I used to live in an area where rents were high. I ended up moving quite a distance to an area where renting is way less expensive. That worked out pretty well for me. Boston is a very expensive place to live. I am not surprised to hear that budget constraints could limit a person to some very unappealing options in where you can rent.

Moving is hard. And leaving where you know your way around is hard. Do you have a lot of reasons keeping you where you are at? (Family, other connections?)