Housing is going to be the single biggest cost increase. Do you want to live IN boston or suburbs or rural town? We'd need to know that to really comment. The price difference would be quite large between boston and say ashburnham.

A combined income of ~200k will be more than enough to live in a very comfortable apartment in Lexington, meet your savings goals, with probably enough left over to have a healthy entertainment budget as well.

The median income in many of Bostons western suburbs is high compared to the north or south shores. You’ll still be able to live very comfortably with what you say you’re making.

>Do you want to live IN boston or suburbs or rural town?

I'm fine with either, to be honest. I wouldn't mind renting 'rural' at first and then moving towards the city after the first lease runs out. My only requirement is close enough to Lexington to commute a couple times a week. I don't know the geography/traffic well enough to know how far that would allow me to move away.

I spent a few years living in Birmingham. Cost of living here is staggeringly higher. Even for a (by Alabama standards) small condo, you're looking at $2000—$3000 month all-in (and that's assuming you can put a reasonable amount down). You'd probably need to look at $175–200K to match that $115K in AL.

As for quality of life, the BBQ up here is terrible, but just about everything else is better.

According to Nerdwallet, you will need $208,166 in Boston dollars to make the equivalent of $115,000.

Cost of living is going to be highly variable based on the area. Your mortgage is $900, which in most cases less than the cost of a bedroom in a shared apartment with roommates. And an average studio apartment in Boston is around $2,100 right now.

Lexington will be cheaper, since it's about 15 miles out. But be prepared for sticker shock and significantly reduced space. Expect $2,000-$2,500 for a 1 bedroom in that area.

Everything will be more expensive. Food, car insurance, utilities, etc. Remember that we have winter here - so you'll need to purchase winter gear as well.

I would recommend living and working on the same side of the Charles River. My top recommendation for you would be Medford. It's very safe, has a walkable town center with plenty to do and great food. You can reasonably own a car (I recommend only having one car between you and your partner) - and the drive to Lexington is less than a half hour. There is an Orange Line T-Station to get you in and out of Boston proper for fun & games without having to deal with parking.

If you want something more urban & exciting, Somerville is great - particularly Davis Square. Some great nightlife, music & arts, hipster bars & restaurants, and Red Line access to get you into Cambridge & Boston for additional fun. Plus, only about a half-hour to Lexington by car.

If these places are too expensive and subway access isn't important to you, then look at Lexington itself, Belmont, or Waltham. Go West of Lexington for more rural.

Do you know whether the job is inside or outside 128/95? Hanscom is outside but most of the town is inside.

Waltham is an obvious choice. Somerville might work, but I’m not that familiar with the reverse commute it would take. Burlington may or may not be out of your desired price range. Many people do commute to Hanscom from Billerica. I’m not sure about Woburn or Acton, though people hate the Concord Rotary (with good reason) and that’s how most Acton traffic goes. It’s not a horrible commute, just that the rotary is stressful, annoying, and often backed up.

Just so you know, Lexington, Bedford, Concord, and Carlisle are all fine suburbs, but they’re at the expensive end.

To be clear, you’re currently making $115K, and your girlfriend in the ballpark of $70K?

Seriously. OP makes $110k in Alabama with a $900 mortgage. Rent alone is gonna be $2500. Move in ready house 600-800k+ and still be a downgrade.

OP should be looking at $200+ for equal (but better schools)

You should be fine with that. Lexington is a super nice town but there isn't a lot to do there. If you had kids I would say go Lexington all the way, but Waltham is right down the road and has a lot more to do better restaurants etc. Moody street is super fun.

>As for quality of life, the BBQ up here is terrible, but just about everything else is better.

Why did this kill me lmao

Thanks for the info!

>OP should be looking at $200+ for equal (but better schools)

Thanks. That's kinda what I was suspecting. ~ 60-70% 'raise' to be equal.

Property tax alone in Lexington is $900 a month.

>, Lexington, Bedford, Concord, and Carlisle are all fine suburbs, but they’re at the expensive end.

Yeah using lexington median income as an indicator of what you shoudl be making compared to alabama might not exactly be fair.

> Just so you know, Lexington, Bedford, Concord, and Carlisle are all fine suburbs, but they’re at the expensive end.

Thank you.

> Do you know whether the job is inside or outside 128/95? Hanscom is outside but most of the town is inside.

No, I don't know for sure. I do know it's likely near Hanscom AFB based on the kind of job.

I won't do a 5 commuting day a week job again, but once or twice a week I don't mind some of a commute.

Look into Watertown near the new assembly complex

Thank you so much for all of that wonderful info, I appreciate it. That 200k number keeps popping up so that may be my new target.

Yes. We make almost exactly $200k combined in Alabama.

I don't think "lunch" is gonna be what tips the scales

dont forget heating costs. coming from alabama youre probably going to crank up the heat during the winter and you will be paying quite a bit for that

Nor do I, but it helps get a feel for the day-to-day cost of living.

Maybe Malden would be a good option for you , close to Boston with some transit but you can still dodge all the traffic and 30min to Lexington. A lot of nice condos out there.

