How livable is Cambridge on an entry level salary?

Submitted by __radical t3_z2wqvy in CambridgeMA

I am graduating college next year and have an offer from a company in Cambridge for 85k a year. No sign on or annual bonus just that. I would move to Cambridge and ideally live in a two bedroom with a roommate or something along those lines. I was wondering what the cost of living + taxes look like in Cambridge, and if my salary is enough to maintain a decent standard of living, while also having savings for long term?

Edit: Sorry I’m not trying to generalize entry level salary across all fields and industries or humble brag. For the field that it’s in this is a very standard starting salary. If it makes anyone feel any better, I coughed up about 80k a year for undergrad. Cambridge is objectively expensive and there are a lot of great schools in the area so I figured it was worth asking what I’m getting myself into.

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dtmfadvice t1_ixim94q wrote

More than I make after 20 years in my industry.

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SpecialPosition t1_ixilhg9 wrote

Very doable, esp with roommates.

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__radical OP t1_ixinxhh wrote

Awesome, good to know. Hopefully it doesn’t sound like I’m fishing for praise, I know the starting salary is high but I had an internship this summer in a different area in Mass and 100% of the money I made went to rent, groceries, gas, etc, even though I had roommates. So I’m trying to avoid this again lol

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synthchef t1_ixiq3kh wrote

I live alone in a one bedroom on $67000

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8sGonnaBeeMay t1_ixirc7g wrote

How

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Moomoomoo1 t1_ixkf8g7 wrote

That’s probably about 45k after taxes which would be about $3700 a month, and you can get a 1BR for around 2k a month. Not easy but doable

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8sGonnaBeeMay t1_ixl7slb wrote

Where in Cambridge can you get 1 BR for 2k?? It’s at least 2400. I moved in September 1, which I know is the height of prices. But, as someone who was recently in the market, your numbers are way off.

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Fishcait23 t1_ixlvnr2 wrote

My 1 bed was $2050 (recently increased to 2150 because I went month-to-month). It’s a solid apartment close to Harvard square.

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snorlaxatives t1_ixlxhpw wrote

Moved to cambridge this Summer and our one bed is 2200 with utilities included, didn’t seem like a crazy deal based on what we saw online.

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Willd26 t1_iximqpw wrote

I make about half of what you do and am living here comfortably with roommates in a nice apartment (and close to town center).

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$85k is a great starter job for your first year and will allow room to save for the long term. Remember even though there isn't a sign on or annual bonus, the highest pay raises tend to be moving to another job and negotiating your worth. Join the position to add a year or two on your resume, and when you've felt you've gained your skills move to the next job.

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jpaeng t1_ixin5yf wrote

I highly suggest considering Somerville as well! But yeah Inman Sq and parts of Harvard Sq are definitely doable with a roommate or two at that salary

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__radical OP t1_ixk8t8i wrote

How easy is it to get from Somerville to Cambridge? I would not have a car, so ideally bus or walking are my options

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jpaeng t1_ixk99z6 wrote

Fairly easy, you could get to Cambridge from Somerville in 15-20 minutes by bus. I’ve lived in the area for about 4 years and love how bike-friendly and walkable the area is

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vomita_conejitos t1_ixksw9u wrote

It entirely depends on which part of each city. Could be as easy as walking one block or as difficult as taking 3 buses

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Right_Split_190 t1_ixm4m75 wrote

Seriously, look carefully at a street map and transit maps. Somerville and Cambridge are wide cities from northwest to southeast and are basically stacked on top of one another. Proximity really depends on location. Somerville is a great city, and you should definitely include it in your living options as long as the location works for commuting. Similarly, just being in Cambridge doesn't ensure an easy commute. Traversing east-west across Somerville and/or Cambridge is a laborious, sucky commute that I would seek to avoid, if possible.

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albertogonzalex t1_ixj4ltm wrote

85k is not entry level salary.

It's totally doable.

