It might have made more sense, as far as the title of the piece, to use neighborhoods that are actually in the city of Boston, which is not the case for Somerville or Brookline. Say, for example:
Downtown density - Back Bay (Beacon Hill/Leather District/South End)
Still served by the subway - JP (The Dot)
The perimeter (commuter rail & bus) - Rosi (Hyde Park/West Roxbury)

Except that if you're going to relocate to work in the city, it actually makes more sense fiscally to live somewhere like Somerville or Cambridge, both of which are maximum 30 minutes away from downtown via the subway (or god forbid, bike).

I agree that MORE Boston locations would have been helpful, but I'd imagine they were trying to sample a broad spectrum, and the inclusion of Somerville wasn't disingenuous, and if Somerville is "close enough," so is Brookline, which if you live South of the river you basically consider Boston, anyway.

More people I know end up in suburbs like Arlington or Waltham, anyway, if they're not going to live in "the city" (Camberville, Brookline, etc. included).

@Earthy - Disagree, who lives in Roslindale? 30 people?

Back Bay, Brighton and Somerville would be good picks.

When I worked in Cambridge, I rented an apartment in Somerville, because I found a beautiful place there for an affordable rent. That was almost 40 years ago, but it sounds like nothing has changed.

I love this! Will it be a series? Are there more locales to come?

I love the idea of these posts, keep them coming. I also like the idea of 3 different area price points. Moving from Manhattan to Charleston, yes my salary is less, but even though Charleston might have one of the highest costs of living in the deep South, it pales in comparison to Manhattan, even in the heart of historic downtown. Its also interesting to thinking about other dream places realistically... I'm hoping you do one for Paris (my "when I'm aggravated" dream escape city)!

I feel Cambridge would have been a better inclusion. With Somerville you have a HUGELY varying market. Does this represent Davis Square or Winter Hill? Back Bay and Brookline are, for the most part, totally serviceable by the T and mostly homogenous whereas Somerville can vary greatly in price because of location (proximity to T and neighborhood). But perhaps Somerville was included because you can live (relatively) really cheaply if you're willing to be far from a T stop (and therefore on a bus line) in a neighborhood that doesn't really have anything going on.

South End, Beacon Hill or Back Bay
JP, Southie, or Waterfront-North End
Allston, Dorchester or Mission Hill

If you want to price greater Boston just say so, not that hard. My two cents

I agree with most here that it would have been more accurate to include Brighton or South Boston rather than Brookline, which is comparable to Back Bay, and Cambridge over Somerville. I think it is also important to note that when moving to Boston you almost always need to go through a relator which incurs another fee. Lastly, September 1 IS moving day throughout the entire city for us renters, it will be slim pickings if you are looking to move anytime after that (however you can get lucky for a June 1st move in).

I'm also curious to see why neighborhood descriptions are not being included in these. Half the battle of renting is choosing the right area within that city. I would hate to move into Brookline or Back Bay based on budget only to learn that Davis Square is perfect for me - resulting in another move on the dreaded September 1st. It's great to know how much the cost of living is anywhere - but it would be just as helpful to know what my neighbors might be like.

>Disagree, who lives in Roslindale? 30 people?

28,680 residents in last Census, but you're close. I think the idea of high density/still subway/outer limits makes sense. I've lived in many locations in Cambridge/Somerville, as well as in JP, all of which have been, at the time I lived in them, subway-accessible and affordable. Now I can only afford outer limits, and I'm in Roslindale. Prices go up any more, I'm going to end up driving into the train from someplace like Randolph. Or, you know, just shooting myself.

@ Abbey C --

Yeah, September 1 is the worst! The moment I was done with school, I got off that horrible cycle. Fewer places are available on other move-in dates, it's true, but I think it's worth it not to have to fight the teeming hordes for a U-Haul! :)

You can't please everyone. Somerville, Back Bay and Brookline are fine choices for a wide demographic. Also... very few people move into the Northeast anyways, compared to other US cities (looking at you, Atlanta & Washington DC), so Boston is a great city to get everyone's attention ("It costs how much for a studio apartment?!")

