I make a little more than OP & am in journal square, about a 10 minute walk from the train. I live by myself and pay about $1600, pretty comfortably. Also found the place pretty quickly, and similar places nearby with comparable rent when i was looking. Area isn’t even bad, I don’t think twice about walking outside at night or anything like that. The idea that you can NOT live in jsq without roommates is not correct at all. And no, I’m not eating ramen.