You’d be fine with that income in this area, and I assume that any offer would be noticeably more than that. So I’d suggest asking again, but giving the type of career and how many years experience in the career. You should be putting more emphasis on what’s a fair salary than on how much you need to get by.

Do be aware that much of the housing stock is older, and hence smaller than what you might be used to. Pay attention to what parking is like, since you can’t assume there will be dedicated parking for two cars. Also, dogs can be an issue for renting.

Since you asked about lunch, I’ll throw in that I get takeout from a small vegetarian fast-casual chain called Clover, and their sandwiches and platters start around $11-13. But they change their menu regularly to match locally available produce, and it’s generally healthier food than you’d get at most sandwich shops. I don’t honestly know what prices are like at McDs or Subway these days.

Day to day cost of living will be more expensive here but the cost of housing will be by far the biggest difference. TBH I can definitely get a reasonably nice lunch around here for the price you listed if we’re talking take out. Sit down would be a bit more expensive than that though.

Others are correct that depending on how big of an apartment/house you want your mortgage here would be more like $2,000-$3,000 per month as opposed to $900.

>Since you asked about lunch, I’ll throw in that I get takeout from a small vegetarian fast-casual chain called Clover, and their sandwiches and platters start around $11-13.

Thank you. The concept of a vegetarian chain is absolutely unheard of where e I'm from. We've got enough fried chicken to kill...well kill a human pretty quickly from heart disease.

If you’re going to be near Lexington expect rent prices to be $2k-$3k plus depending on size/bedrooms/updates etc.

Don’t know what you’re debt situation is like with monthly repayments but I think between the two of you for a half decent apartment, being able to afford “nice” lunches, and meet other monthly payments you guys both combined need to bring in a min of $200k and even then you might feel like you’re living pay check to pay check if you have other costly expenses.

Just wait til you get your first gas/electric heat bill.

honestly just look up the address of your prospective job and zoom out a bit on google maps and start clicking on restaurants in the area. look at their menus to get an idea of what a “nice” lunch would cost you at those places (theres quite a range depending on how much food you consider filling or if we’re talking takeout vs sit-down)

No worries. Good luck!

If you don't mind being out of town and more rural just keep driving out Route 2 and housing gets less expensive. See esp. places like Gardner (an hour from Lex.) and Ayer/Groton. How about a 14 room country estate from 1780? Only $1.1m! https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/518-Farmers-Row-Groton-MA-01450/57066974_zpid/

It's probably kind of a wash since you no longer the have "running the AC during Alabama summers" cost.

Get ready for pro sports my man. The Boston College Eagles are the biggest D1 football program and let’s just say that…they’re different than you’re used to. And did you say $900 mortgage?? That’s you and each of your 3 roommates’ portions, right?

I'm from Birmingham and now live in Western Mass. I can confirm this. Also a sad lack of authentic Mexican food, but there are hidden gems occasionally.

Invest in blankets and sweaters.

For a couple it kind of goes like this around here:

$50K - hope you like rice and beans

$75K - you're stable. . . ish

$100K - you have some breathing room but don't get careless

$150K - you're comfortable enough and can even afford some luxuries (like off-street parking and an in-unit washer/dryer. . . luxuries!)

$200K+ - you don't really need to worry about much but you might not be saving as much as you'd assume you should be given your income

So yeah, for you two the main impact isn't going to be on your quality of living so much as how much you'll be able to save.

Also note that if you plan on having a kid anytime soon, $2000/month for a private childcare is pretty common. MA has the highest childcare costs in the country because we have strict regulations about the caregiver:child ratio and square footage:child ratio. These aren't bad things in and of themselves -- it means you don't get cramped, small daycares crammed with too many kids -- but it does drive up the cost per kid.

Summer AC use in New England is no joke - and electricity rates won't be going down next summer either.

Alabama's standard rate is ~$0.13/kWh (source), & they have time of use plans which ISO-NE doesn't allow so the OP may be paying even less. The best you'll find in MA is around $0.20/kWh. And if they wind up with gas or oil heat...yikes. Usage may well be a wash, but the total bill won't.

>The Boston College Eagles are the biggest D1 football program and let’s just say that…they’re different than you’re used to

I thought you were implying that Boston College was a competitive team for a second and I couldn't process it. haha I'm, surprisingly, not a big college football fan. I won't name names but I am pretty big fans of certain sports teams near Boston so that's cool.

>And did you say $900 mortgage?? That’s you and each of your 3 roommates’ portions, right?

Ha! It's really $860, but I didn't want to come across SUPER poor. ;)

Thanks for that income breakdown, I'd kind of like to go car-free but I'm not sold on that idea either. I'm gathering we're probably going to want to have about 250k or so of combined income.

> Also a sad lack of authentic Mexican food

This is the worst news of the entire thread. This is a staple of my current diet.