I hope you guys do Madison, WI, where I'm hoping to move in the next few years. I'd love to see Seattle, Portland, and SLC too!

Why the negativity on Somerville and Brookline? Plenty of people live in both of those places and consider themselves Bostonians. They provide good comparisons to living right downtown, and most places in the heart of Boston (Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End) are all at the high end of prices.

Oh man, I would have liked to see the grocery prices/dinner prices broken out by neighborhood as well. In JP you can actually eat a semi-descent meal for like $25, but if you're in the Back Bay you're going to have to break that $50 note.

And I still can't get over the price of booze in one of the greatest "college towns" in the world. I live in Austin, TX now and I can easily scrounge up beer for $2 or $3 a pint on any night of the week!

Decent! I mean decent. Darn this head cold I have!

Is the Cost of Living Report a series for different cities? If not, can it please be? If so, can there be an easy way to find other entries in the series? This is GREAT and I would love to see more like it!

@Evan Jacobs- Plenty of residents in Rozzi as Pyewacket said. Not sure why everyone thinks it is so far- it takes me 17mins via train to get to South Station and I am only a ten minute bus ride from Forrest Hills (and when you have 15 buses at your disposal it isn't like you are waiting very long). Getting around is easy and it is so much more affordable than even JP (let alone comparing it to our neighbors in Brookline).

I have plenty of friends who live in Somerville and Cambridge who have much longer commutes than I do and pay out their ears to live in both locations. Now that Rozzi has just as many incredible restaurants as JP and most Cambridge neighborhoods, I see no reason to hate on it because of its locale.

Just sayin'!

Dinner for one is almost $35?!! Holy moly, I thought it was bad in CA.

Or live in Nashua, NH -- no income tax, no sales tax. 45 minute commute to Boston (you can drive part way, park in a T-station lot, and take the T the rest of the way in. (Parking in Boston is a nightmare and very expensive, not mentioned above.) I will say, the commute on the freeway (normal business hours) is outrageous, though. Lots of bedroom communities outside of Boston...

This is great, but I would liked to have seen similar square footages across the price points to get a more fair comparison.

Also, I would love to see the Essentials and Entertainment section expanded a bit. Just some ideas off the top of my head.

- Taxes (sales, income, car excise)
- Utilities (price / kwhr electricity and price/ therm gas plus some metric of how much is used annually)
- Six pack of beer in the grocery store
- A basket of food items beyond milk
- Parking ticket ($50 in Cambridge/Somerville)

i love these kinds of posts! thank you! more, please?!

I've moved several times in Boston metro and, if you're making the move be aware: it's nearly impossible to find a place without paying an exorbitant realtor's fee. They're horrible, unprofessional, and wildly expensive (I'm sure there are exceptions, but I've never met one), but they've got a racket going, so be prepared to pay one month's rent in addition to first, last and security.

Ha! I lived in South Florida before everything went to poo and I was boggled at paying $1200 a month for 2/2 at 1100sqf. lmao

Great post ! I'd love to see you do Seattle, I'm already living here but it would be neat to see if its accurate and how we compare.

I have trouble believing the median rent for a 1BR in Brookline is $1600. I just went through the process of looking for apartments in Boston, and most of what I saw in Brookline was at least $1700 - $1850 for 1BR. It may be the higher end because I have a pet, but $1600 seems a bit low for that area.

It is nice to see my town featured on Apartment Therapy, though! I hope there are more posts in this series. I'd love to see the comparables for other cities.

I'm English and live in Tokyo, and by comparison, in Boston milk, gas and transport pass are very cheap, (however employers cover the cost of you commuting in Japan). But I'm a bit taken aback at the cost of rents/housing - I swear you can get much cheaper here. Are these upmarket areas of the city? And I suppose it's difficult to judge how expensive it is without having a graps of typical salaries.

I moved out of Boston 8 years ago...the realtor fees are no joke...and the Sept 1 madness, unspeakable. All three areas have some beautiful quirky places to rent--if you are lucky/aggressive. And rental format options aplenty--high rise, triple-deckers, space over retailers, attics/basements, lofts, split houses, etc. Great place to visit [praying that my last 4 or 5 friends in town don't wise up and move out as well!] but, sadly, not a practical place for me to live.

