Boston & Cambridge, MA

[fuzzylogician]

This is offtopic, but are you by any chance studying at MIT?

Yes, why?

[Usmivka]

Is $26,000 even remotely enough to subsist on in Boston?

Others have already answered, but sort of.

For an average scenario (niether highest nor most frugal), I'm assuming 2 people using $250/month on food and $1200/month on rent for a one bedroom in Dorchester, Mission Hill or somewhere similar near the hospitals, or the same for a studio in a slightly better block/neighborhood. Utilities will either come out separately or in higher rent, assume $200 for gas heat, electric, and internet averaged across the year since most housing is old and poorly insulated. If I assume public transit only (passes with no subsidy from your school), then 2x$70/month.

That totals $21500 for a year. Of the remaining $4500, $3500 will go to health care (required by state or pay a penalty, no dental included) for you and your partner (student+partner rate in Boston, assuming the Uni doesn't throw it in free). That leaves $1000 for clothes, one time purchases, emergencies. You could of course be more frugal in any area, and I assumed no subsidies from your school and no income from your partner, which may be incorrect. This doesn't cover state and federal taxes though, which would come to probably $4000 after deductions and credits.

So you could live, but you couldn't pay your taxes without dipping into savings, unless your partner quickly gets a job or can pay for their own food, transit, and share of rent from savings. I don't know your partner's employability, but Boston has a ton of very well educated young people fighting for local jobs across the employment spectrum, so I don't think you should count on rapid employment for him.

But this is based on your stated desire for a one bedroom or studio. If you were willing to take a room in a shared house, rent would drop to ~$600-700 a month, and you would have no trouble making ends meet and even putting a small amount aside at the end of the year. Is this doable for you?

Edited December 3, 2012 by Usmivka

[bamafan]

Yes, why?

Just curious, I took 24.900 and 24.901, and they were two of the more interesting HASS classes during my UG. How many grad students are in the program? My TA for 24.900 was straight up awesome.

[fuzzylogician]

Just curious, I took 24.900 and 24.901, and they were two of the more interesting HASS classes during my UG. How many grad students are in the program? My TA for 24.900 was straight up awesome.

Glad to hear, and I'm sure the instructors would too! We invest a lot in making the undergrad ling courses fun (yet intensive and informative, as befitting an MIT course). 24.900 in particular is difficult to TA for. I hope you left your TA a great comment on his/her teaching evaluations. Undergrads don't seem to understand just how important these comments are - they go with us for all eternity when we look for jobs and when we're up for tenure, and the good comments can make all the difference. Good grades alone aren't always enough.

There are roughly 40 grad students in the program - 8 per year.

[EdYouKateOr]

Any help on cheap housing for a family?

[PhDreams]

If you have a car you can live out in Newton, Lowell, or Medford. There are plenty of places for families if you are willing to commute a bit to HGSE.

[EdYouKateOr]

Thanks PhDreams...we have a car, but were thinking about leaving it due to all I hear about parking and having to pay to register car in Mass. Not wise???

[PhDreams]

Parking in Cambridge is pretty difficult. However, it can be done. Some people just choose to stay at Harvard housing which is very accessible to campus and negates the need of a car. Cambridge is very walkable and Boston is easily accessible by the T. Lots of families choose Harvard housing, but it is a tad more expensive. It does include all utilities, but I'm sure you can find places that are cheaper but further out. Also if you choose to live closer to campus (through harvard housing or not) you will have access to all of the free museums, etc. It's pretty nice, especially with all of the late nights you will probably spend at the library. EdLd is only 3 years so I'm sure you can find something reasonably priced that is convenient for all.

[EdYouKateOr]

Parking in Cambridge is pretty difficult. However, it can be done. Some people just choose to stay at Harvard housing which is very accessible to campus and negates the need of a car. Cambridge is very walkable and Boston is easily accessible by the T. Lots of families choose Harvard housing, but it is a tad more expensive. It does include all utilities, but I'm sure you can find places that are cheaper but further out. Also if you choose to live closer to campus (through harvard housing or not) you will have access to all of the free museums, etc. It's pretty nice, especially with all of the late nights you will probably spend at the library. EdLd is only 3 years so I'm sure you can find something reasonably priced that is convenient for all.

Thank you! This was VERY helpful! I will keep looking! (I may wait until March!!)

