Do salaries compensate for the higher cost of living? (Boston: apartment, rent)

[EconHusky]

I have recently moved to the Boston area, making less than 40k gross. This is above other entry level positions in my field, but I'm also paying my life away on rent. Staying away from Roxbury/Downtown/Dorchester areas, the cost of living solely based on rent seems crazy- but maybe that's just the expected perspective of a new grad in this economy. I pay to park my car but don't use it much, so I save on maintenance and gas (as it finally goes down in price!) so there is that to consider.

Compared to places in the southeast, west, or even just Rhode Island- is the cost of living balanced out by higher salaries?

For those who have both commuted by car and train/bus, how much is saved by living in the city? I'm thinking oil changes, gas, depreciation, etc.

I know everyone has different priorities and opinions, but that's what I'm looking for!

Thanks ahead of time!


(If anyone is curious, if I had to live out of Boston it would be in RI, FL, or the west coast)

[G-fused]

Have you considered room mates?

[bostonguy1960]

The Rhode Island economy has been awful, I believe, for years. Check their board.

Aren't wages in FL notoriously low in many sectors?..although rents are cheaper than here.

You've chosen an area with good jobs and monied students in a city highly coveted by many, so you may have to accept the imbalance here.

[kingeorge]

If you are getting great career boost by having starter, poor paying job in MA, this sacrifice in quality of living, is possibly worth it, long term. But, if you came to MA to be in perpetually arrested development mode, without any shot at comfortable adult type of existence, it is not worth it, and only fool thinks that enduring it, is a badge of honor.

There are plenty other places that are vibrant, with good pay, and reasonable RE, and most likely better weather as well. Why suffer in MA, if there are no clear, and attainable goals ahead of you here?

Most people are actually not paid as well considering COL, harsh winters, poor infrastructure, old homes always needing TLC, etc.. Pick you poison if you decide to stick around, it does go with this territory. But if you are young, and have other decent options.... It is really up to you , as cliche as it sounds.

[Parsec]

Have you considered selling your car and getting a zipcar membership instead? That's what most yuppies do when they move to Boston and commute by train/bus.

[timberline742]

Zip car
Roommates

[scoobydew]

Originally Posted by EconHusky

Compared to places in the southeast, west, or even just Rhode Island- is the cost of living balanced out by higher salaries?

Generally, I would say yes. the market usually adjusts for this. But it's more dependent on the industry/sector in which you work. There's also a different life you're getting around Boston than you'll get in Orlando. It depends on what you want. But wages do seem to be higher, overall, because it would be impossible to recruit people otherwise.

Originally Posted by EconHusky

For those who have both commuted by car and train/bus, how much is saved by living in the city? I'm thinking oil changes, gas, depreciation, etc.

I know everyone has different priorities and opinions, but that's what I'm looking for!

That depends on how far you commute. People commute from Providence, on the commuter rail. You can save a ton doing this and Providence is a really nice, down to earth, New England city. The tradeoff is you spend more time getting back and forth to work. You can also live in places like Woburn and get a 1BR for a grand, and drive in. That means driving and parking. There are tradeoffs to everything. It depends on what's important to you.

[Whatsnext75]

cost of living aside I just feel like I haven't been having much fun lately With this weather. I work full time, get home and am tired and don't feel like venturing out in the cold again. The roads are awful, the train is awful. It just feels like this has become a very crowded place. I constantly feel like theres too many people here. I enjoy being in my office but getting there and leaving there has become a nightmare. I've had it with the city and am looking forward to moving to a quieter suburb in a few yrs. Until Then I Have To Make The Best Of it.

To answer the question I know people who plan to leave the state in a few yrs to buy a nicer house at a cheaper price. they say the salaries in other places aren't too much cheaper than here depending on the field.

[Dm84]

The car is a money pit, especially if you don't use it much.

Do salaries compensate for the higher cost of living? Yes, but only a little bit.

RI is not cheap. Cheaper than Boston maybe but not cheap. Commuting into Boston from RI every day would kill any savings on housing.

[MidwestRedux]

For people working in most fields, the higher than national average wages don't even come close to offsetting the extremely high cost of living.

There are some people that work in medical, technology and a few other sectors that have jobs that don't exist in many other places and if they do exist elsewhere, they pay a lot less than they do in Boston. It is definitely worth it for people working or aspiring to work in these fields to pay the higher costs.

If you don't work in one of those fields than you have to decide if you are gaining enough by living in the area to make up for what your not getting because of the cost. Are you ok renting a place with roommates instead of getting your own apartment and eventually buying a house? Do you mind taking public transportation instead of having your own car? These are the kinds of decisions that need to be made if you aren't a doctor, lawyer, hedge fund manager and/or your last name isn't Lowell or Cabot.

This isn't a problem that's unique to Boston. New York, LA, D.C. SFO etc have the same issue. They are desirable places that have created a lot of wealth over the years and attract wealth from all over the world. They are also places where people do scrounge and scrimp just to be able to live there.

The net effect is that these places are really expensive and most wage earners are going to have much less purchasing power than they would in the rest of the country.

As others have stated, the other places you mentioned may have similar problems. Rhode Island is almost as expensive as Mass. but with a worse economy. Florida is a lot less expensive, but doesn't exactly have an abundance of good paying jobs. The desirable areas of the west are going to be really expensive too.