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Hypothian t1_ixjcz24 wrote

yeah exactly, if OP is worried 85k isnt going to be enough they must have a spending problem 🥲

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Clear_Forever_2669 t1_ixjmcqe wrote

85k is entry level salary in a few fields.

It isn't "common." It also isn't particularly rare.

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albertogonzalex t1_ixkmmjn wrote

No, making a salary that is higher than the national average annual salary is not "entry level salary." It is a high salary. A first year attorney is "entry level" but is making 200k and that's obviously not an entry level salary.

Just because the starting salary is what it is, does not make it an entry level salary.

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vomita_conejitos t1_ixkt0cd wrote

It absolutely is in some fields. Entry level top tier consulting is 100k+

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drkr731 t1_ixitkzs wrote

That is very doable with a roommate. I make more now, but when I first moved to Cambridge it was for my entry level job making about 65k with bonus and paying about 1100-1200 in rent with roommates, and it felt comfortable and manageable.

It's most recommended to spend under 30% of take home pay on rent, though realistically many pay more with the cost of living, so I'd say try to stay at around 1300 if possible. You can probably afford a bit more, but I'd advise against getting the nicest place you can and sacrificing your ability to comfortably save.

As some other people have mentioned, you usually need a good chunk of money to get an apartment - first months rent, security deposit, brokers fee etc. You can often avoid a lot of these fees by joining an existing lease with someone looking for a roommate, which is something work considering. There will be lots of new grads/ people in their early-mid 20s looking for roommates in the facebook housing groups

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grayscalecrash t1_ixiu60k wrote

I’ve lived in Cambridge for more than 10 years. 2BD room. Any salary more than $65k makes living very manageable. Roommates can help offset costs(and pad savings). Dating someone who owns a home(left to them) in The Port area helps connnsssiiierabbly.

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magnetmonopole t1_ixinp6a wrote

Definitely doable with a roommate.

You should know that you will need to have a decent amount of money saved when it comes time to move— typically people are asked to provide 3-4 months’ rent when signing a lease (first month, security deposit, broker fee, and possibly last month).

One bedroom apartments go for around $3k/month, so a two bedroom will probably be around $3.5k/month.

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SheeEttin t1_ixiu0gu wrote

The rule of thumb is to spend about a third of your gross monthly income on rent. For you that's about $2,361, which should be plenty. I would do the math with a tax calculator for net income and rough out a budget to make sure that it actually works.

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mackyoh t1_ixiuaxt wrote

You’ll get even more if you look to Arlington or Somerville. Also F YOU (jk……sorta)

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Helen___Keller t1_ixis3mm wrote

Agree with other commenters but make sure to examine what you consider “decent standard of living”

Urban living with roommates on that salary will be fine. If you start adding expectations of say living in an expensive new building, having in-unit laundry, having a car and a dedicated parking spot, etc, then it’s more questionable.

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__radical OP t1_ixl9610 wrote

Yes, this is mainly what I was wondering about. I know that it’s above average for most starting salaries but I figured its not quite enough for all of those things in Cambridge. I would consider having in unit laundry and a parking space to be pretty basic standards of living but closer to a big city its harder to do. Of course I’m fine without those things but definitely something to consider. It’s interesting because when I was applying to jobs to places further out of a city, the compensation went way up because they had to convince a 22 year old to move to tiddlyfuck Indiana. So it’s funny how cost of living goes up and wages for degree holders go down the closer into the city you get, whereas it’s vice versa for the Midwest

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Helen___Keller t1_ixm2hfx wrote

Parking spot is usually rare in cheaper housing because city space is a premium. On street parking is possible.

In unit laundry is unfortunately very rare because our housing stock is mostly 100 year old buildings that weren’t build for it, so adding in unit laundry is a big project for a unit owner.

City compensation is usually much higher. I make probably more than double than I would in the middle of nowhere. YMMV of course, especially based on industry. If you’re in tech, finance, or biotech id imagine you should end up doing much better here than the Midwest (except perhaps Chicago)

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CommissionAntique777 t1_ixkbr9k wrote

I think you maybe need to be careful when coming on message board and characterizing a salary that has taken me 10 years in the workforce to get to as “entry level” and yes, we know it’s expensive to live here.