Lexington, Lincoln, Weston, Concord, Carlisle, Bedford are all very expensive, mainly single-family house communities. Nice to visit— lots of open space, beautiful country roads—but no need to live in any of those. Burlington, just across Rte 3 from Bedford, is much less rarified and has apartments. Similarly, Wilmington, Billerica and Woburn. Waltham, south of Lex, has apartments too and a bigger, more walkable center than any of those other towns. Closer to/in Boston you pay for the access and walkability which you don’t need for the job, but might be worth it for other reasons.

Thank you. I'll take a look!

If you’re in your early 30s and don’t plan on having kids (or even not having kids right now), I wouldn’t live directly in Lexington. It’s extremely expensive and unless you are moving for the school district, isn’t worth it. If you want more amenities/city life, I’d consider Waltham. You can live comfortably there and have train access to Boston proper and have a ton of bars/restaurants/other people without kids to keep yourself busy. The commute to Lexington from there would not be bad.

There are sites that have COL calculators. They are possible guides.

According to this calculator, $100K in Birmingham, AL is equal to $191,000 in Boston, MA.

I'd say you're pretty much looking at $25-30K of extra cost of living, most of that being housing. So even with "only" $225K (lol) you wouldn't notice a huge change in your standard of living.

The car-free thing depends on where exactly you want to live. You really need to live in the core areas (most of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and specific neighborhoods of Brookline, Revere, Newton, and Malden) for it to be feasible.

One option is going "car light" and signing up for Zipcar or one of those services. Then you can rent a car in your neighborhood at an hourly or daily rate whenever you need one, without having to deal with the hassle of parking, mechanics, etc.

I grew up here and didn't even have A/C until I was like 25 years old. I maybe use it 20 days a year (mostly at night) when it's really brutal in July/August.

Does it even matter? Any opportunity to move out of Alabama is good enough IMO!

As a Mexican myself yup, I second this.

The BBQ is horrible but they’re right, most everything else is great.

As a pasty assed Bostonian, I third this

You can’t go car-free in Lexington, but if you can walk/bike to work you can get by with one car.

Yeah, because you live in Western Mass. There is plenty of good authentic Mexican food in the city proper and around it (Revere etc).

Oh for sure. Sorry I wasn’t trying to imply there aren’t good spots. It’s just not on every street corner the way it is in Birmingham.

$110k with $900??????

The cost of living in or around Lexington might give you a small heart attack :) Lexington, Concord,, Andover, Arlington, Cambridge. Wayland...all pricey... but really nice places to live.

Maybe Waltham.

200,000+

I recommend Taqueria Mexico! There's one tucked away just outside Waltham Center

As a Texan, I fourth this

we have good mexican, run by mexicans and goods bbq run by geniuses. we just don’t post it or talk about it because we like to eat there unencumbered. source: former manager at a mexican restaurant where ex mexican presidents dine when they visit boston and former bartender at a bbq place where we don’t talk about it. bostonians rarely talk about things they truly love. we don’t ruin our places.

Come to Revere, it’s incredible

We do sacrifice tasty, low and slow cooked meats for things like elections with minimal voting suppression.

Just wanted to compliment the nuance in the question. It was a better form of a common question and thus got better responses.

Along with vastly superior public education and healthcare systems, public transit that will at least occasionally get you from where you are to where you want to go, and all four seasons (instead of almost summer, summer, still summer, and mud).

There is actually an amazing BBQ place in Lexington! blue Ribbon.

But otherwise, yes you’re gonna need over $200k to live comparably in Lexington area. $115k w/ a $900 mortgage seemingly means you are living somewhat well off in AL. $115k is Lexington means you can’t buy a single house in that town.

Otherwise, MA is an amazing place to live. Compared to AL schools you’ll be giving your kids a gift by having them attend MA schools compared to AL.

Also, Lexington voter 70% in favor of Biden. Not that Biden is anything great, but it is great that there is very little to no MAGA. That is reason alone to get out of AL.

I didn't realize I had posted in r/gatekeeping! Thanks for the info.

>Does it even matter?

Yes!

I'm really pleased with all of the responses! All but one or two were very helpful, and I attribute those to being, well... reddit. lol

you didn’t. it’s okay to learn something different without using trigger words. take the time to know a city before criticizing their cuisine without knowing such.

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.

Blue ribbon is in Arlington, isn't it?

Actually yes, good catch. But maybe only a mile or less from the line. Great spot!

There are a lot of cost of living calculators around that will tell you that you Boston is 66% more expensive than Birmingham, which would say you need 191k. However, in my experience calculators like these break down for higher income people like yourself.

If you aren’t spending all of your salary, not all of your salary needs to be multiplied by the % change in COL.

It will depend on your personal finances, but I bet you will end up with more savings making 150-160 here than you were making 115 in AL. Your house will be smaller here, but a lot of other things (including schools) will be much nicer.

Cost of living in Birmingham AL is 1% below the national average.

Lexington MA is 150% above the national average.

Roughly 2-2.5x the AL salary is what you should need according to those stats

You're not getting housing in eastern MA for $900/month. Or anything close to that. I was paying $950 for a studio apartment in Brighton in 2007. That same apartment was last rented for $1625 last year based on what I see on Zillow.

Also what's a "reasonably nice lunch"? Because $12-$15 might get you a sandwich up here.