UltravioletClearance

UltravioletClearance t1_jadsk21 wrote

Average rent is more like $2K for a studio or 1br, not $3K. You're probably just looking at big apartment complexes. A majority of Boston's housing stock is made up of 3 unit buildings called triple deckers, which you'll find on Facebook, Craigslist etc. Anything new will ask for luxury prices.

That being said, passion exploitation and trust fund kids are a very real thing in the museum / nonprofit space. A lot of places pay poverty wages on the belief that you're doing what you love and should be "honored" to work for such a prestigious institution. And for every struggling college grad who asks for a survivable wage, there's three more trust fund kids who will gladly take that minimum wage entry level job and ask mommy and daddy for help with rent.

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UltravioletClearance t1_jaa8cqi wrote

Time in the market beats timing the market. If you really have your heart set on Boston and can afford to buy now, you should just go outside the metro area until you can find something you can afford and buy. Build up that equity, then if the situation improves in Boston, cash out the equity and buy in Boston. If not, stay where you are.

If you're ready to buy now and keep waiting, you're going to lose in the end with inflation eating away at that down payment.

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UltravioletClearance t1_j9fxwv6 wrote

I've been considering buying in Northampton or Easthampton but I'm really nervous about the long term prospect of remote work. I work in tech and did just switch jobs to remote with occasional (once or twice a month) sites in Boston. I do wonder if it will last though. Like at Future companies.

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UltravioletClearance t1_j9fwewt wrote

Putting down a huge down payment (like close to 50 percent) is the only way buying a $600k+ home on $110k household income makes any mathematical sense. A lot of people who do this tap into family weath or an inheritance for the down payment.

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UltravioletClearance t1_j9fwds4 wrote

>Most regular households earning $100k with kids have a shitty commute and live at least 40 minutes away by car.

What's wild is they end up paying a second mortgage on a soul crushing 4+ hour commute instead. I calculated the cost at commuting into Boston from 50 miles outside the city at around $2,000 a month.

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UltravioletClearance t1_j9fbf2n wrote

You should tell your bosses they need to pay more. On that salary your prospective employee will only qualify for an $1,100 apartment. Good luck finding that anywhere near Waltham! Even a room with multiple roommates goes for more than that these days.

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UltravioletClearance t1_j9f3sol wrote

>Same thing at home, if someone breaks in and threatens you you’re supposed to get out if you can, if you’re cornered and have no other option then you can stab them in the face with a soldering iron.

Most of what you said is correct except this part. The inside of your home is the only place you don't have a duty to retreat before using force against an attacker.

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UltravioletClearance t1_j7xvmh6 wrote

I don't think there's any single commuter rail train that is 2.25 hours. What commuter rail station are you looking at? The stations in the "Fall River area" aren't open yet.

The closest station near there is Middleboro/Lakeville. Assuming worst case- that station to Forest Hills, is 1.5 hours.

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