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__radical OP t1_ixl82b7 wrote

It is a very common entry level salary for the field I’m in. On the lower end if anything. It’s my first job so I figured calling it entry level was appropriate. Sorry I was not trying to generalize, just wondering if it’s doable because I’ve had bad experiences in the Boston area in the past in terms of overpaying for rent, groceries, gas, etc and having no savings

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donspewsic t1_iximp1y wrote

Yeah you should have no problem

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ClarkFable t1_ixinr57 wrote

Rent for you would be anywhere from $1300-2000. Totally doable

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Clear_Forever_2669 t1_ixjm6ix wrote

It's not MUCH less in Somerville, but look there as well.

There are many great properties you could find and survive quite well at 85k even in Cambridge, which is higher than most surrounding areas.

Don't restrict yourself to one tiny part of Boston.

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AlwaysQueso t1_ixir042 wrote

Totally doable with roommates! Though it’s kinda depressing that salary one still needs a housemate for a comfortable living situation (meaning being able to pay the bills and still have a bit of fun and savings).

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Shigalov t1_ixjjpgs wrote

“85k a year. No sign on or annual bonus just that.“

Come on, this reeks of privilege. If you can’t learn to live off 85k in basically any city in the world straight out of college, there’s a bigger problem here…

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__radical OP t1_ixjv3d7 wrote

It’s about maintaining a normal standard of living and having enough savings for the long term. Cambridge is an expensive place to live, I just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t be using most of my paycheck on rent and groceries

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hiruki8 t1_ixlme1g wrote

Hi! I also make that amount in an entry level position. My partner and I split a 2BR that costs 2.8k a month. My bills for 2 people:

Rent: 2.8k

Groceries: ~400

Gas+electric: ~50

Transit:paid by work

Comcast: I think 50?

And I'm on a family plan for my phone so I actually don't make a phone payment. I'll tak on an extra ~200 for eating out because it's expensive here but also because it's expensive here we don't eat out that much but just to over estimate.

Water: landlord made it seem like I had to pay this and when I tried to set it up with the city, they laughed and said no no no, that's not something you have to worry about, so.. yeah 0

For me, if I pay half so probably ~$1.8kish a month. I also pay insurance and 401k contributions.

I did some math on my bank account and I'm saving >2k a month. I think you'll be fine. Of course, idk if this is a good number it's just more money than I ever thought I'd have in my life. Can't exactly buy a house here for... many many years, unless you want to have a crazy commute and then also pay insane fees to own a car.

Good luck out here. It's still crazy how expensive the market is out here but you can afford it comfortably. If you get a chance, join the number of people pushing for more affordable housing and it will help push all of the rents down, eventually.

Edit: formatting for easier reading on mobile

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Mr_Pathfinder t1_ixjas1f wrote

Oxford realty on Mass Ave usually has good prices on rent. Call the office and ask for Jeff or Jackie. I had the pleasure working with them a couple years ago got me a great place to live.

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Mysterious_Shake2894 t1_ixkhgrq wrote

Entry level? My base salary is less than that and I have 3 years of experience :(

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vt2022cam t1_ixmgfhw wrote

$85k is manageable. There some apartment that cover heat and under $2400/month.

Roommate or two and you’ll save a lot of money/pay off debt faster. Its better to have a roommate for a year or two then go out on your own.

Our City Realty in Somerville has reasonable apartments.

$85k isn’t entry level. It’s roughly the city’s AMI in one of the wealthier cities in the country. It’s just your first job after college and you’re well compensated.

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coldsnap123 t1_ixjgjtf wrote

“I want to tell people what I earn, but not be so forceful about it…”

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__radical OP t1_ixk9402 wrote

It’s on the lower range for a normal starting salary for the field, not trying to humble brag

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