Newton is considered one of the (honestly many) affluent towns in the Boston metro. Very good schools, great place to raise a family, close proximity to Boston, just expensive is all.

When I lived in Beverly I could walk to Stop & Shop in a few minutes or drive there in like 2 min. I imagine proximity is the common denominator here for most Stop & Shop-ers.

Had a previous employer in 2019 ask for $450/month for health. I was a single in my 20s at the time. I laughed, went to then mass health connector, and found a plan for like $220/month.

Just one of Putin's

Ya, this was my thinking reading this post as well. It doesn't matter if your son drives himself home, OP picks him up, or Jesus himself takes the wheel. If there are drunk drivers on the road, the risk is equal regardless of whose in the driver's seat.

The T and all commuter rails are free after 8pm.

No excuse to drive drunk in the Boston metro

Iirc, the Dunkins in Waverly Square, Belmont has this too

I'm a bit surprised to see P-town so blue?

Well, seeing as how it was in the teens the past few days, I'd say you're safe

Well ya, this is true too. I didn't consider these two cities because I consider them way more in the orbit of Providence more so then Boston

"Never" is a strong word, but towns I'd likely avoid are:

Chelsea, Lynn, Mattapan/Roxbury (those two are in Boston), and Brockton

And honestly, that's about it as far as towns within an hour of Boston goes. Besides those spots, I feel like every other town just falls somewhere in the spectrum between "blue-collar but still honest towns and fine places to raise a family" (Quincy, Bridgewater, Revere) to "obscenely wealthy" (Dover, Weston, Wellesley) and a whole lot of stuff in between.

I feel like basically any town in Eastern MA that falls into your budget would be fine. Would be easier to ask which towns to perhaps avoid, that list is way smaller

Just step onto the AT out in Lee or something and post up your tent wherever you want along the trail

Imagine working tirelessly for decades to become a doctor and then just throwing it all away with the swing of a fist.

A lot of the well-to-do towns do not have it. Weston, Wellesley, Dover, places like that.

*I'm pretty sure Wellesley doesn't have trash pick up, guessing on Dover, but will yield to people who live in those towns

You're about 5-6 years too late to the snow game in MA. We're basically a desert these days

With a roommate or two, you may be able to find a bedroom for rent down in the Southcoast for maybe $800. You're gonna need a car down there too, and that won't leave much extra for living expenses. Can you get a part time job as well?

Well ya, I would definitely take Cape in the winter over death 😅. You can always hit up Bangkok Kitchen in Hyannis😋

OP be like: What's better, a gloomy, barren beach and mostly shut down for the season towns, or literal death?

Because Randolph is a shitty town, and I think their public high school doesn't even have accreditation? Although that may have just been a rumor I heard goinf to Blue Hills

The trick is to come back regularly, I recently moved to Los Angeles and am back every month or so for this or that thing 😅. Granted I wfh so it's easy to come anytime I want. Check out flights to Worcester! I don't know where in FL you are, but there's some airline (I think Jetblue?) that has dirt cheap nonstops between Worcester and FLL

Ya, I mentioned this in a comment once before in this sub, but I feel like so many people outside of New England are always super shocked when they realize exactly how expensive Boston really is. It is on the same tier as cities like NYC and LA

Second most expensive in the country I guess

Oh, for sure. I was checking out downtown rents before deciding moving to Los Angeles would be the more affordable option 😅. But Greater Boston means OP can choose something affordable like Chelsea, Lynn, Beverly, Stoughton, ect that wouldn't be as rough on the wallet

Your current ranking is accurate. Greater Boston > South Coast > Western MA

Greater Boston will give you nightlife, walkability, access to transit, most cultural spots, ect. Where you're going to take a hit is cost of living, but you should be able to find some spots that are still relatively affordable.

If you choose South Coast, your "city" is going to be Fall River/New Bedford and Providence more so then Boston.

As for "doesn't shut down by 9pm", I got some bad news for you, buckoo. The entire state of Massachusetts shuts down by 9pm unless you're just looking for a bar. You can be in downtown Boston at 10pm on a Thursday and hope you like McDonalds because every other kitchen is done for the night. This is a big part of what pushed me out of Massachusetts 😓

Nantucket is basically the only answer