Edited for TL;DR
25 year old, moving from suburbs to Boston by September, trying to figure out some of the better neighborhoods to look. Familiar with Brighton/allston/brookline from couch surfing there every weekend, just wondering if there are any similarly priced neighborhoods that are more bike-able to the financial district.
income from main job: $46K and a few hundred in overtime per month plus 16% profit sharing plan ($7200 pretax towards retirement). Also side hustle that brings in 50-70 per week.
credit card debt:$8,900 left out of $14,000 at the beginning of the year-will be paid to 0 by July/August
Student loans:$30-31,000
train pass currently costs $240 per month
I also have 30-31,0000 in student loans from undergrad.
My question is, where do I get started?
Biggest goals right now in order of importance:
1.Pay credit card debt to $0. With my current payment schedule I can make this happen by July, maybe August at the latest.
2.Move out of my parents house into Boston, preferably close to work. This is more of an immediate need, my self-imposed deadline is to be moved out is September 1st, preferably earlier. A short commute and the ability to get home cheaply and easily (probably via uber) from bars at 2 AM are my biggest wishes in a location.
3. Start saving for FIRE and paying down student loans strategically.
Should I pay higher rent and live closer to work, or out in a cheap area like Brighton where the T-ride would take 45 minutes and the monthly pass would be $80 plus? I like to bike, if I lived within a 15-20 minute bike ride from work then I wouldn't even bring my car into the city, but some of the closer neighborhoods seem pricey.