Friday, September 09, 2005

When It’s not Good to Be Number One

Boston is the nation’s most expensive city.

Propelled largely by high housing costs, Boston is now the most expensive metropolitan area in the country, outpacing Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and even New York City, according to a report that will be released today.

The report found that last year, a family of four living in the Boston area needed $64,656 to cover its basic needs. This was $6,000 more than in New York City, and about $7,000 more than in San Francisco. Living expenses, which include healthcare, child care, and other basic needs, were $44,000 or less in Austin, Texas; Chicago; Miami; and Raleigh, N.C.

In 2004, the median price of a single-family home in Greater Boston was $376,000, up 9.5 percent from 2003, the report says. The median price of a condo was $282,000, up 9.3 percent. Even though Massachusetts was the only state to lose population last year, prices continued to rise because demand is still higher than the supply of many types of housing.

This is not a good thing, and is one of the reasons people are leaving Massachusetts. (Embarrassment of John Kerry could be the other.) Apart from its ridiculous politics, the Hub remains a great place to live, but no one here is under any illusions about the cost. This is especially true for those without cars and who cannot go outside of Boston to purchase food and other necessities - there are very few supermarkets in the city itself and only the above-mentioned junior senator can afford to shop all the time in the local markets. The same holds true for things like gasoline, but no one can escape the housing costs. This is especially true in the desirable neighborhoods like the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Brookline, the North End, and the South End. Nearby Cambridge is similarly expensive.

It’s not sustainable. Enormous numbers of students come to Boston every year to study - many of them stay. But fewer and fewer can afford to build lives here so they take what they’ve learned and apply it elsewhere. It is the same for many people who grow up here. Part of the problem is geographic - much of Boston is literally reclaimed from the sea. There’s not a lot of space left. But another problem is high property taxes, regulation by both the state and the city, and too much cronyism in City Hall. Boston is always going to be expensive, but this is no time to be proud of being number one.

Posted by Matt on 09/09 at 08:42 AM
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