Photo by Live Richer on Unsplash

Table of contents

1. Preface

2. Main Article

3. OMFS World

4. Stuff

Preface

🛣️ This week, we took advantage of the long weekend and took off to New Hampshire.

We stayed at a charming hotel, the Cranmore Inn 🌳, in the small town of North Conway.

Although only a 2.5-hour drive away, New Hampshire has a very different vibe from Boston. In addition to its natural beauty, the state places a high value on personal freedoms, complemented by its lower population density. Merely 1.4 million people occupy the ENTIRE STATE!

And it's absolutely beautiful 🌸.

You're met with breathtaking scenery every time you step outside or glance out the window. Moreover, the area offers a plethora of outdoor activities thanks to its endless forests 🌲, mountains ⛰️, and lakes 🛶.

It was nice to pack one suitcase 🧳 into the car and head out of Boston. Much simpler and laid-back compared to wasting time at the airport.

And that brings us to today's newsletter. While living in the United States presents many opportunities, you may have wondered how much it costs to live here. I know we did.

Before coming to the US, we attempted to calculate the cost of living, but we only managed an estimate.

There is a lack of information about the cost of living here.

As a strong advocator of transparency, I would like to share our monthly expenses with you.

Number 41!

Enjoy 💸

Main Article

💳 Today, we will discuss the cost of living in the United States.

🤔 Some people perceive the cost of living in the US as quite high.

They argue that housing can be extremely expensive, especially in big cities and coastal areas. In addition, medical costs 😷 in the United States are some of the highest in the world, making healthcare a major expenditure for many families. They highlight that everyday essentials, such as fresh fruits and vegetables and utility bills, can take up a considerable part of one's budget.

🙋On the contrary, others believe that the cost of living in the US is reasonable or even cheaper than in many other countries.

They point out that gas prices ⛽ are relatively lower than in most parts of the world. They also argue that consumer goods like electronics, clothes, and toys are more affordable in the US.

I've lived twice in the US, once on the West Coast and once on the East Coast.

I rented apartments, owned a car, enrolled my children in American schools, and used the American healthcare system. Both experiences gave me comprehensive insights into living costs and raising a family in the US.

So how much will it cost you?

Let's find out!

Before we start, some demographics:

We are a family of five. Our boys are 9-year, 5-year, and 3-month-old.

We live in Brookline, which is very close to Boston.

I work at a hospital as a surgical fellow.

🗒️ Included in this list:

Essential and lifestyle expenses such as housing, transportation, education, healthcare, and everyday items.

🙈 Not included in this list:

Restaurants, vacations, flights, clothing, furniture, and appliances. In general, we spent around 2,500$ when moving into our apartment. This was mainly for furniture, cookware, appliances, bedding, towels, and cleaning supplies.

So without further ado, I will give you our monthly expenses.

For those of you who are just interested in the bottom line:

Our monthly expenses add up to 6,742$

🏡 Monthly rent - 3,000$

Yup. Three thousand big ones 💰.

The apartment has three bedrooms, one living room, one bathroom 🚽, and one parking space 🚘. When we started looking for an apartment, we could only find apartments in the 3,600$-4,000$ range, so we were lucky to find this one.

Although our apartment is quite old and having only one bathroom is a challenge, it's only for two years. So it's not that bad.

It's conveniently located close to schools and only a few minutes walk from the light rail 🚋.

⚕️Medical insurance - 0$ (2,089$) per month

In our case, the insurance cost is entirely covered by my employer (hospital), so we don't have to pay any monthly fee to the insurance company.

However, this is not always the case.

Sometimes, employers will only cover the employee's medical expenses and not those of their family. In some cases, people come to the US to participate in a program without pay and must purchase their own medical insurance.

So keep that in mind when you plan your stay.

🚸 Schools - 1,851$ per month

The entire amount goes towards secondborn's kindergarten 🧒.

Firstborn attends a public school, which is free. We live in Brookline specifically so that he can attend this excellent school. However, we pay a higher rent to live within the school district's boundaries.

🚗 Car - 141$-231$ per month; 24,563$ one-time purchase

Purchase - we preferred an all-wheel drive that can handle snow ❄️, and has a large trunk we can use for travel 👝🧳. You can find a cheaper car, but the older it gets, the more you pay for repairs.

🧑‍💼 Car insurance: 91$ per month. We started at 130$ but accumulated discounts over time.

⛽ Gas: 50-100$ per month.

🅿️ Parking: 0-40$ per month.

🚌 Public transportation - 58.5$ per month

I take the train and bus to work. A monthly ticket for Boston costs 90$, and my workplace covers about a third of it.

If I wanted to drive to work, I would pay around 200$ a month for parking.

🥦 Groceries - 600$-800$ per month

In general, the healthier the food, the more expensive it gets.

Fruits and vegetables are particularly pricey here.

🏃🎵 After school classes - 552$ per month

🤸‍♀️ Kids’ gym - 270$. That's monthly for two kids.

🎹 Kids’ music school - 282$. That's monthly for two kids, cello for firstborn, piano for secondborn.

🔌 Utility bills - 250$-400$ per month

This includes gas and electricity, with bills typically higher during winter.

Water is included in the rent.

🌐 Internet - 39.99$ per month

Our provider is Xfinity, and the plan is 400Mbs

I used Xfinity in Portland as well. I prefer Xfinity since their service is good, and everything is set up online.

📶 Mobile phone plans - 40$ per month

Our provider is Mint Mobile, and our plan includes 15GB per phone for $20 a month.

Although we sometimes experience poor signal quality, we don't see a reason to pay $60-70 for a different provider. If you always require a consistently strong signal, expect to pay more than $20.

OMFS World

🥼For the OMFS resident

Taking clinical pictures to document your cases is extremely important throughout your career, and especially during residency. I bought most of my professional camera gear in 2016, and it still serves me well today during fellowship.

If you like to read more, check out my guide for clinical photography 📷.

Stuff

💡Gear I use - Logitech MX Master 3 mouse.

There's a newer and better version: Logitech MX Master 3s. In my opinion, this is the best mouse there is. Period.

Epilogue

That's it for this issue.

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Have a great weekend!

Shay