Recent comments in /f/massachusetts

twoscoop t1_j9g91nk wrote

Reply to comment by aja09 in Mother Nature needs a vacation by funsk8mom

It's not going to be a good time. Summers in the 100s, winters in the 50s, bugs explode in growth, plants that needed frost to protect from fungus get fingused and die. Then fungus spreads... Last of us happens. That is from from a joke because scientists are getting a bit worried.

18

twoscoop t1_j9g8syt wrote

Reply to comment by A_Man_Who_Writes in Mother Nature needs a vacation by funsk8mom

I find it really fucked that all the older people and the mid generation fucks are happy that it's no longer bitter cold in the winter and there is no snow. Makes sense they were taught in school that snow was made by communists to create snowflakes... They won't care in 10 years when we have hurricanes hitting us. Cat 1 and 2 but still.. why don't people fucking care? Like how do people not sit down and just think about other people hundreds years from now. Fuck not even 100 t5 years.

11

BostonBlackCat t1_j9g7sr1 wrote

Reply to As of Aug 2022, the median millennial household income was $106,661. People making at or close to the median household income that are buying houses in MA, where are you able to buy? by BoOo0oo0o

Older millennial here. Moved to Salem a decade ago when rents and home/condo prices were reasonable (at least compared to Boston, where we had moved from). We rented with the expectation that once we saved up money and were further along in our careers, we would buy a condo or modest home.

Now we make about 150K combined but still live in the small $1500 a month apartment we rented when we were struggling financially. While we could technically afford to buy a condo in the area, we aren't super motivated to do so. Our apartment is small and in an old building, but it has 3 bedrooms (our daughter has one room and we use the 3rd as an office), is RIGHT on the ocean as well as downtown, and comes with free parking and heat/water included. It is just SO cheap for the area and gives us so much more saving and spending money. It's hard to be motivated to spend $500k on a modest fixer upper condo that comes with hundreds of dollars of monthly HOA fees, and be house poor, vs now when housing is such a relatively minor expense for us. Also, living in a walkable downtown and on the ocean, it doesn't matter so much having a small apartment with no yard when you can easily spend most of your day outside your home doing other things in your neighborhood and socializing with others.

My family has lived in and around Salem since immigrating from Italy in 1900. We just love the area, and it is convenient to get to work in Boston. We have looked at other towns on the North and South shore, but we'd have to be moving significantly west in the state to be able to afford buying even a decent condo at this point, never mind a SFH. At this point, although we will at the very least upgrade to a larger apartment in the foreseeable future, we're strongly considering staying in Salem and renting forever, or maybe getting a condo once my boss retires in a few years because she's mentoring me to be her replacement and then I'll get another good salary bump.

35

freedraw t1_j9g6bd2 wrote

Reply to As of Aug 2022, the median millennial household income was $106,661. People making at or close to the median household income that are buying houses in MA, where are you able to buy? by BoOo0oo0o

From the Boston Sunday Globe cover story this weekend.

>Unquestionably, stratospheric housing costs are a major factor in why people leave Massachusetts, especially now. Before the pandemic, a family making $100,000 a year could afford to buy 37 percent of homes available in the state. Today that figure is just 12 percent. In metro Boston, it’s just 6 percent, compared with 34 percent nationally.

To be succinct, if you're making the median income in MA, you are likely not buying a home in MA unless you already own one or have some other source of wealth.

71

KDsburner_account t1_j9g64d9 wrote

Reply to comment by Bobbydadude01 in As of Aug 2022, the median millennial household income was $106,661. People making at or close to the median household income that are buying houses in MA, where are you able to buy? by BoOo0oo0o

I hear you on this. My wife and I live in that area and do quite well for ourselves. Yeah there’s not a tech sector or pharma like eastern MA but there are good paying jobs if you want one.

3

LiteraryDaisy09 t1_j9g43jb wrote

Reply to Grants for first time homebuyers? by aKaake

In 2018, we qualified and bought using MassHousing's first-time homebuyer's program. They do have income limits, but they were plenty high. They provide a second mortgage (ours was up to 10k but it looks higher now) at 1% interest to help cover downpayment or closing costs. We also qualified for no PMI due to good credit, despite being under 20% down. We ended up refinancing in 2021 to get the lower rate but MH was great and helpful. More info here: https://www.masshousing.com/home-ownership/homebuyers

3

pccb123 t1_j9g37o1 wrote

Reply to comment by Chippopotanuse in As of Aug 2022, the median millennial household income was $106,661. People making at or close to the median household income that are buying houses in MA, where are you able to buy? by BoOo0oo0o

Im a millennial. I agree with you. I was just noting that salaries of teachers with 20 years experience and (early) retirees wouldnt really skew that median too much since there arent that many millennials in either group quite yet. Even the oldest millennial who started right out of college att 22 would just hitting 20 years now. Although I definitely wasnt thinking early retiree meant 30s/40s, and Im sure youre right that there are way more tech/finance people who leave full time work than I considered. Now I'm curious the % of people in their 30s/40s who were able to do so.

Either way, I agree that its hard to lump everyone in/generalize, particularly when it comes to familial wealth, etc.

3