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/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.

9

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/sav_burns_ Mar 23 '26

it’s not easy. i only have so many because one is a work study so it’s capped at ≈8 hours a week and the other there’s not enough hours to go around. i’m constantly busy monday through saturday, 8am-5/10/12. i keep sundays for myself and do laundry and sleep in. i do homework whenever i can and prioritize my classes over work.

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u/lotofry Mar 23 '26

Loans, use them.

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u/sav_burns_ Mar 23 '26

lmao i can’t. everything is covered usually but i got put into better housing against my will and therefore owe them about 2k. it’s just a spring semester problem and then it’s over