Oakland next please!!!!!

Hopefully this will be a series! If so, great start! I hope you listen to the comments for improvements though.

The most beautiful apartment of my life was in Chelsea, across the river from Boston in a brick prewar well-maintained building. Extra-tall ceilings, extra-tall windows, generous rooms, and the best view ever: Boston's skyline! Pros: sweet apartment, dirt cheap rent ($600 for a 2 bedroom), easy commute (15 min bus ride to Haymarket) Cons: not much going in the neighborhood (at the time), neighborhood somewhat sketchy, late nights in Boston or Cambridge always entailed a really expensive cab ride home since the T and bus don't run very late.

Another vote for this becoming a series. I live in Cambridge and lived in Somerville the last three years, and I agree with the amounts listed. I also agree that while Cambridge, Somerville, and Brookline are not technically Boston by zip code or name, I always tell people I live in Boston if they're not from this area. I think the many misnomers regarding place is of the quirkier aspects of Boston, but I like it.

Don't like the renting costs though, noooo sir . . .

Well done, like the thoroughness of the post. You rock!

Brookline is expensive but I love it and have lived here for about 30 years. I'm originally from New York (Riverdale, in the Bronx) and Brookline reminds me a bit of Riverdale, except with more single family homes (unless you count Fieldston as being part of Riverdale, which some people do but I don't). Anyhow, we live in a "real" neighborhood where we actually know our neighbors by name, and the park across the street is our "back yard." Hope on the T and you're in Boston. Love it!

This post is a great idea -- keep them coming! One thing that might be helpful would be if you gave short descriptions of the neighborhoods for those of us who are less familiar with the city, e.g., "walkable to public transit, urban, young, trendy" vs. "families, quiet, parks, historic."

@SherryBinNH - How do you manage to pull that off? I've done that same commute and the times were always something like 90 minutes in the morning and between 90 minutes and three hours going home in the evening.

This is a really great idea.

However, as a Bostonian, I must ask where the data for milk at $2.99 a gallon came from...it's more than that for store-brand, I pay anywhere from $4.99 to $5.79 for a gallon of Hood.

Alhal:

So true! The real estate brokers in Boston are hacks, mostly college graduates who got their license to make quick money. The fees are prohibitive.

Great series, I'm looking forward to seeing more cities!

Maybe it's mostly single people who read this but as a mother who lives in downtown Boston (Charlestown) I would include in your figures the $25K I pay a year for private elementary school!

This is news to me! I just moved to Boston and these prices are a lot lower than in my experience. And it's all true about the realtors. You basically pay someone a huge amount of money to be totally incompetent and make your life harder.

Other things to think about. While a 1 bedroom in Somerville might be going for $1,200, good luck finding one. There are many areas of Boston that are mostly houses and fewer apartments. You can get a huge house in Somerville and pay $300 for a room...if you don't mind having 8 housemates.

What a pretty picture of the city!

I'm forced to move from my affordable Southie apartment to a new place for Nov 1 after my landlords announced that they are selling. After 5 years in the same apartment (luckily no rent hikes) and 7 years in the city, it's definitely sticker shock to see what others pay! I'm currently exploring the option of condo ownership until the September apartment rush passes. It's amazing to think that putting $300,000 MAX budget into a condo search in the city of Cambridge gives zero results.... So SAVE SAVE SAVE if you're thinking of buying in or near Boston eventually!!

I agree with HelloHelloOhHello on the Somerville prices. The rates listed above seem extremely low. I lived there for 6 years with housemates in multiple Somerville neighborhoods, and when I went on the hunt for a studio or 1BR, the rates were significantly higher. Perhaps $1200-1300 for a studio basement apartment without updated appliances in non-public transport friendly Winter Hill, sure. I finally threw my hands up and moved to East Boston, newly renovated 1BR, right by the train, 10 min ride to downtown and under $1k. My only sacrifice was the sweet Somerville nightlife - but now I can actually afford the nightlife and a taxi home!