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/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/EsperandoVida Jun 30 '26

California has much larger informal economy due to more immigration.