To be clear, you’re currently making $115K, and your girlfriend in the ballpark of $70K?

Do you know whether the job is inside or outside 128/95? Hanscom is outside but most of the town is inside.

Waltham is an obvious choice. Somerville might work, but I’m not that familiar with the reverse commute it would take. Burlington may or may not be out of your desired price range. Many people do commute to Hanscom from Billerica. I’m not sure about Woburn or Acton, though people hate the Concord Rotary (with good reason) and that’s how most Acton traffic goes. It’s not a horrible commute, just that the rotary is stressful, annoying, and often backed up.

Just so you know, Lexington, Bedford, Concord, and Carlisle are all fine suburbs, but they’re at the expensive end.

According to Nerdwallet, you will need $208,166 in Boston dollars to make the equivalent of $115,000.

Cost of living is going to be highly variable based on the area. Your mortgage is $900, which in most cases less than the cost of a bedroom in a shared apartment with roommates. And an average studio apartment in Boston is around $2,100 right now.

Lexington will be cheaper, since it's about 15 miles out. But be prepared for sticker shock and significantly reduced space. Expect $2,000-$2,500 for a 1 bedroom in that area.

Everything will be more expensive. Food, car insurance, utilities, etc. Remember that we have winter here - so you'll need to purchase winter gear as well.

I would recommend living and working on the same side of the Charles River. My top recommendation for you would be Medford. It's very safe, has a walkable town center with plenty to do and great food. You can reasonably own a car (I recommend only having one car between you and your partner) - and the drive to Lexington is less than a half hour. There is an Orange Line T-Station to get you in and out of Boston proper for fun & games without having to deal with parking.

If you want something more urban & exciting, Somerville is great - particularly Davis Square. Some great nightlife, music & arts, hipster bars & restaurants, and Red Line access to get you into Cambridge & Boston for additional fun. Plus, only about a half-hour to Lexington by car.

If these places are too expensive and subway access isn't important to you, then look at Lexington itself, Belmont, or Waltham. Go West of Lexington for more rural.

For real. How much lab space is needed?

Seems like they are constantly building new labs.

Unfortunately cops are useless

I spent a few years living in Birmingham. Cost of living here is staggeringly higher. Even for a (by Alabama standards) small condo, you're looking at $2000—$3000 month all-in (and that's assuming you can put a reasonable amount down). You'd probably need to look at $175–200K to match that $115K in AL.

As for quality of life, the BBQ up here is terrible, but just about everything else is better.

MUST BUILD MORE LAB SPACE

that’s neat. hope it’s mostly residential.

>Do you want to live IN boston or suburbs or rural town?

I'm fine with either, to be honest. I wouldn't mind renting 'rural' at first and then moving towards the city after the first lease runs out. My only requirement is close enough to Lexington to commute a couple times a week. I don't know the geography/traffic well enough to know how far that would allow me to move away.

This is a great idea, thank you!

A combined income of ~200k will be more than enough to live in a very comfortable apartment in Lexington, meet your savings goals, with probably enough left over to have a healthy entertainment budget as well.

The median income in many of Bostons western suburbs is high compared to the north or south shores. You’ll still be able to live very comfortably with what you say you’re making.

Whoa! Did you file a report? There may be street cameras that picked up the license number.

Housing is going to be the single biggest cost increase. Do you want to live IN boston or suburbs or rural town? We'd need to know that to really comment. The price difference would be quite large between boston and say ashburnham.

I was crossing w the pedestrian sign on, he tried to run and slammed his brakes bc I got in his way, so I flipped him off. He got out so I started running and he chased me down and hit me in the head several times before going back to his car. I was too shocked and scared to follow him back to his car.

Good luck! I think your best bet would be to try and get them back from whoever found them. Maybe leave a note at the apartment building, just make sure not to accuse someone of stealing them, or they won't want to return them obviously. Something nice, maybe a reward for finding them?

What happened?

Can't wait for all the hearings on this that remove all the residential units.

466 new housing units. That's great news.

Look OP, you're clearly a bit out of touch for a number of reason (thinking the police would do anything, posting it on reddit, etc). But here's some practical advice: do NOT show up at someone's residence over petty theft. That's just asking for trouble. There are lots of wireless buds that are much cheaper than airpods, you'll be fine.

You’re not getting them back. There is absolutely 0% chance the police intervene. And, the gym was right not to give you member data or show you the video footage.

Yeah they’re the latest airpods and I can see the last location where their battery went dead.

Lol alright

You and the gym shouldn't be investigating anyone. You're not a detective. It sucks but move on and be careful with the next pair.

Glad y'all are safe, and so sorry you went through that. It must've been so scary! And yes, all the good vibes to your hero buddy!

Some info from a licensed mental health therapist (me!): if this ever happens to anyone here and you're concerned for a person who may not seem stable and/or may be aggressive, you can also contact the BEST team (if within Boston) or use the app Subdial. While we're often told to call the police, the officers may not have sufficient training for responding to a mental health crisis event and the situation could escalate without anyone intending for that to happen. The BEST Team and Subdial offer alternatives to calling the police. Again, this is to share information that can be helpful to all parties involved. Cambridge HEART is another incredible resource and they explain their mission, which can also add further context to my comment.

Be safe and well, y'all!

OP, I agree with everyone else posting here, but just FYI something very similar happened to me…someone mistakenly took my jacket instead of their own from a bar, and so they accidentally took my AirPods home with them. I also could see their address, which was also in a big apartment building. I had confidence that it was a drunken mistake and that the person would return my jacket to the bar, which they did a few days later. I had reported it to the bar, so they knew to call me, and I went and got my jacket and AirPods. Just wanted to give you a positive story.