Welcome to Boston. Skip the $1.25 for the tolls and take the back roads. You are going to need to save every red cent if you want to live here. According to DoYouWanna.com, and a slew of other websites, publications, and PEOPLE, Boston is fucking expensive. Now I know this isn’t news to anyone who resides in the bay state, but for those readers who may be soaking up the sun in Florida, wrangling cattle in Texas, or watching college basketball in North Carolina, let me lay it out for you.
In fact, let me just let Coldwell Banker lay it out for you.
Coldwell Banker’s annual Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI) shows just how huge this affordability gap can be, comparing selling prices of similar homes in similar neighborhoods in more than 300 markets.
Specifically, Coldwell Banker looked at a 2,200-square-foot house with 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a family room and a two-car garage.
Here are some of the results:
Boston, Mass. ($1,260,000)
Austin, Texas ($199,381)
Miami, Florida ($671,854)
Charlotte, North Carolina ($204,336)
Atlanta, Georgia ($303,000)
Anything stick out there? Anything look out of place? I tried to be reasonable and list comparison cities that I would consider living in to keep it fair. I mean, places like Tupelo, Miss. clock in a measly $199,381, but I don’t see myself setting up shop down in the Gulf Coast anytime soon.
So what’s the point of this post? Nothing really except bitching and observation. I guess having just come back from Tampa, Florida and seeing 3,800 square foot homes with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, coming in at $550,000, I am beginning to understand what is causing my peers to load up the car and head south. For the record, $550,000 gets you a 1,500 square foot, 3 bedroom “condo” (apartment) in my neighborhood. I am not kidding, there is an actual listing for this right now.
Oh well…renting is fine with me and I long ago came to terms with the fact that I will not be a homeowner in Boston anytime soon. I love this city, and am prepared to make that sacrifice for now, in order to live where I want to be.
Besides, when the 2 family house I live in has a tax appraisal value of almost $800,000, and market value of nearly $900,000, what choice do I really have?