[PhDreams]

FYI- I think EdLds find out much sooner.

[EdYouKateOr]

FYI- I think EdLds find out much sooner.

I hope you're right!!

[Usmivka]

Quincy. You can ride the T to Harvard (~30 min). Very much a family neighborhood, but lots cheaper than Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, Brookline. I don't think Medford compares well with many neighborhoods in Boston and surroundings, but you could check it out. Some parts of Dorchester are super nice (for families) and much cheaper than the area North of the Charles, eg Savin Hill and some of the neighborhoods in Allston. Again, red line accessible. As with everything in the Boston area, visit the area (both day and night) before you sign anything. Regardless of the "overall" reputation of a neighborhood, things can change from great, to OK, to scary in a matter of a few blocks, so you want to know the lay of the land.

 

Cars are expensive in Boston/Cambridge, less so in surrounding cities and areas with free neighborhood parking. Public transit is expensive as a regular use item, and I probably pay 60% of what I would for a car using city and long haul buses, T, etc, even with commuter passes. If there are two of you using a car, the cost might not be that different.

Edited January 3, 2013 by Usmivka

[EdYouKateOr]

Quincy. You can ride the T to Harvard (~30 min). Very much a family neighborhood, but lots cheaper than Cambridge, Somerville, Newton, Brookline. I don't think Medford compares well with many neighborhoods in Boston and surroundings, but you could check it out. Some parts of Dorchester are super nice (for families) and much cheaper than the area North of the Charles, eg Savin Hill and some of the neighborhoods in Allston. Again, red line accessible. As with everything in the Boston area, visit the area (both day and night) before you sign anything. Regardless of the "overall" reputation of a neighborhood, things can change from great, to OK, to scary in a matter of a few blocks, so you want to know the lay of the land.   Cars are expensive in Boston/Cambridge, less so in surrounding cities and areas with free neighborhood parking. Public transit is expensive as a regular use item, and I probably pay 60% of what I would for a car using city and long haul buses, T, etc, even with commuter passes. If there are two of you using a car, the cost might not be that different.

Thank you!

[Stately Plump]

I'm considering applying for social work fellowships at Children's Hospital Boston, but the low stipend is really giving me pause. Is $26,000 even remotely enough to subsist on in Boston? For reference, I'd be looking to find a studio (probably) or 1br as I live with my boyfriend, who would probably experience a period of unemployment/job searching. Any insight would be great!

 

My stipend is several thousand lower than this and I manage quite well. In fact, everyone in my cohort seems to manage quite well; occasionally we even go out for drinks/dinner, though always at the expense of the reading we should be finishing.

 

EDIT to add: I live in a studio by myself. If I got a roommate I would save a ton of money, but it isn't a financial necessity at this point.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Stately Plump

[EdYouKateOr]

My stipend is several thousand lower than this and I manage quite well. In fact, everyone in my cohort seems to manage quite well; occasionally we even go out for drinks/dinner, though always at the expense of the reading we should be finishing.   EDIT to add: I live in a studio by myself. If I got a roommate I would save a ton of money, but it isn't a financial necessity at this point.

Good to know!

[jtu2tj]

Hello,

I am applying to MPhil Development studies at Cambridge, and for the application i have to list my first choice and second choice college. I was wondering if you have any advice as to which college to choose? I am most concerned with accommodation - I would like nice, comfortable accommodation with ensuite. good location would be great as well.for good location i mean closer to city centre, doesn't have to be right in the city centre, but closer than far off.

thanks!

[Reborn]

Any help on cheap housing for a family?

Try Wellington area of Medford.  Lots of apartment/condos with parking.  Easy access to the T (orange line) and buses (to Cambridge and Somerville). 

[EdYouKateOr]

Try Wellington area of Medford.  Lots of apartment/condos with parking.  Easy access to the T (orange line) and buses (to Cambridge and Somerville). 

Thank you Reborn! Will do as soon as I get my acceptance email!

[Seatbelt Blue]

How the hell do you people afford Boston? I'm doing some preliminary searching to get a feel for the city, and this is worse sticker shock than NYC, where I *already live*. I'm absolutely stunned at the prices I'm seeing. How do people studying in Boston keep off the streets?

