Renowned for its prestigious universities, historical significance and sports fanaticism, Boston seemingly has something to offer everyone – except maybe a place to live. According to a December report published by Zumper National Rent, Boston ranked as the third-most-expensive rental market in the country after San Francisco and New York City. The median cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment in Boston increased to $2,480 by the end of 2018.
While rent prices have increased exponentially over the past decade, the quality of the transit system in the Greater Boston area has improved very little. Despite Boston pouring $85 million into commuter rail in the most recent year, the most of any town or city in America, simply mentioning “green line” continues to incite a chorus of groans from Bostonians.
Aside from commuter rail, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus lanes have been adopted in the surrounding area and have had a significant impact on reducing commute times. This has since led to a dispute over who pays for the upkeep of the project. Funding for costs such as signs, road maintenance and paint to define bus lanes have become a point of controversy between the cities that own the roads and the state-run transit agency. Despite my enormous faith in public officials coming together to tackle these long-standing and important issues – such as who pays for paint – my millennial impatience ultimately kicked in and I began thinking of ways I could pay less rent without enduring horrific commute times.
I communicated this quandary to my sister one night and she suggested I move down to Providence. She had lived there for years and I had always been jealous of her unimaginably low rent prices. Admittedly, my first thought was that maybe I didn’t want to save money that badly. I was accustomed to my 45-minute commute time from Somerville, just 3 miles outside of Boston.
Providence was 50 miles outside the city and I knew the drive from my apartment in Somerville could take up to an hour or more.
Out of pure desperation, I began looking into what the commute would look like. I found two very interesting things: first, the MBTA commuter rail ran regularly out of Providence to Back Bay Station, which was just minutes from my office. Secondly, the Amtrak train also ran out of Providence to Back Bay Station and some of the trains arrived in as little as 28 minutes.
After going through the numbers, I found I would be saving more than $12,000 net of tax for the year by making the move from Somerville to Providence. My employer would cover half of my commuting costs ($390 monthly Amtrak pass) and I would be able to deduct a majority of the excess at the state level. After almost five months, the commute has been as advertised.
Millennials working in Boston are … [often living] paycheck to paycheck.
Millennials working in Boston are up against rent prices and a cost of living that require most to live paycheck to paycheck. This doesn’t necessarily need to be the case. There is refuge from perfunctorily handing a paycheck to a landlord every month, and the city where this is possible is far from sleepy. With Brown University on College Hill, beautiful Colonial homes lining Rochambeau Avenue, and weekly farmers markets on Hope Street, Providence bears a strikingly similar resemblance to Somerville and Cambridge for about half the price.
As the Boston economy continues to boom, Providence may be looking to capitalize on professionals seeking to stretch their dollar further. Luxury apartments at Station Row have started advertising the Providence Train Station located just steps away.
The homepage reads “ALL ABOARD,” equipped with track information and train departure times to Boston. The timing may be perfect for Providence, as projects in Boston to replace the red and orange line signal systems are already underway and expected to cause major delays. There is a strong case to get Bostonians down to Providence. It will be up to the city to retain them.
Barrett Ramsay is an analyst at RIMES Technologies, a financial-technology company located in Boston that services hedge funds globally.
