You don’t have to live in Lexington, which is one of the top school district here. Median home sale price is $1.3m in December. Nearby Burlington and Woburn are much cheaper and extremely livable.

Aside from housing, other stuff are not much more expensive. Cars maybe due to local demand and the freaking weather. Freaking waitlist to get a Toyota/Honda at mrsp here.

Food no idea. The southernmost city I’ve lived in is Columbus OH.