As A Cantabridgian, If You Want Cheaper And Bigger Housing, Would You Choose Arlington, Medford, Waltham, Watertown, Or Quincy?

I am currently 23, going on 24 later this year, and I currently live in a 300 sqft studio without a kitchen in Mid-Cambridge. Even though I made some friends at MIT, my internships, and high school, I am introverted and I loathe living with roommates. I currently pay $1650 a month for it as of 1 September 2024 to 1 September 2025. I held onto the apartment since late 2017, and I graduated from MIT with an SB in CSE in May of 2022. Ever since then, I have been a remote software consultant and tech entrepreneur making 6 figures. Despite the fact I could easily afford a 1 bedroom 600 sqft apartment in Cambridge for $3000, I wanted to lower my budget to $2000 or below to save money. I am thinking of commuting to Cambridge about 2-3x a week, mainly for networking.

Therefore, I thought about moving to cities like Arlington, Medford, Waltham, Watertown, and Quincy.

I found out via zillow.com that Quincy is only slightly more expensive than Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, Malden, and Revere, but of a far better value proposition IMO. In my search, a $1700 for a 600 sqft in those other cities/towns is worth a $1700 in 02169 and a $1750 in 02170/1. For one, Quincy's public schools is rated higher than Chelsea, Everett, Lynn, Malden, and Revere. The other facets include the fact the crime rate is reasonably low even compared to the MA average, there are a lot of amenities, a very big Asian population (I was born in Vietnam btw), close access to I-93, less traffic within Quincy limits, and most importantly, the coveted red line, which facilitates the commute to Kendall Square.

As for traffic, despite the fact Boston proper has extremely heavy traffic during rush hour, especially I-93, which might affect commutes, traffic in Quincy (even during rush hour) is restricted to Hancock St in North Quincy, Quincy Center, and I-93. Adams St, Furnace Brook Pkwy, Newport Ave/Thomas Burgin Pkwy, Quincy Shore Dr, Quincy Ave, Southern Artery, and Washington St are a breeze to drive through even during rush hour.

For me, I currently own a car (parking is important, and luckily, all the apartments I currently look for do include free off street parking) and a $250 Amazon folding bike as forms of transportation. Prior to owning a car, I typically bike around 5-10 mi per day during weekdays and 10-20 mi per day during weekends. Between 2020-3, I also purchased monthly MBTA passes and visit Quincy on a daily basis with my bike on the MBTA.