The Boston area is not the most affordable area in the country, but there is no reason to be stupid about it. A house in my neighborhood (1950s Ranch, 1800sf, 3BR 2 bath, plenty big for a family of 4) sold last year for $520k, and the developer tore it down and put up a McMansion with all the Antimustachian bells and whistles that some people seem to require for some reason (4500 sf, 5BR, 3.5 bath). The house just sold to a young couple with 2 small children, for the low low price of $2M. But the couple was wise enough to put down 25%, so their mortgage is just $1.5M. And thanks to today's low interest rates, their P&I payment is only $7500/month. Town property taxes will be $28,000/year, and homeowners insurance another $3k/year.
So EVERY YEAR this young family will be paying the following, all for the honor of having the freshest, trendiest McMansion on the block:
$90,000 mortgage P&I
$28,000 property tax
$3,000 homeowners insurance
---------
$121,000 total annual housing cost
I don't think we should plan to see them on this forum any time soon...