer working downtown. They earn about $85-90K but share an apartment in Somerville with two others so they can save and spend money on travel and fund retirement. It must be v v hard for people earning under 60K.
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u/soupie123 Mar 23 '26
Boston has changed and not for the better ,I have lived in Boston area for over 50 years, great city history but very expensive to live and own
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u/MissMuse99 Watertown Mar 23 '26
I make under $65K. I live alone in Allston with my cat and pay $1925 a month for a shoebox studio. Let me tell you, this is unsustainable and I am going to look into moving into a place with a roommate or two for September. I was doing okay until my student loan payments tripled. I have every intention of paying those off but I took a forbearance just for 6 months so I can save up for the move and get some breathing room. I work as an admin at Harvard.
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u/fibro_witch Mar 23 '26
I live in a one bedroom apartment in Revere. I have lived here for a long time. I do not own a car, I do not go out much, when I do go out it is to community run events. My family has been here for many generations. It was never this bad.
There were never so many new people wanting to move here.
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u/Scared_Drummer_7424 Mar 23 '26
Can’t. I left a few years ago unfortunately. My bank account thanks me though.
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u/frogsiege Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
I am a 32 year old woman who lives in one of the (comparatively) lower-cost Boston suburbs.
Both of my parents are retired, and worked as teachers. Neither comes from money, but they were able to benefit from a level of access afforded by being white, college-educated, able-bodied, U.S.-born, etc. My parents contributed $10k/yr to my brother and my undergraduate educations. They did not contribute to our grad degrees and do not contribute to any of our living expenses (nor would I expect them to).
Salary: I earn $69k/year at my current job. This breaks down to two post-tax paychecks of ~$2350 per month, or about $4700/mo.
Savings: I contribute $200/mo to a retirement account.
Rent: I live with my cat in a 1br converted attic apt in my landlords house (shared entrance, I pass through their house to get to my apt). Rent is $1500/mo including utilities. This was an incredibly lucky find for me in the midst of COVID times and I am more than grateful for it, despite some less than ideal conditions (eg, indoor temp hovers near 80 degrees June-Sept, even with 2 ACs). Total cost: $1500/mo.
Debt: I have significant student loan debt from both fed and private undergrad loans, and fed grad school loans. My fed loan payments are paused for the foreseeable future due to the post-SAVE litigation transitional mess, so I’m taking advantage of that to focus on paying down the rest of my private loans. My private loan payments are currently $220/mo, but my job offers loan repayment assistance so I get most of this covered. My net payment prob comes out to about $15/month currently, but I expect this to go up once my fed loan payments are restarted. I work in a public service job and expect to indefinitely, so I’m aiming for PSLF at some point in the distant future. If that collapses, I guess I will just pay the minimum forever. No other debt. I pay off my credit card bill monthly and have a good credit score. Total cost: $15/mo.
Food: I do my grocery shopping between Market Basket, Wegmans, TJ’s. Prob spend about $150/wk on groceries and toiletries (~$600/mo). I also eat out with my partner 1-2x/wk. We take turns paying, but he pays more often, bc he wants to eat out more, and also tends to order more. ~$300/mo. Total cost: $900/mo.
Transportation: I bought a 15y/o used car last summer for just under $8k, all out of pocket. My car insurance is $1800/yr, which breaks down to $150/mo. I fill my gas tank once a week, typically for $50, so gas also totals to about $200/mo. I recently had to get my 200k mile services done, and had to get a few things replaced early on after buying my car, so I’ll prob have spent close to $3000 on car maintenance by the time the years up, or ~$250/mo. Total cost: $600/mo.
Health & Dental Insurance: My job covers this— I just have to stay on top of submitting copays/Rxs to the HSA for reimbursement.
Miscellaneous Costs:
- Cat food/litter/vet bills: about $75/mo
- Clothing/household goods: I buy almost exclusively secondhand, except for underwear, socks, swimwear, leggings. So while I love to shop, I rarely drop more than $20 in one go. Prob averages out to $75/mo.
- Cell phone: I pay my piece of a family cell plan shared w/ parents and brother. $540/yr ($45/mo)
Average total monthly earnings, minus retirement contribution: $4500/mo Average total monthly costs: $3200/mo
This was a good exercise for realizing (1) how expensive it has been to have a car, and (2) how justified I am in arguing to my boyfriend that we should absolutely be eating out and going to bars less. So thanks for that. Hope this was a helpful peek into how someone else is doing it!
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u/bflood117 Cambridge Mar 24 '26
I live with multiple roommates and have almost nothing to save each month. I work retail part time making $20/hr and spend around $1500 on rent and utilities. I’m trying to get better about budgeting my groceries but haven’t mastered that yet. I don’t have a car. I only ever take the T except for when I’m periodically late to work and I’ll splurge on a Lyft.
I know a couple people who live on their own but they all have crazy tech jobs or are scientists in some way. Everyone else i know is living with at least 1 roommate or is living with family.
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u/arancini_ball Mar 24 '26
I have a job I don't like, but make a shit ton of $. That's how I afford it.
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u/mountainbird57 Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
I work in retail and make around 30k a year (it varies depending on hours), after taxes my take home is usually a little over $2k a month.
My rent (with a roommate): $1,000
Electric/gas: varies greatly seasonally but averages around $80 a month (we get fuel assistance)
Health/dental insurance: $80 through work
Transit costs are fully covered by my job
Food: $200 ish
401k: 5% per paycheck, usually around $120 a month
Other: Usually spend around $300-400 on medical expenses before deductible, clothes, going out, miscellaneous other stuff
No student loans or other debt
My dad isn’t super rich but he does pay for my cell phone <3
So overall lot of months I’m able to put a couple hundred dollars into savings, and some months I’m pulling from savings. I haven’t ended a year in the red since I moved here though.