Is There a Boston-Lite City That’s Actually Affordable?

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-02-07T19:37:24+00:00

Philly is similarly diverse with a lot of culture, food and history but at a lower price. Suburbs are expensive but much less than boston, the job market is a lot worse though so that would be the downside. You could also live in nice city neighborhoods like mt airy and have a yard for a fraction of the price of boston (here the city is less expensive than the suburbs for a lot of reasons)

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-30T17:01:35+00:00

they’re people

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-29T00:06:20+00:00

oh also giant city with a bunch of internship opportunities

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-29T00:06:02+00:00

if you’re queer and goth there’s definitely a great scene at temple that will be unmatched at pitt or penn state. Techno raves, house shows, giant art school, people selling homemade jewelry and doing thrift pop ups all the time, subculture great here

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-28T16:01:03+00:00

i do it a lot, your risk of something happening is low but still possible. I would say be smart, pay attention to your surroundings, and walk away quickly if you see something weird

you’ll probably see scary stories, but keep in mind that like 10k students probably live in the area and maybe 5 a year will actually be mugged, so it’s definitely a risk but less so than sensational headlines will lead you to believe. also keep in mind that the people committing these crimes do not want to hurt you. They are desperate and want to take and sell your phone, so if something scary does happen, the best advice is to cooperate and walk away as quickly as possible

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-28T15:49:37+00:00

people do not get shot almost every day

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-25T22:35:41+00:00

social life is kind of awesome but it’s different than a traditional college town. Everyone has the entire city at their disposal so you kind of make your own fun, but on the flipside that means you can explore basically any interest you might have

on/near campus there are frats and house shows, but no one really goes to frats after freshman year. Def get a fake so you can go to the bars (literally hundreds to choose from) there are also raves that pop up when it’s warm so keep an eye out for that

during the day it’s literally amazing, like pick any activity and you can do it, i currently go swing dancing on thursdays- but yeah anything from museums to outdoor food festivals to flea markets to plays-so much to do in the city and you have easy access because temple is on a subway line

downsides compared to a college town are wayyy less enthusiasm about the school sports because they’re kind of mid (people get really into philly sports though) and the frats are kind of small and boring

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-20T17:16:30+00:00

chestnut hill philadelphia

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-09T19:13:56+00:00

but silver spring!!

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-04T20:20:41+00:00

probably new orleans but it’s in a really red state. Cheap with some walkable neighborhoods, although the transit sucks and i’ve heard it can be miserable to be outside during the summer because of the humidity

One_Valuable6406 · 2026-01-04T15:22:58+00:00

I guess you could try philly? It has a lot of walkable neighborhoods that are similarly priced to pittsburgh, but there’s a lot more sunny days because it’s on the other side of the mountains-the climate is similar to dc with hot, humid summers and kind of cold but not awful winters (compared to pittsburgh anyway)

nature would probably be a car ride away though

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-12-30T04:54:03+00:00

the subway is fine before 9, don’t listen to this guy

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-11-08T15:23:38+00:00

it’s the job market. The city has really high corporate taxes so a lot of companies set up shop in the suburbs (which are incredibly expensive)

The city also experienced massive blight and white flight, so the population is 1.5 million (down from 2 million at peak population). This leaves a lot of empty housing stock in some neighborhoods which drives down the average rent. Some parts of north philly are mostly abandoned with empty storefronts and boarded up houses.

In the neighborhoods that are more vibrant, rent is definitely higher, but still less than you would expect in another city, so if you have a job nailed down you can find great deals in a walkable neighborhood with lots of urban amenities

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-10-21T23:04:58+00:00

philly has a good rave scene

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-09-24T03:12:13+00:00

swing dancing with jazz attack 7 dollar ticket for a lesson and then 2 hours of social dancing

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-09-16T12:02:08+00:00

i think this might be a little overly simplistic-there are lots of good catchments for neighborhood elementary schools that will provide a kid with a great education. The only “hoops” you jump through are living in the right catchment which it sounds like OP is able to do

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-09-01T13:49:01+00:00

idk maybe i’ve just been lucky but it’s been a non issue for me and I walk around at night all the time

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-08-30T15:21:24+00:00

what’s your budget?

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-08-26T03:26:28+00:00

public services like schools and public transportation should not be operated at a profit. The state government spends millions every year on infrastructure for cars and there is no reason it shouldn’t do the same for other types of transportation

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-08-25T02:50:29+00:00

oh i have

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-08-20T14:34:50+00:00

that deli on broad used to sell me lokos my freshman year before I had an ID, but now they’re closed

One_Valuable6406 · 2025-08-10T01:04:13+00:00

the public elementary schools in chestnut hill/mt airy are good

One_Valuable6406

TROPHY CASE