[Usmivka]

How the hell do you people afford Boston? I'm doing some preliminary searching to get a feel for the city, and this is worse sticker shock than NYC, where I *already live*. I'm absolutely stunned at the prices I'm seeing. How do people studying in Boston keep off the streets?

1. Group housing

2. Less desirable neighborhoods and cities (eg Dorchester instead of Southie, Quincy instead if Cambridge)

3. Start a lease anytime besides September when every other student is looking and prices are highest

4. Buy instead of rent if you can make the down payment

 

~30% of the greater Boston area population are either students or involved in the universities in some sense (it's spooky in the summer...). That means a never ending supply of new renters. Add on top the housing crash a few years back and resultant credit crunch, and you have a lot of additional folks renting who might otherwise be (or still be) in places they own. Lots of demand, limited supply (not as many new buildings going up post bust), and prices go up even for the lowest quality units if they are close to the schools. Take some time to visit and decide what neighborhoods you would or wouldn't be comfortable living in, it may be that you can afford to live somewhere you are fine with but isn't at the center of the student melee. And the last time I checked, average rent in is highest in SF, and Boston and NYC are lower and usually pretty comparable, depending on who's rankings you believe and what year they were done--the point is, it shouldn't be a huge surprise that Boston seems at least as expensive, especially since NYC has rent controlled units while Boston does not.

 

Also, Boston College is not in Boston, you know this right? It is in Chesnut Hill, surrounded by Brookline and Newton, two of the most expensive cities in the area. This could be part of your sticker shock.

Edited February 7, 2013 by Usmivka

[Seatbelt Blue]

Yeah, I know BC isn't actually in Boston, but I'm sort of looking everywhere. I'm actually pretty interested in Quincy, but my fiancee doesn't want to live that far outside the city. She's a lifelong New Yorker, and neither of us are drivers, so she wants to stay near an urban center.

[Usmivka]

Quincy is 15-20 minutes by subway from downtown. It takes me longer to get home to JP, which actually is part of Boston, than to get to Quincy. It would be a horrendously long trip to BC though, the B line to BC is notorious as the slowest and least pleasant of the T lines. And if neither of you are drivers, you will either have to live close to the B (the corridor it runs along through Allston and Boylston is appropriately known as "student hell" to non-undergrads) or pony up to pay high rents close to BC. Also check out bus connections from neighborhoods you like, if you look in Watertown, Newton, or Brigham Circle there might be buses that get you there and avoid the B line.

Edited February 9, 2013 by Usmivka

[Seatbelt Blue]

I already have a 90 minute commute to work, so a long trip to school isn't exactly a problem.

[Herbie]

There are very good places in Dorchester, Seatbelt Blue. In fact, there are houses that work more like duplexes in the event that your wife and you don't want to share a space with others. I live in Jamaica Plain as well, but I know several PhD students living in Dorchester who don't experience the general "crime" ethos that people apply to it. I'm not sure where you're headed either, but Jamaica Plain is increasing pretty fast in housing costs. 

 

And if you're from NY, you know the whole issue with people talking about safety. I mean, for example, I've tended to the jamaicaplain.patch.com and there's been several killings, house raided for weaponry, it's the home of the drug lab fiasco, there was a dead body floating in the Jamaica Pond... [shrug] 

 

Brookline is a good area, but street parking (if you have a car) could be frustrating. A lot of people in my social circle live on the border of Mission Hill and Brookline: Mission Hill is also given the "slum image," so there will be a lot of cheaper spaces with adequate footage, but you're also next to one of the more flush areas in the city. 

 

Boston places charge crazy amounts of rent because students make up the majority of the population, and pay rent with loans. It's pretty annoying, actually. It's why everyone is going "across the river" to affordable Cambridge, but in due time, rent will fluctuate again and people will be "returning from that side." 

 

If you're going to be at Boston College, I honestly ... would not suggest living in the city for the sake of being in the city. Chestnut Hill has conveniences. The Green line is the worst transit line that Boston has, because it makes so many stops and is the college-student line: undergrads who insist they have money on their cards, etc. Newton is a good option. Also, if you have a dog, your options have now depleted by 60%ish, or you're either going to pay way too much for a shoebox if you want a place in the city. Jamaica Plain is a dog friendly place, Porter/Davis Square in Cambridge/Somerville are as well. Etc. 

[Seatbelt Blue]

No dog, but we do have a couple of cats.

 

Thanks very much for the tips.